Yeah, Phillies!, Sippin' by the River and A Celebration of Chinese Culture

Dale is holding the last sample he could possibly consume, but he does look happy, does he not?

Dame is one excellent band!

For the most part the weekend weather was alternately soggy and misty due to a huge early season Nor'easter moving up the coast, but on Saturday afternoon the skies dried up just enough to allow those Fightin' Phillies to beat the Nationals 3-2 and take the title, National League East Division Champions!! We were not there this time, but we watched the game on TV then joined the neighbors in an impromptu bell ringing and cheering celebration in the street! Now if our home team can just break Billy Penn's curse and make it to the World Series and beyond...

http://www.phillies.mlb.com/

On Sunday the clouds again parted just enough to allow for "Sippin' by the River". This annual event serves as a huge benefit for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, and it provides an amazing good time. For more information and many more photos than I could possibly provide, take a look at http://www.sippinbytheriver.com/. The beer and wine flowed all afternoon, and the tunes of Dame provided excellent listening and dancing opportunities!

We walked down to the festival site at Festival Pier on the Delaware River via Chinatown and a Dim Sum lunch at H.K. Golden Phoenix Restaurant. After lunch we just happened upon a street celebration apparently in honor of the 59th birthday of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the success of the Beijing Olympic Games. I wonder how we came to that obvious conclusion? A parade was winding its way all through the streets of Chinatown, and there were numerous dancing and drumming groups. The events of the day definitely provided a bit of cultural diversity!

Philadelphia is known for its wall murals, and we discovered the newest of them all on Spring Garden Street as we were walking home from the festival late in the afternoon. This one adorns the wall of a huge new health club called City Fitness. About two minutes after the photo was taken, the skies opened up again and it poured the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Fortunately that blue bag I am holding contained our rain jackets, but the rest of us was soaked when we finally sloshed home!