Philly in the Spring!

This hailstorm started the swing to spring last Sunday evening.

While the last couple of weeks have been rather routine for us, Mother Nature has been performing her annual miracle. The trees have been budding, the flowers have been blooming, the rain (and hail) has been falling, and the results were revealed in force this weekend! I took advantage of the amazing blue skies and the warm, yes, warm, temperatures to make the most of this gorgeous Sunday. This photo documentary will show what I found in my roaming about Fairmount Park. From the annual Subaru Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival to the view from the newly restored Victorian gazebo just above The Waterworks, this was one magnificent day!The pear trees burst into bloom this week.
My favorite Fairmount garden can be found on Green Street.

Thanks Gail Hammell (who randomly found me at the festival) for this photo! I love the beautiful Japanese Teahouse.Cherry blossoms and picnics go hand and hand, and that is the beauty of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

The view from the newly refurbished Victorian era gazebo just outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

However, I must also report on what went before...

Friday night we drove down to Atlantic City for a night at Harrah's and some time with the slots. We had a rather winning Friday night, but the real events took place on Saturday. While I was shopping at The Pier Shops at Caesars, Dale was playing at Bally's. After my find at Banana, a sweater for $9.99 thanks to coupons, I called on the cell to find out where he was, and he told me "I just hit a $1241.50 jackpot!" As you can imagine, he was thrilled, and I was delighted! The rest of the afternoon was fun, too, but nothing approached that win. Those jackpots don't come along all the time.

While at Showboat, I saw a hidden sign advertising "Fat Saturday, Lobster Fest - $29.99" We investigated further and discovered that indeed the French Quarter Buffet was offering an all you could eat lobster event for that very price. Naturally, we took advantage, and between the two of us, I think we polished off 11 lobsters, many crayfish, several crabs and more than few shrimp. All were delicious, and we were in seafood heaven. What was truly amazing was the fact that all of those sitting near us were eating NOTHING but potatos, bread, and macaroni and cheese!!!!! I am not kidding. We were stunned. People were paying $29.99 in this time of financial crisis for a seafood buffet and eating the starches. Weird, odd, bizarre, and well, their absurdity just left more for us :-).

Dale is just loving his lobsters!!!