Two of my closest friends from Maine – Claire and Mary – are sisters. They are both so inspiring and smart and work so hard in the social justice sphere. Because of their careers, they’ve lived in other parts of the country in recent years so I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like. Recently Claire moved to Philadelphia and in 2024, Mary was moving out to California, doing a road trip across the country to get there. She was going to be spending a few days in Philly visiting Claire on her cross-country drive and they decided I should also be there. Claire had flight credits and was able to book me flights to and from, so how could I say no?! I arrived to Philly late on a Friday night. The girls, and Claire’s dog Snoop, picked me up from the airport. We spent some cozy time at Claire’s apartment catching up but we called it a night early since I had arrived so late. Plus, we had a very busy day planned for the following day!
We woke up to gross, rainy weather on Saturday but we didn’t let that stop us – we had lots of things to do! We started at Giovanni’s Room, a historical bookstore in the city. It was founded in 1973 and is a cornerstone of Philly’s LGBTQ community. It’s the oldest LGBTQ and feminist bookstore in the country! The store closed in 2014 but was purchased and reopened by Philadelphia AIDS Thrift, however, they kept the name Giovanni’s Room. This is a non-profit organization and all the proceeds from the store go to local organizations helping fight HIV/AIDS. As of October 2020, they had surpassed $3 Million dollars in donations! Not only do they sell tons of books (2 floors!), they also sell clothing, gifts and art. It’s such a fun space, decorated with colorful and whimsical touches.
After the bookstore, we went to their sister store, Philly AIDS Thrift. Mary, Claire and I all love thrifting so we try to do that whenever we get together. We had fun exploring the massive store! It’s all encompassing, selling clothes, home goods, books, shoes, jewelry, etc. They even have a $1 room! After shopping, we went to the historic Reading Terminal Market. It opened its doors in 1893, located below the railroad tracks owned by the Reading Railroad Company. It’s had a tumultuous history but in the 1990s the market was revitalized to how it looks now. There are about 80 vendors, 2 of which are descendants of original vendors from when the market first opened! It was difficult to navigate the market due to how crowded it was – this is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city! The vendors are incredibly efficient though, and while the lines tend to wrap around the stalls and down the aisles, they move FAST – so be prepared with your order. We got lunch from Miller’s Twist and then dessert from Famous 4th Street Cookies (almost broke my jaw on this giant ice cream cookie sandwich, it’s fine 🤣). I wish it was a little less congested so I could’ve checked out more vendors but it was still a fun stop.
Once we were full and happy, we participated in a Free Palestine march through the city. Listening to the speakers was very powerful! The girls participate in these kind of events more often than I do but it was so nice experiencing it with them. After spending some time at the march, we decided to get out of the rain and went to Yard Brewing so I could try some local brews. It was a very big, impressive brewery! It had been a busy day so for the evening we hung out at Claire’s apartment with Snoop and got take out.
My flight home was late Sunday afternoon so we still had a full day to do fun things. We started by getting breakfast from Gold Standard Café, a short walk from Claire’s apartment. Then we drove to the outskirts of the city to The Morris Arboretum, which is a 167-acre property. It was originally the private estate of siblings John and Lydia Morris and together they created the beautiful gardens that started what we see today. The arboretum opened to the public in 1933 and was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It contains over 11,000 labeled plants and 17 trees in its collection. There are some sculptures, historic buildings, a swan pond and my favorite, the fernery! The Morris Arboretum Fernery is the only remaining freestanding fernery in North America today! I wasn’t sure what a fernery was at first, but essentially it’s a greenhouse dedicated to the growing and displaying of ferns. One of the other features I really enjoyed was the Tree Canopy Walk. While it’s really designed for children, there is plenty for adults to enjoy too and it’s all-accessible as well! To visit the arboretum, it’s $20 per person. We went before the gardens were even in bloom and the parking lots were filling up quick, so I’d imagine you’d want to get here early during peak season.
We had a really nice time exploring the Morris property and the weather was perfect, a big improvement from the prior day of rain. We of course had to get a steak and cheese sandwich for lunch. Then it was time for me to head to the airport for my flight home. It was a whirlwind trip – I wasn’t even in Pennsylvania for a full 48 hours – but it was so fun spending time with two of my oldest, dearest friends!
📍I acknowledge the lands mentioned in this post are the ancestral lands of the Lenapehoking people.
The Adventures of Suze 
Leave a comment