Phillidelpia to Baltimore

Philadelphia was just under a 2hr drive from Toms River, NJ. The roads were pretty quiet and it was a nice short drive into Philly. Our first stop in Philly was Marc’s second DDD stop ‘Memphis Taphouse’. It was a great place, we shared the beer battered fried pickles, Cajun shrimp, shiitake mushroom schnitzel and vegan peanut butter cake for desert. The food was ok but the selection of beer was great.

Our favorite part was not the restaurant but the beer garden out the side; we went there afterwards had some beer and watched a ball game. While we were there we met a really nice guy Mike and his 3 week old daughter. He used to be a tour guide and had also travelled the world. He offered us a place to stay for the night but had to take back the offer as his girlfriend was tired which was understandable with a new born in the house. So that night we found another Wal-Mart to camp at just on the othersider of Philly. It was pretty close to downtown which was an added bonus.

Day 1: Wal-mart had provided us another free night of accommodation. It was the beginning of our third night camping in the car without showers but the Wal-mart bathroom provided some creature comforts. That morning we made our way into Philly and left Hank at Wal-Mart for the day.

 After a short bus and train ride we were at city hall. We picked up a map from the visitor center and made our way around to all the sites. Love Park, famous love sign. The Rocky stairs that Marc and I both ran up. South Street where we stopped for a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich at ‘Jim’s Steaks’ which was ok but not as great as we were expecting.

While in South Street we stopped off at Starbucks for a break and to use the free wifi. After I got my green tea frap I walked up to Marc who asked me ‘Is my chair shaking?’ I looked down at his chair then at the building next door, that was shaking and replied I think we are in an earthquake! It was all very surreal but very cool at the same time. The lady next to us was freaking out a bit and said that they never get earthquakes on the east coast. After leaving Starbucks people were on the streets after being evacuated from their buildings and everyone was talking about what had just happened it was really strange being a tourist when an earthquake occurs.  After the quake we continued checking out the sites walking around old town Philly and seeing the Liberty Bell.

That afternoon we went to our third DDD place ‘Good Dog’ for some beers, duck empanadas and a buffalo shrimp poboy. It was a great place in downtown Philly and we really enjoyed the break after a big day of sight seeing. Here we also found out more about the earthquake that actually hit Virginia a magnitude 5.8, which had done a little bit of damage to structures but had not killed anyone and could be felt as far as Toronto.

To end the day we went to Citizens Bank ball park to watch the Phillies play the NY Nets. It was easy to get to the park and found some pretty good seats from a scalper, $85 for both tickets and this time we were sitting on the terrace so we were stoked. Before the game Marc purchased a Jersey and I got a T-Shirt then we made it to our seats to watch the game. It was a great game, got to see a couple of home runs and the Phillies won.

After the game we caught the train back to our bus stop. We only had to go one stop but I got on the express train instead of the normal train which nearly took us all the way back into the city. Marc was pretty angry at me, but what can you do. We got back on another train and caught it back to our stop. It was now getting late and the buses were not running as frequently we waited for our bus for ages about 4 buses came before our bus finally came. When it did it took us about 4 stops, then last stop Ahhh. After all that we just caught a taxi back to Wal-mart.

Day 2: It was day 4 without a shower and we had both had enough so had planned to spend the morning in Philly then start to make our way to Baltimore and stop at a campground on the way for a shower.
Marc was saying it was really weird dong the things we do (ball games, eat out) and then sleep in the car at Wal-mart and kind of look homeless. That morning while we were eating some breakfast, a dude came up to Marc asked him if he could give him a hand and that he would pay. Marc said he was happy to help and that he did not need to be payed. Next thing I know Marc has jumped into the back of this truck and was gone. I felt like he was an illegal alien going to work for some farmer, next thing I know Marc comes back all bruised and scratched as he helped to lift some super heavy packed cardboard into the back on the truck. It was so heavy they still needed another guy to help (who was actually homeless). I thought this was really funny, Marc even got $5 for his efforts but now we think we really do look homeless staying in the Wal-mart car parks. 

After packing up the car we made our way back to South Street, on the way we saw the homeless guy who helped Marc lift the heavy cardboard. Marc gave the $5 to him and said that he needed it more then us, the guy was so over the moon he punched the air in excitement. Marc felt super good after that.

To start the morning we walked down to the Italian market for a look. The market was pretty old and not very Italian but was still good to have a look. At the end of the Market we found the 2 biggest Philly cheesesteak places right across the street from each other. We decided to try another cheesesteak before we left at 'Pat’s Steaks'. This cheesesteak was much better and we think it was all thanks for the cheese selection of cheese wiz.

Both looking forward to a shower we left Philly just after lunch. Loved Philly and wish we could have spent more time there and hopefully one day we will be able to go back.


Back on the road we left Pennsylvania, passed briefly through Delaware before entering Maryland. We stopped at a visitor centre that had no information on RV parks so took a booklet full of discount hotels. We found a days Inn at a place called Aberdeen and decided to give ourselves a break and enjoyed a bed for a night. The hotel was amazing just basic but had a pool, shower, TV and a bed… we were stoked. It was hard to do much that night did some laundry, got some pizza, relaxed, caught up on emails and went to bed super early, oh how nice it was to be in a bed!

Baltimore: After an awesome night sleep Marc and I enjoyed a lazy morning before we headed into Baltimore for the day. First stop was the 4^th DDD place ‘Chaps Pit Beef’, we shared the ‘Guy Special’ (the host of DDD). It was pretty good a bit too much meat for me but Marc loved it.

After lunch we headed into Baltimore where we checked out Charmcity cakes (another food network show) and saw Jeff on his way to work (Marc was very excited about the sighting). It was a rainy day so we went to the Baltimore National Aquarium. It was a really nice aquarium to see, my favourite part was the jellyfish exhibit and seeing the Australian exhibit, really miss home sometimes :(

After the aquarium we went to a place I wanted to go to called ‘Dangerously Delicious Pies’ we got a slice of the chicken pie and the Baltimore Bomb and oh my god  it was amazing every bit was to die for.