A Friend from Utah and a Visit to Philly

Last weekend was just jam-packed with excitement and fun. But most of them are out here. Makes it hard to get the laundry done, but it's worth it. Gotta live to the fullest while I'm here.

Bret and Whitney's friend Monica was out here in Virginia to visit her 1- month old nephew and see her sister. I went down to the bustling metropolis (little bit of sarcasm here, okay, a lot of sarcasm) of Bealeton, VA. I have to admit, though, that while they may be in a small town, their house was absolutely beautiful.

Don't let the innocent smile fool you--she's a card shark and admitted cheater

I played cards with Monica, her mom, and her sister for a while, and they were nice enough to let me win a few hands. We didn't really keep score. It was more about just talking and having fun. Later we watched Evan Almighty down in the basement movie theater, and I was pleasantly surprised with how good it was. It was a late night drive home, but I made it in one piece.

Love the changing leaves here

Started the drive up to Philadelphia on late Saturday morning and got there early afternoon. Stanley explained where to go, and I eventually found a parking spot and went up to his apartment. After kickin' it for a bit, we (along with his roommate Soren and Soren's fiance) headed to the ward chili cookoff. Before we ate, we played a game of flag football that made me long for organized sports again. I played pretty well, especially considering I was in jeans and without cleats.

Friends and chili: an excellent combination

The chili cookoff was delicious. There were eight kinds of chili and probably 12 pies/desserts. Chili #6 won, but I thought #7 was the best. Just a little bit sweeter to the taste. No hanging chads on this vote, though, so I'll let it go. We mingled for a while and then headed out. Stanley needed to get home to see the USC football game. Since he didn't have it at home, we met up with some of his friends at the Fox & Hound, a sports bar, to watch the game. USC won, but it wasn't a pretty game. The best part of being there was watching a big boxing match that was on. I've never really watched boxing, but it was surprisingly interesting. Still too barbaric for me to watch regularly, but interesting to watch occasionally. And it'd probably be exciting to see one live in a big arena.

As I was driving back to DC in the morning, I was reminded of another reason why Philadelphia is so cool: all the statues and murals. Here are a couple that I saw in the few blocks between Stanley's apartment building and the freeway entrance.