Philadelphia Stop 2

 Sunday, July 26 — On to Philadelphia

A slower start leaving New York today as everyone caught up on sleep, but we hit the road around 10 a.m. A few more missed (and near-missed) exits getting out of the city, and then we were on the New Jersey Turnpike heading south toward Philadelphia. Quick pit stop at the Vince Lombardi Service Area — basically a supersized rest stop with gas stations and restaurants.

New Jersey, it turns out, is a whole lot of straight highway. Few exits, not much scenery beyond tall greenery and trees, barely any road signs, and not a billboard in sight. About as plain a drive as they come.

We made a stop to tour the Battleship New Jersey, docked in Camden, NJ, right across the river from Philadelphia. The ship served from World War II through Korea and Vietnam and into the mid-1980s before being decommissioned in the early '90s — plenty of history packed into one vessel. One of the first things we learned: sailors back then weren't allowed to be very tall, something we discovered firsthand after repeatedly bumping our heads squeezing through the ship's tight hallways.

The tour was self-guided, following a green line painted on the floor throughout the ship. Good thing it was there, too — more than once we genuinely had no idea what level or section of the ship we were on. But we found our way off the ship, out of Camden, and across the Ben Franklin Bridge into downtown Philadelphia.

Our hotel was right next to the Convention Center. After a quick check-in, we hopped the subway down toward the stadium area for — naturally — an authentic Philly cheesesteak. Checked off the list, and it ranks high. They take their cheesesteaks seriously here, and it did not disappoint.

From there we walked over to Citizens Bank Park for the game — MLB Sunday Night Baseball, Phillies vs. Yankees, another packed house. We had seats out in left field again, and this time came a little closer to snagging a ball, since the left fielders tossed a few into the crowd between innings. Close, but no cigar.

Game highlights: Bryson Stott homered, doubled, and drove in five runs. NL All-Star starter Cristopher Sánchez pitched six strong innings. Alec Bohm added a three-run double as the Phillies avoided a three-game sweep with an 11-4 win over the Yankees. Ben Rice homered and doubled for New York.

Citizens Bank Park review: A really clean, well-designed stadium with wide walkways and plenty of patio and gathering space in the outfield. Food was solid — I had a hot dog, and Lukas went with the Schwarbomb Sundae: soft serve topped with Fruity Pebbles and a deep-fried Uncrustable. Not exactly doctor-recommended, but pretty tasty. The crowd was mixed, with no shortage of Yankees jerseys in the stands. The scoreboard situation was a bit of a letdown — the massive main video board was directly behind us, so the only screen we could actually see without turning all the way around was a smaller one in the right-field corner. Getting to and from the park, though, was a breeze: straight through the parking lot to the subway station, an express train (a lucky guess that paid off), and four stops later we were back at the hotel.

Steps taken: 11,433

Tomorrow's an open day to explore Philly before continuing south to Washington, D.C.