Counting the cars on the… turnpike

Thanks for being so patient! Warning: this posting is not funny.

Friday we went back for felafel to the restaurant formerly known as “Mama’s.” That is: last week, it was known as “Mama’s” and this week it was open, serving the same food with the same man at the counter, and now called “Chickpeas.” The felafel still was very good.

We walked to the area of Independence Hall and went into the Liberty Bell’s new home. It actually was very nice with some relevant photos and narrative and the bell was still there (only about one half the size I remember it being.) I’m guessing it was my memory that was faulty since shrinking the bell might have been noticed by others.

We had been told that Constitution Center was worth seeing and it was. The exhibits were engaging and sometimes clever. The building itself was very attractive.

We bought some more food for shabbat and then went back to my sister’s apartment to prepare for shabbat.

In the evening, we went to a little synagogue, about 2 blocks from her house. In the morning, we walked one block farther away and found an old synagogue, Bnai Abraham, that was beautiful. It was a very large building and the synagogue was absolutely charming. It probably could seat about 300 people, maybe more and is freshly renovated and painted tastefully. It most reminded me of the synagogue we had visited in St. Petersburg, Russia or a couple we had seen in Prague. We were told that its builders had been immigrants from Russia. After the service (which was very nice) there was a lovely sit-down kiddush and the people were friendly and welcoming.

After a very restful and pleasant shabbat, we said goodbye to my sister and set off westward. Now we are at a motel just off the Pennsyvania Turnpike at about Harrisburg.