Saturday, November 8, 2008- A Day of Birthdays
Both my dad and my best friend from high school have the same birthday. I always thought it was ironic. This is the second year I’ve been in town for the day and it seems like it’s becoming a ritual.
To celebrate Amber’s birthday, she requested to copy my birthday celebration of a year and a half ago- ice cream for breakfast. The minor difference in circumstances is that it’s a little tougher to go to an ice cream place in November than it is in July.
I was able to convince by brother and my Dad into going, but Devon requested ice cream on waffles. We drove around for a good while looking for a place still open that would serve his request. The Val Rio Diner would have been perfect… It was my favorite diner with the silver face straight out of B-movie. It actually wasn’t the one in the Blob, but it looks like it. The Blob was filmed in the Phoenixville Colonial Theaters though. They have a Blobfest every year to celebrate. The Val was recently closed and bulldozed to make room for a Rite-Aid or something like that… Supposedly they saved the front, but it’s not the same. So we ended up at another diner… a spot known as the G Lodge.
Since I last went to the G Lodge several years ago, it turns out they’ve had a fresh coat of paint and upped their prices because M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening” was filmed there. When the train first empties out into the town of Filbert, the G Lodge is the diner they all end up meeting in. My dad found a video on You Tube of Mark Whalberg hanging out there between takes. I laughed when I saw “The Mark Wahlberger on the menu… it has bacon, onion rings and crumbled bleu cheese on it for $7.95.
So Amber, her daughter Avalon, her niece Savannah and nephew Zachary and my dad, brother and I had breakfast at the G. Lodge together. Yes, Amber and I got ice cream on waffles for breakfast.
See a video on youtube of filming at the G Lodge here…
Cheers to my dad's birthday
mmm... Amber eats her birthday ice cream waffle
Amber's nephew Zachary makes ring marks on his forehead by sucking through the straw.
G Lodge in Phoenixville
My dad, brother and I stopped at the old Steel Mill to check out the work they were doing to it. Phoenixville is a steel town. It was formed around this steel mill. When the mill closed, the town continued but fell into some hard economic times. The Mill fell into very bad shape. However, in the last few years, the County (the richest county in PA… I always called Phoenixville the armpit of it) has taken an interest in it. Lots of money has been poured into renovating the downtown strip and at soul of Phoenixville is the Mill nearby. So, the building was repaired and turned into a flea market. More recently they are renovating again to turn it into a reception hall. It will be a beautiful spot for a wedding. They did build in a historical museum section into the building to talk about the history of the Mill and Phoenixville.
I can’t believe how far Phoenixville has come. Kate and David said a friend of theirs had said Phoenixville was great spot and recommended they visit. That’s a first for me to hear that from anyone. I used to work on the main strip of Phoenixville and across the street was a store with a big sign in the window… “Going out for business.” The “for” was very small so it looked like “Going out of business sale,” except the sale never ended. Now, there several bookstores and coffeeshops, new bars and restaurants and microbrews. A place just opened with $10 martinis where Subway used to be. It’s completely different now.
What the steel mill used to look like...
The Steel Mill now
turning a steel mill into a reception hall
Amber and I went bar hopping later that night and met up with an old friend Phil and his girlfriend Kelly. Phil kicked our asses in darts, although we made him fight for his victory. I was surprised to see so many people downtown and not see more people I know. Maybe I’ve just been gone so long…
Phil and Kelly
Amber the birthday girl
At this point Phil is kicking ass at darts
