Saturday, March 7th, 2026

We had a great time last week. It’s been so long since Tammy and I have been able to get away for an entire week without Sean or other family members, we couldn’t even remember the last time it happened. I had technical training with 300 of my coworkers in Philly so I wasn’t entirely without responsibilities. Still, it was a privilege to get flown out, put up in a nice hotel, fed, and educated. What made it extra special was that Tammy wanted to come with me.

Check-in Monday night was next to the bar and the bar overflowed with fifty of my colleagues- all of whom I’d never met in person. I work for a technology company, 100% from home. I was hired over Zoom and didn’t meet my boss off screen until my 4th year. I’ve seen many colleagues on video calls but haven’t given any of them a fist bump, handshake, hug, or any other personal greeting. Tammy and I were tired and hungry so even though I had a chance to meet them, we went upstairs and dropped our luggage.

On the way out, we snuck by Bryan, my best friend at the company, while he took a selfie with another colleague. Tammy and I walked through the chilly Philly streets at 10 pm, past dirty piles of snow and some sketchy characters. Google guided us to Mona’s. A young couple with a baby walked out and we slipped in behind them. The staff looked at us funny and said they were closed. Google said Mona’s was open until 2am. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet! We found Miss Saigon which was still open and ate there. Tammy ordered the mini Saigon crepe ‘tacos’ and I got the crab fried rice. Got back about 11pm Eastern and hit the sack by midnight.

Tuesday, I staggered out of bed at 330am Pacific and did some stretching. I left a note and a little gift for Tammy. I also left her a bottle of hand sanitizer, pepper spray, and umbrella so she could be safe and dry exploring the sites of Philly. (She ended up safely climbing the Rocky steps while I was in class.) Took the stairs down and a brisk walk around the block woke me up. I got in line to register and my colleague Shannon found me.

We hit the buffet breakfast and sat down with Bryan. Dave and Josh trickled in and we had training all day. My coworkers invited Tammy to join us for dinner but she was too stuffed from grazing all day at the famous Reading Terminal Market across the street. While I was in class, she tried 3 different sandwiches! For her dinner, she could choose from a smorgasbord of her leftovers:

some BLT sandwich from Luhv Vegan deli,

or polish off the Reuben sandwich from Hershel’s East Side deli,

or maybe have part of the Italian pork sandwich from DiNic’s. Good thing we had a fridge in our hotel room! I raided her stash and stole some bites.

Besides the sandwiches, Tammy had already eaten:
-half of a soft butter-dipped pretzel from Miller’s Twist (lost its magic; cold by the time I got to it),

-half of a banana pudding at Sweet Nina’s (decent, not as awesome as my friend Gene made it sound),

-a bite of the apple dumpling from Dutch Eating Place (fruity goodness!), and
-and a smoothie from Kamal’s for lunch (I was ok to miss it).

She said she needed to hit our fancy hotel gym for a workout.

After my raid, I went to dinner at Mona’s with my team. We started with the hummus sampler, spanakopita, and Greek fries. Since I nibbled Tammy’s food and the Mona’s apps, I didn’t feel like any of the mains. I chose the grilled octopus app and Gyro dumplings. Dave got the lamb shank, Bryan the NY strip, and Shannon got the branzino. Bryan picked up the tab. Yay, Bryan! We all enjoyed our meal.

Wednesday, I was dragging. I brought the other half of Tammy’s Reuben downstairs for breakfast. I asked the staff if they had a microwave; they said no, not for the guests. It was still good cold with some fruit and breakfast potatoes from the breakfast buffet. One of my colleagues, a guy I never met before, watched me eat. He didn’t know where I got the pastrami because he didn’t see it on the buffet. I told him my wife got it from Reading. He said when he saw me eating, he thought, “That guy knows how to eat breakfast!” I chuckled. Yup, I know how to eat. I went to class, then took a nap after lunch and another nap after my last class.

My team went to grab Philly cheesesteaks for dinner at Shay’s Steaks. We invited Tammy again to join but she wanted to rest a bit after walking all around Philly. They teased me and said I was keeping her to myself. When I told them she hit the Philly annual flower show (held at the convention center near us),

the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Magic Gardens, and Betsy Ross’ house, they let me off the hook. Shay’s cheesesteak was pretty good! I only ate half- with truffle fries and a ginger ale.

We stopped by a deli on the way home and Dave bought a homeless woman outside a sandwich. An elderly lady saw him and asked for a cup of coffee. Dave declined. Josh said he would get it. Then she asked Bryan and I for cash. We both declined and she told us there was an ATM inside. Bold move! (Sorry, still no.) As we headed back, I gave a guy sitting outside the rest of my sandwich. Shannon felt guilty and said she was the only one who hadn’t done a good deed. We all protested and said she was doing just fine.

I got back to the hotel and picked up Tammy for our Thai dinner date at Kalaya. Yes, a second dinner for me! Tammy had Kalaya on our must-try list and was excited they had reservations available at 8 pm. The coconut turmeric rice topped with caramelized fresh coconut appetizer was perfect for our first course.

Our yellow curry with chicken was a bit too strong but the kalum tod nam pla (simple smoked cabbage with fish sauce and palm sugar) was the best cabbage dish of my life. Delicately seasoned, a touch of oil, and the stems had a slight crunch that perfectly balanced the tender and chewy leaves. Amazing how a cabbage dish could be so good!

The huge river prawn dish reminded me of the seven-inch butterflied tiger prawn tempura my grandma used to make. Tasty giant shrimp!

Since we didn’t finish our curry, the waiter guessed we wouldn’t want dessert. Wrong! We ordered their version of shave ice and it was phenomenal. Subtle coconut cream and two light fruit syrups (raspberry and maybe pineapple?) drizzled over fluffy snow. The tapioca pudding buried in the middle was a little too heavy for me. I just pushed it aside and ate everything else. I would go back just for their shave ice!

I felt like I finally turned the corner on Thursday. Woke up and made it through the half-day training. We checked out and Shannon joined Tammy and me for a journey through the Reading Terminal Market. Tammy was our guide upon entrance as she had been there twice already that week. We feasted, picking up items here and there. Shannon got a hot pretzel from Miller’s Twist. I was tempted to ask for a bite but we are still getting to know each other so I kept quiet. Tammy got another smoothie from Kamal’s and I got a samosa for me. Then Tammy ordered matzo ball soup from Hershel’s and while she was waiting, Shannon followed me as I picked a bowl of shrimp and crawfish etoufe over jambalaya at Careda’s Caribbean Cuisine and a chocolate donut at Beiler’s. Tammy tried Central American street food empanadas from El Merkury and we finished with some bites of Greek food at Olympia Gyro. We couldn’t leave without getting some treats packaged to go from Termini Brothers Bakery, coffee from Market Bakery, cookies from Famous 4th Street Cookie Company, and a personal size sweet potato pie from Sweet T’s Bakery. Tammy wanted to get another sandwich from Luhv Vegan Deli for the train ride, but we ran out of time. I called for a Lyft to the train station.

We took Amtrak to Virginia (an entertaining adventure for another post), where we met my Auntie Linda. We saw her as we approached the station, just sitting on a bench, no jacket or sweater. We worried she would be cold. Nope, Virginia is much warmer than Philly! We dragged our luggage out into a wonderful balmy evening. She took us to to The Boathouse, a steak and seafood spot in Midlothian. Shrimp with grits for me, fish and chips for Auntie Linda, and a hearty beet salad for Tammy. I was still on an expense account so Auntie Linda let me pay. She was delighted with the treats we had brought from Reading Terminal Market and said we would “party” together the three days we were in Virginia visiting.

Friday, we puttered around Midlothian and ate at an Italian place for lunch. I slipped the waiter my credit card and when Auntie Linda found out, she was cross and insisted we allow her to pay for dinner  at The Bonefish Grill.

It was Tammy’s kind of vacation, lots of exploring in museums and siteseeing, great food, time together, and learning about Satsuma pottery from Auntie Linda (a former potter) who has a huge personal collection of Satsumas.