Friday, September 25: Security is Set Up for the Pope

Good morning here from South Philly I just got up and fed the dogs now I'm eating some cereal. I

got a good nights rest and I'm going to chill little bit and take care of the cats. After all that, I plan to return back to Fairmount

Bella

and document the security that envelops Philadelphia. Yes, I am in South Philly about a mile from the

Breakfast

Broad Street line. That will be my link to the inside world of Philadelphia on the first day of the Papal

Facebook Humor

weekend.  The clampdown as I'd like to call it, has begun. The Photo of the cop from National Lampoon's Vacation says it all. I just cracked up when my friend Peter sent me this photo, I of

This is NOT Wally World

course sent it on Facebook. I just finished my pet maintenance. I'm about to walk to the Broad Street line  up  Pattison Avenue

I Begin My Trek

which is about six blocks away.

National Guard at AT&T Station

It's now 10:45 AM. It's been approximately 12 hours since they were planning to close streets

Belevue Welcomes the Pope

 and bus routes. I didn't see a bus taking a left a couple blocks in front of
me. The 4 bus is only running up to Washington Avenue

City Hall Security Checkpoint

I didn't took the Broad Street line and it didn't let me off at Walnut-Locust. I am

Near City Hall

 in downtown Philly checking out the security apparatus. It's and it's pretty impressive. They got TSA, border patrol, Philadelphia police, and Secret Service to name the ones I can think of. Oh yes

Secret Service on the Right

they do have the National Guard is well! I'm going to wander

Security Checkpoint

 around more and then grab a cup of

Philadelphia Police

coffee somewhere.Eventually, I will head down to Fairmount. The pope doesn't arrive until 9:30 AM

The Crazies Come Out

tomorrow and have a mass at 4:30 tomorrow near Independence Mall in old city Philadelphia and then Sunday he makes a visit to a prison and

Security Around City Hall

another mass at The Ben Franklin Parkway.

Walking Along the Parkway

They just got the security apparatus set up today. It's a pretty nice walk down the parkway it's a beautiful day here. Well I explored all the checkpoints on the way home. There are quite a few all over. I am not sure but for whatever reason they have an extra security area across the street from

I b=Bought 2 Shirts from Him

Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul

Bishops Collar on Fairmount. I got pretty

Next to the Free Library

tired I think I'm going to rest for little bit after that walking in the sun. After the big news outside the

Water! We Got it!

pope bubble of Philadelphia. House Speaker John Boehner resigned effective October 30. He is not merely leaving his leadership post he is resigning from Congress itself. This is not such great news because

Ticketed Area

They Mean Business

someone more conservative is going to take over probably congressman party. He's more beholden

Security Fencing

to the party faction. This means it's going to be more likely that there's going to be a government shutdown to ban federal funding to Planned

Fairmount Ave

Parenthood. They shut down the government to defund

24th & Fairmount Near My Place

Obamacare several years ago. As I'm writing this blog there's a helicopter that keeps buzzing around.

It's 3pm and Time to Chill

Apparently, It's the Philadelphia police helicopter. Time for some R&R and a  shower. Well I did take a nap for about an hour and a half and then took a shower. Sharon woke up and we got to chat and catch up.

Clouds at My Back Porch

Also had some for delicious coffee. I realized I had to back up my files from my iPhone to my computer. Fortunately

Backed up My Files

this new operating system puts the phone or in date order and it call from a file main makes sense Apple 101, 102, etc.

after I did that, I called Uber and I found out I had to walk to Poplar Street. When I got the 24th and Poplar, there was a military Humvee blocking

Add caption

the road. It was quite a shocking site that's for sure.

The Pope Map

Uber guy took me all the way to 12th and Spring Garden. I had to get off there since the perimeter was

secured atSpring Garden  Street. I then walked the 17 minutes took to get from 12th and Spring Garden to 13th and Sansom. I got to the springboard media

Near the Convention Ctr

with 15 minutes to spare. They took care

A Bus!

of my phone and we had to wait till 830 till the phone was ready to be taken by me. I then ran into Austin

My Friend

and I ended up walking the entire length. I walked from 13th and Sansom to 20th and Pattison it took

At South Philly

about an hour and 20 minutes. Almost 5 miles of walking. I talked to my friend for most of the trip which

Almost There

really helped kill the hours. I got a good tour of South Philly. I then got the Wi-Fi code to the house and

got my programs downloaded. It was quite a day Friday, September 25. Tomorrow is when the pope arrives. Today was just the staging day.

My 4 Mile Walk