National Museum of Jewish American History, and lots of beers

Despite having a few Jewish friends, I don't know too much about Jewish American history, and Philly opened a whole museum on it a few years ago, so it seemed like it was time to learn more.  I love to learn, so this seemed like a logical tiny adventure for me.  I wouldn't say I exactly have a brain for history facts, and though I've spent considerable time over the years learning history in school, I've spent much less time forgetting just about all of it.  So I'll probably remember very little of what I learned during my visit.. but here goes...

To begin with, here's a lovely photo of the PATCO parking lot in Collingswood:

"Why?" you may ask... because lonely people at the train station play with their phones.  YES that's right, I TOOK THE TRAIN ALONE!  Okay, people have been doing that forever, but I was still proud of myself, especially since at the bridge portion of the train ride, I usually begin thinking about trains falling off bridges.  But, I didn't this time, and I made it all the way to Philly by myself!  GO ME!

When Ali, Bob and I arrived at the National Museum of Jewish American History, they were having a "Pay what you want" type deal, which may or may not be a regular thing on Saturdays.  They did, however, leave the admission price up on the board over top of where you pay your admission.  Interestingly, two out of 3 of us paid the regular admission price.  Interesting marketing idea to leave up the amount so that many people (if not, most!) will feel guilty about paying anything less than the full price.

The top floor was an exhibit on Ezra Jack Keats.  I'll admit that I forgot what his name was, but a google search of "jewish black children's books" yielded his name for me.  It was quite memorable that this Jewish man chose to portray the issues that black children face.  It shows some solidarity among groups that have been discriminated against.  His illustrations were so interesting, and I highly recommend checking out his work.  They had original storyboards, that shows sketchings and 3D effects for the pages.  Very cool stuff.

While I tried to look overly scholarly since I was with intelligent peers, I did find the museum to be very wordy.  I'm sharing a few pictures from my favorite parts below:

Bob in the "Oregon Trail" type room

Original Levi Strauss jeans, looking amazingly like modern jeans!

                                                Some kind of Gala representation                            

                                This book page is shaped like a  butt.... but is it really a chair?

                                                           Oh look, a doghouse!

As you can see from the photos above, I am not as cultured as I once thought before this experience.  I did, in fact, enjoy anything that was for children in the place.  Oh well, I tried.

A few interesting things that I did learn (and retain!):

1. Levi Strauss was Jewish (see jeans above).  I also thought he was a refugee, but apparently, that was another Levi Strauss (Claude) so yeah, I should have read a little more at the museum... haha.
2. Jewish families moved to the suburbs, just like other families.  See doghouse above.
3. Summer camps were also apparently very popular among Jewish Americans.
4. Hollywood was virtually DOMINATED by Jewish Americans back in the day.  MGM and Columbia for instance were controlled by Jewish Americans.
5. Irving Berlin, Jewish American, wrote "White Christmas," one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time!
6. Even though we think of Europe as the place where Jewish Americans emigrated from, there are many other areas.  Many of the immigrants talked about in the exhibits had Spanish sounding names.

Lots of interesting things to learn if you go to check it out!

After this very cultural event, we went to Bloktoberfest on South Street, which was my first beer festival!  I wasn't feeling that well, so I only tasted a few things, but I loved the Cider that I tried, by Original Sin Cider.  I also tried several beers which I didn't really like, but since I have a tendency to NOT enjoy fancy beers, I'll refrain from smearing their names here....

                         Me and Bob and Ali enjoying some beer after a very cultural day.

We also ran into a few friends there, which just goes to show that our crew is more likely to be found where the beer is, than where the culture is!

After enjoying Bloktoberfest, we also went to the Boot and Saddle, which is my new favorite city bar!  It's a somewhat country, somewhat hipster bar, which is decorated pretty country, so I felt right at home.  They also have a room for live shows, which I know I'll be visiting again.  Here's a few photos:

                            Third wheelin' it.  Quite possibly, my theme for this year....

                                      John joined us for this portion of the evening.

My only regret is that I did not wear my cowboy boots for this outing, to show how truly country I am.  At least compared to the hipsters!

After a super eventful day, I was back home and in my pajamas by about 11 pm.  I am almost 30, after all.

Next up.... a whale watch... did we see a whale?  STAY TUNED!