Dadvail Regatta 2007

Dad Vail is the largest collegiate regatta in the country, bringing thousands of rowers from over 100 college and universities to the banks of the Schuylkill River. And for me, it's like the first robin of Spring: Finally the weather gets nice again, and I can emerge from my winter shell and head out across the city with my camera, take photos, and make new friends. This year was no exception. It was really inspiring, too. Actually made me want to go down into the basement and row on my Concept2. Of course, by the time I got home, the feeling had passed. :)

As my friend would say, "My, there certainly are a lot of white people out today." And it's true. The crowd at Dad Vail was easily 99% white, with a few Asian rowers visible, and almost nobody black or latino. It's rather striking when you're used to the much more racially mixed Center City and West Philadelphia. It's a little surprising when you think about it. There are plenty of cities with rivers and large non-white populations (Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington DC, etc.), so I'm not sure why rowing has remained such a racially homogeneous sport.

There was a huge crowd at the regatta, and there was a lot of energy. Lots of shouting spectators and fans near the finish line, and then each college had an area devoted to it, where they kept the boats, and the teams and their coaches and families hung out and ate their picnic lunches.

People raced and people rowed:

People carried boats (which admittedly wasn't very exciting, but it did make for some good photographs. I particularly like the symmetricality of when the team lifts the boats straight over their heads, as in the 2nd and rd photos below. Here are some of my faves:

And people rested. Who can blame them? Hell, I was tired just from WATCHING all that rowing.

There was a parking lot-turned-vendor area, where there were free samples galore, t-shirts, cheese steaks, rowing-related art for sale, Verizon (for some strange reason), and yes, even the Peeps-mobile was there:

One woman brought her 2-month-old chihuahua, which was absolutely adorable. People kept swarming around her to get a look at the cute little dog.

But people were doing more than just rowing (and resting from it) on this beautiful day. They were riding bikes, walking their dogs, spending time with their children, and... engaging in... some sort of... sword play...for some reason:

We also ran into Kyle Looker, who was walking with some friends along the bike path on Kelly Drive when all of a sudden he leapt from the path to the rock face and started climbing. Once he got to the top, he needed a little help from below to find a good place to come back down. Kyle and his friends, who graciously posed for a photo, were rowers from California who made it as far as the semi-finals, but now that they had some free time while the finals were being decided, they went for a walk.

And that's it for Dad Vail for this year. I'm sure we'll be covering other events on the Schuylkill later in the summer.

Taiko Drummers

I was walking home from work tonight and noticed some movement behind Houston Hall at Penn, so I checked it out. It turned out to be a dance and Taiko drum group from Tamagawa University in Tokyo, practicing for a performance later on in the evening. They were fantastic, so I stayed around for about an hour taking photos. I really wanted to stay and watch the actual performance, but it was pretty cold and my fingers were getting numb. In retrospect, I realized that it would have been too dark for me to take pictures at the performance anyway, so I'm glad I took these photos when I had the chance.

Sitar Players on College Green

I ran into these guys on College Green today, over near Logan Hall. You don't see sitars too often in Philadelphia. Especially groups of people playing them. So I took a few photos. I think there's a class at Penn where you learn how to play. I always wanted to take it, but I never did because apparently you have to give a concert at the end of the semester and I hate public stuff like that.

Mummers Parade (a little bit late)

Happy Late New Year! I had completely forgotten that the Mummers Parade was today, but then I thankfully ran into a guy with a banjo and a funny costume on Walnut Street and instantly ran toward Broad Street, camera at the ready. The parade got rained out on New Year's Day, which turned out to be a good thing, because we couldn't have had nicer weather today. I often just skip the Mummer's parade because it's too fracking cold, but today I stayed for hours. I slowly made my way down Broad Street from Walnut all the way down to Oregon, just as it finally got too dark to keep taking photos. Everyone was so friendly--from the spectators to the Mummers themselves. My only complaint is the same one I always have about parades in Philadelphia--there's way too much time between groups. One group comes through, you clap and cheer, and then you sit and wait for the next group to come by. Even so, I have to say, it was still probably the most fun I had all winter long.

How the heck do you pee in one of those costumes??:

My favorite photo I took all day:

Even the parking meters get into the act:

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, The King:

That guy was just amazing--my favorite costume by far. I would have stood there all day and taken photos of him if he would've let me.

Philly Tea Shops

There are (at least) three tea shops in the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia: Steep, Great Tea International, and Remedy. All 3 places sell tea by the ounce as well as by the cup. And none of them sell coffee.

Great Tea International is a taiwanese-style tea house on the "lower level" of Sansom Street, so you take a flight of steps down to get there. The inside is very... serene. Very...zen, perhaps. It's fairly dark inside--as there's very little natural light, with gentle music and the sound of water trickling from a small indoor fountain. There were two tables of customers, and each table was having a conversation, but it's the kind of place where if you talk too loudly, you feel like you're disturbing the peace. It seats around 15 people comfortably. In addition to tea, they sell pots and mugs, etc., plus cookies, sandwiches, and steamed buns (both sweet and savory).

Remedy is the "hippest" of the 3, I'd say. They've been around for about a year, according to the young woman I spoke with. It has the most steating (it could comfortably fit 34 people, including the sofas and the seats at the counter. All of the tables are for two, and there are 5 tables in the window.) The crowd is younger, mostly college-aged students, fairly mixed racially. People were doing everything from working alone on their laptops, studying for class, and having conversations with a friend. It's not a quiet place, but not as loud as some cafes I've been to. Fiona Apple's "Criminal" was playing as I walked into the shop. The large window along Sansom Street ensures a bright interior, muted a bit by the dark wood of the tables and floors. There's plenty of electric lighting too, including a gaudy, fluorescent orange chandelier in the middle of the room, for when it gets dark outside. When I got my cup of darjeeling, it came in a tall cup that I thought was glass, but when I went to pick it up it was surprisingly cool to the touch. The woman at the counter explained that it was double-walled plastic so you can pick it up without fear of getting burned. They also have free wi-fi with an excellent signal, so I didn't have to use my Treo to connect to the web in order to write this or upload the photos. There's a ceramic container with a lid on each table where you can put your teabags when they're finished steeping. The also sell cookies, sandwiches, and that sort of light-fare. Of the three places, it was the only one i really wanted to sit down in, so I decided to stay and work on this article.

Steap seems focussed on selling loose tea by the ounce, plus teapots, mugs, and other tea-related paraphernalia, although you can still buy tea by the cup. It's more of a tea boutique than a tea house. There's not much seating, and the two tables in the window are actually covered with tea pots and cups for sale, so you can't sit there. As a result, it's more the kind of place where you go, buy, and leave, rather than hang out. That's not a criticism; it's just a description. In fact, its proximity to Rittenhouse Square makes it the perfect place to get a cup-to-go while you sit on a park bench on a cool autumn day. The owner is very knowledgeable and friendly, and eager to help you find something you'll like. She's clearly focussed on service, and she sells a very large variety of high-quality teas.

All three are comparably priced for a cup of tea (in the $2.50 range. If that sounds expensive, it really isn't, esp when you consider what people pay all the time for a coffee or latte at Starbucks and its ilk.) I highly recommend all three. They simply have three very different personalities (personali-teas? sorry.)

Remedy Tea
1628 Sansom Street
Monday thru Friday: 7:30am - 7pm
Saturday: 9am - 8pm
http://www.remedytea.com/

Great Tea International
1724 Sansom Street
Monday - Saturday, 11am - 6:30pm
http://www.great-tea.net

Steap
111 South 18th Street
Monday - Friday, 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Saturday, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sunday, closed
http://www.wayneteasalon.com/


(note: for the purposes of this article, I only looked at places that sold tea by the cup, so it doesn't include places like the House of Tea, which is the best place in Philly to buy loose tea, and I didn't include anywhere that also sold coffee. Too often, places that sell coffee become overrun by coffee lovers, and tea becomes secondary. If you know of another great tea house in Philly, let me know!)