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| Human + Nature Week One: Friday: Rich: We’ll it all started Friday at 5:30 AM. We had a video shoot across town and we needed to get us and a lot of gear (big cases and all) there. So we booked a wagon from a PhillyCarShare pod 4 blocks away. It was really funny when the valet at the hotel we we’re filming in recognized the PhillyCarShare and asked us for our fob… Wow he knew what a fob was! Not only did we fit all of our gear in the car, but we brought our shopping bags and grocery list and managed to squeeze in a few bags of groceries as well. Les: Okay, so then it was time for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants – Pura Vida in Northern Liberties. Now this was a little tricky because it definitely takes two forms of transportation to get there. I wanted to take the trolley because it looks really cool and retro… Rich: Yeah, but I didn’t want to wait late at night on Girard Ave. Les: So we compromised and got a PhillyCarShare that happened to still be available. Saturday: Rich: We had a fun job helping students from MYX (Multicultural Youth Exchange) that were doing an art workshop on Armenia. The location was right near our house – the Iroquois statue across from the Art Museum. So, it was great to be able to walk to work… Les: Well, it would have been more fun if there were more people outside, but the weather wasn’t that great. The kids got cold and I walked home to get clothing to outfit everyone. The good part is that I was burning calories. In the evening, my girlfriend was visiting and we all met at a local bar that was also walkable. More calories burned and I even skipped the beer. Rich: I didn’t skip the beer! Sunday: Rich: Well I stayed home to do editing today… so that was easy. Les: I had to visit my parents in the burbs… and that was only tricky because I had not reserved a car in advance. This time I had to get the Honda Civic near Girard College. I had never driven that car before and it was kind of cool because it has these way ergonomic seats… The steering is tight and it was fun cruising on all the winding back roads with the windows down…
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Week Two: Monday Rich: We took a bus to a client meeting in the morning. Then we hopped the subway to Old City to drop off some materials to another client. Then we got daring and took a bus to Northern Liberties to our fave restaurant, Honey’s, for lunch. Leslie: Then, the cool part is that we finally got to ride the cool retro 15 Trolley home. It was cool to finally see what the inside of it looked like. Later I got the PhillyCarShare to get to guitar class. After that we had to get to a shoot fast at the Inquirer… so I took the PhillyCarShare straight there… Rich: And I took the bus to meet her. We split the equipment up and it worked out pretty well. Leslie: Later that night I had a family emergency. I panicked and wondered whether I should use our car, but then I thought what if I didn’t own a car? I decided to book a PhillyCarShare to test non-planned events. Turns out the Mazda was available and I made it pretty swiftly to the hospital, which was over an hour away. Leslie: I ended up sleeping over at the hospital and I had Rich extend my PhillyCarShare. Luckily things worked out okay and me and the car got returned home. Rich: Since Leslie was away, I kept editing. Go, team… Leslie: Then we both hopped a bus to get to City Hall to tape the Mayor. Rich: We packed just a few lights, a camera and tripod. We call that the “Septa Package”. Rich: We were forced to get a PhillyCarShare today because one of our clients needed their videos in a hurry. I didn’t feel comfortable biking in rush hour on the Parkway… Leslie: I’m not sure I would let him even if he was comfortable J Rich: We really put Septa to work today. We started out taking the bus together. Then we split up. I took another bus to get to Northern Liberties to get some dubs done. Leslie: I continued on my bus to the Convention Center where our client was setting up for a gala. This was a big day because this was the test run for the videos we had been working on for months. I had the DVD copies. Rich: Things went well at the run through of the show, so we finally took a bus home and crashed big time. Leslie: And we thought we deserved a nice dinner out, so we got the Mini-Cooper Convertible PhillyCarShare and headed to Pura Vida in Northern Liberties…and then we did a little bit of clothing shopping for tomorrow’s gala.
Rich: This is the big day we have been waiting for, but of course we wouldn’t just have a gala. We had to do a video conference first in University City. It happened to be raining… Leslie: We first checked for a PhillyCarShare, but it didn’t seem convenient since we had to then go straight to the gala at the Convention Center, so we took public transportation. Rich: It ended up being a bus and a trolley and they were both on time. Leslie: As a woman, the tricky part is how to look nice wearing good clothing for a gala, while sloshing in puddles underground. Luckily I’m one of those women that likes wearing boots with dresses. Actually in general, it is tough to pull off walking shoes when you are visiting clients. (I’m not a big heel wearer either, but you do have to have something rather nice when meeting clients.) Since you don’t work there, it is awkward to be changing shoes in a lobby. So, in the future I may be scouting out nice hotel bathrooms or something. What are other women doing about this? Anyway, the gala was a hit, so it was a happy ending.
Saturday/Sunday Rich: Okay, I have to admit right now that I really like the Mini Convertible, so we took that PhillyCarShare for the weekend in order to visit our mom’s out in the burbs. The weather wasn’t perfect, but we had fun adjusting the convertible top since it can be a sunroof as well. Leslie: The funny part is some guy drove by in another Mini-Cooper and gave a wave like we were part of his club. It is definitely a fun little car and Mother’s Day was a success for all.
Week Three: Monday Rich: We were slammed with three big projects that had prevented us from going to our gym, but now they are over so we have to get with the program. Leslie: Yeah, we decided we better go before we lose all of our muscle tone, the only problem is that the less expensive gyms are on the edge of the city – like LA Fitness on City Line Ave. Rich: We looked into Septa, but it would take too long to get there, so we decided to use PhillyCarShare. Leslie: Later in the day I had my guitar lesson at School of Rock. Unfortunately it was raining really hard and I was worried about my Daisy Rock getting damp. So, I opted for PhillyCarShare again. Luckily there was one available. I also took the opportunity to pick up some groceries on the way home… Rich: We were off to our gym again today to lift weights, so we used PhillyCarShare. Leslie: The rest of the day was spent billing clients, so that kept us home. Leslie: Today we had to do a site survey of WHYY’s stage area for an upcoming forum we were scheduled to tape. Rich: We took the 48 Bus into town to get the work done, and then we did some shopping for our niece and nephew over at the Please Touch Museum and Franklin Institute. Leslie: Yeah, and we got a nice piece of cheesecake over at Darling’s Café. And that was right in line with taking the 48 Bus home again. Rich: It also happened to be our good friend’s birthday… so we decided to meet he and his wife at Standard Tap in Northern Liberties. We knew it would be a late night, so we got PhillyCarShare. Leslie: We might as well admit that we are also pretty hooked on that Mini Convertible. It’s swanky. Rich: We had to rent some gear for an upcoming shoot, so I had to take the PhillyCarShare Honda Element out to King of Prussia. Leslie: The car we own is a Honda Element and I think Rich was secretly jonesing for a ride since he misses our car… Leslie: Today was our big shoot at WHYY. We were a little worried because we had a ton of gear and the PhillyCarShare Honda Element wasn’t available. Rich had to get the station wagon, and we weren’t sure that three people and gear would fit. Rich: Luckily the guy we hired for the second camera happens to be a good friend. He offered to have us all car pool in his van. So, we didn’t need the PhillyCarShare after all.
Saturday Leslie: I’ve been visiting my mom more this month because she has been going through a lot of health issues with my father. So, I drove out in the PhillyCarShare Mini-Convertible. She used to have a convertible when she was young, so it was a good choice. Rich: I took a bike ride in the afternoon just because it was a great day. Then, in the evening, we met our friends for dinner again. We went to Pura Vida, and this time Leslie talked me into taking the #15 Trolley. Leslie: It isn’t the fastest, but I do think it has cool windows… Rich: We were slackers today. Leslie: Yes, I admit to some napping… Rich: We also remembered that it was the last day to see the Frida exhibit at the Art Museum. So, we booked tickets and walked over. Leslie: The exhibit was great, but we couldn’t get tickets until 5:00 PM. That meant it was going to be difficult to get to my 7:00 PM meditation sitting in the Rittenhouse area. So, I brought all of my stuff with me and hopped a bus on Pennsylvania Ave. I arrived just in time…
Week Four: Monday Rich: Today my mom was celebrating her birthday with some friends, so we had to get a PhillyCarShare to travel out to the burbs. Leslie: Good Italian food and funny conversation – it was definitely a late night. Tuesday Rich: I took the subway to a job only to find out the client had given the wrong address. So, once they hooked me up with the correct address, I was able to take a subway and bus to the new location. Leslie: I had a quiet day at home editing… Wednesday Leslie: This was a day I wasn’t looking forward to… the day to take the dog to the vet. We made an appointment for the morning, but I gave our dog his medication too late, and I knew it would screw up the testing. So, we had to book a later appointment for the same day. So, rather than waste the first PhillyCarShare appointment, we went grocery shopping. Rich: We were worried because our dog does not like to be crated and normally wears a special seatbelt harness. However, using PhillyCarShare you must crate the dog. Leslie: It turns out that we got the PhillyCarShare Element and the crate fit nicely…and our dog, Lucci, ended up only whining the same amount that he normally does. Thursday Leslie: We had a conference today at the Convention Center, so we were able to hop a bus. Then we decided to have lunch at Kingdom of Vegetarians in Chinatown… Rich: They have the best scallion pancakes. Anyway, it started to rain, and we had to pick up some DVD dubs in Old City, so we took the subway instead of walking. Then we took the subway back to Broad St. to drop off the DVD’s to the client. Friday Leslie: Since we had the Chinese food yesterday, we definitely got the PhillyCarShare to go to our gym today. Afterwards, I had to take a bus to center city to meet a friend for lunch. Rich: And later I met Leslie downtown for another appointment with someone at Univ. of the Arts. Leslie: Then in the evening our friend wanted to meet up for dinner...and we offered to pick her up. Rich: We got the Mini Convertible, which is fun, and we took our friend to our fave restaurant -- Honey’s. Leslie: I don’t know why we just don’t cut a video about Honey’s because we love it so much we should just help them advertise already! Rich: This was a sad day because my godfather passed away. The funeral was held way out in Malvern area… so we had to get the PhillyCarShare. Leslie: I think the red Mini-Convertible was a little too festive for the occasion, although we did get some compliments on the car. Sunday Rich: It was a great day, so we decided to bike along West River Drive. Leslie: This was my first time biking on that side of the river and it was so cool to have the road shut down just for bikers, skaters and joggers. Later in the evening I took a bus to my meditation group in the Rittenhouse area. Rich: And finally in the evening we decided that we wanted to get a PhillyCarShare for the next day because one of our friend’s was going to have his family honored in a Memorial Day Parade in Madison, NJ. Leslie: But we had to go to Old City to pick it up tonight because the buses wouldn’t run early enough the next morning to allow us enough driving time to get to the parade. Rich: Yes, but really you don’t get to hear about the parade until our final journal…
Week Five: Monday Rich: Okay, so now we can mention going to New Jersey for the Memorial Day Parade. Our friend, Tom Ryan, had his entire family honored during Memorial Day because of their military service. We decided to make the trip to capture this moment on video for the family. So, we got the BMW in Old City. Leslie: Rich wanted a comfortable car, but I thought it looked a little sneaky. You know, it's black and very male looking. Kind of like a pimped out vehicle. Rich: Yeah, but it was comfortable. The seats are really cushy... Leslie: Anyway, the parade was really cool and it was great to see a special float with photos of Tom's family members that had served in the military. Rich: And all the people that were honored got to ride in cool antique cars... it was a fun day. I think that's the first time we ever did a Memorial Day type of activity on Memorial Day... Tuesday Leslie: Well, we were supposed to get up early to go to the gym, but it ended up that we were beat from driving yesterday, so I guess we kind of made a wreck of that PhillyCarShare reservation. Rich: Yeah, we were slackers for sure. We made up for it with a bike ride on Kelly Drive though. I think we clocked in about 10 miles. Leslie: Later in the afternoon we took the 48 Bus into the city to do some errands. We dropped off some DVD's to a client, picked up a toy for my niece's birthday and ran to the bank. Rich: It was getting late after we had lunch, so we split up and I took the subway to my friend's place to pick up a backdrop that we would need for a photo shoot tomorrow. Things worked out pretty well. Leslie: I know we also got the Prius PhillyCarShare for the evening just for an hour. I think that was probably a grocery run at Whole Foods. Rich: Yeah, we always need food... Wednesday Rich: Today was a photo shoot for one of our clients. We got the Honda Element from PhillyCarShare because we knew we would need to take a bunch of gear with us. Leslie: This is such a great car because it allows for so many configurations of the seats. If you can't get your gear in this baby then you have some serious stuff... Thursday Leslie: There is only one thing of importance that happened today --- LOST (final episode for season). Rich: Moving the island -- now that's a pretty interesting solution... Friday Rich: We were just catching up on work today around the house. Leslie: But we did manage to get together with our friends to have dinner at a cool South American restaurant in Northeast Philly. Rich: It was kind of a last minute plan, so no PhillyCarShare vehicles were available close by. But, we got our friends to pick us up. Their car is not very fuel efficient, but at least we had four people in it. Leslie: And the food was awesome. Tierra Columbiana -- check it out! They serve plantains the way Ireland serves potatoes. So many styles to choose from and they are all delicious. Saturday Leslie: I got the Mini from PhillyCarShare to visit my mom in the burbs. I had to take a 48 bus to pick up the car, but it really didn't take that long. I tried to visit my brother as well (about 20 min. away from my mom's house), but he wasn't home. I was just thinking of the gas that probably got wasted, but at least I was using a fuel efficient car. Rich: Wow, this was our last PhillyCarShare challenge day. We certainly have used a lot of different Septa routes and managed to keep our business afloat using the PhillyCarShares. Leslie - I actually like taking the 15 Trolley to Northern Liberties and I think that is going to be a new habit for us. I'm also curious to see how much we use public to see if it will be worthwhile getting Septa passes instead of tokens. Leslie: This has been an awesome experiment for us. And I think that even though Philly isn't known for the best public transportation, it can still get you around. Also, PhillyCarShare definitely has a lot more pods now and is quite convenient to use. Rich: I think the tough part of the equation is figuring out whether it is worthwhile to give up our car and go completely PhillyCarShare. It seems like we have a lot of parent visiting on the weekends... probably because of the age range of our parents. So, it will be interesting to crunch the numbers to see. Leslie: The cool thing is that we at least were given the opportunity to give up our car and do the experiment. In fact, it might be cool if PhillyCarShare continues to offer the challenge of say, one month, to people considering this as an option. Instead of making it a contest, they could offer discounted rates for just one month. Rich: They probably couldn't give out free Septa passes, but at least people would be able to give things a try for a month to see which is more affordable for them. I think for most people the PhillyCarShare option is best. Leslie: Definitely. And PhillyCarShare also has fun events... PhillyCarShare rocks! Rich - Wait until we get bike shares and umbrella shares. And there's already a tool library in West Philly. More sharing and less consumerism is a good thing.
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