blogging is a blast with friends!

“Are we already living in a virtual reality?” Virtual experiences have been around for sometime now, but never did I and so many others realize how important and riveting they are until this pandemic. I took experiences for granted, it’s sad that it took a national lockdown/closures for my realization. Graduations, weddings, family vacations and college tours all being cancelled due to COVID-19, are now taking place virtually! I did not have a virtual graduation or wedding but I did get to experience Disney World.

I have been to Disney more times than I can count, but never did I take a trip through my computer screen. I choose to “ride” all my top choice attractions, such as Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion and the Seven Dwarf Mine train. No complaints for the Haunted Mansion as the main point of the attraction is the fear factor rather than the thrill. Virtually going through the ride felt similar to the IRL experience because you just gaze around at the spooky characters and hear whacky noises. Thrill rides such as Splash Mountain and or the Seven Dwarf Mine Train lacked in quality. I did not feel the same “riding” the attraction due to the lack of movement.

Clearly I won’t go as fast as the ride or feel my stomach jolt into my throat, but maybe a little camera action may have given a nostalgic effect. Rather, I sat through the experience just gazing at the back of people’s heads on the ride or reminiscing upon the dreaded wait times. The scents, background music, characters and the overall spirit of Disney is what makes the experience so magical. I sadly did not get to sense this magic during my virtual trip. Virtual experiences make the best of the situation, but I would not chalk it up to the same as being present in person.

---

• 

Philadelphia has been renowned for Cheesesteaks for a very long time. For many outsiders, a pit stop at a cheesesteak joint makes or breaks their trip. I am originally from Long Island, NY. New Yorkers take our pizza and bagels quite seriously and I now see that the people of Philly take Cheesesteaks to a new level. 

For years I have been coming to Pennsylvania for family trips or softball tournaments. My family is a bunch of foodies, so we make it a point to hit a different cheesesteak place each trip. I have been to countless places, from famous Dalessandros to Sonny’s to Genos and all the little corner shops along the way. There was one place I was missing though, and come to think of it I do not know how I missed out on the royalty. Steve’s Prince of Steaks!  

Founded in 1980 by Steve Iliescu, Steve’s Prince of Steaks is now a go to spot in Philly. With five locations there is no reason not to stop at Steve’s. Attending college in the Philly area all the buzz about food revolved around Steve’s, I had to see for myself what all the hype was about. I was introduced into royalty by my best friend Roxy. We decided to take a trip to Steve’s one crisp autumn Sunday. A group of us piled into Roxy’s car to journey to the location and taste the cheesesteaks for ourselves. The group was a mix of locals and outsiders. Outside of the shop was a quaint neon sign lit up the parking lot, entering you see counter seating and a giant window for orders. Upon arrival everyone was trying to influence me to try the Steak the Philly way. Meaning cheese whiz and steak. Simple and plain but indulgent and delicious. I stuck to my roots and opted for a cheesesteak with provolone, lettuce, raw onions and lots and lots of mayo. The store workers along with my friends scoffed at my order. “You’re not in New York anymore Shannon”, chuckled Roxy. I smirked and awaited my order. The steaks came out quick and piping hot. I took my first bite, immediately I was satisfied. The juices from the steak and the melted cheese went together like a perfect symphony. I tried the steak Roxy and my other friends had ordered the classic steak of course. I enjoyed that single bite more than my NY style steak so from now on I will trust the locals’ opinions.

There’s more to this story than just me eating a cheesesteak, because food is not life. Family and friends should be the center of life. Roxy is Steve Iliescu’s granddaughter. Steve’s Prince of Steaks is a family run business. Each chain has a different overseer all somehow related to Steve himself. Having love and affection put into the food makes the quality and atmosphere ten times better than competitors. The Iliescu family is very hard working and proud of the royal line they have built. Roxy hopes to one day oversee one of the joints and continue on her family’s legacy. I am now inducted through Roxy into the line of royalty, I will never taste a NY style cheesesteak again nor will I ever bite a steak from Geno’s again. Steve’s has impacted my heart and my stomach.

Roxy in her Steve’s gear, ready to go to work !

Famous neon sign outside of each establishment.

To start off, I live on Long Island not in Long Island, this common misunderstanding drives people insane. 118 miles of flat land, surrounded by ocean. Beaches on all sides, and the city that never sleeps only a train ride away. What could be better than that!

---

A swift drive down a long stretch of road, water right up to the edge of the highway, entitled Ocean Parkway. OP as the locals call it, runs between two of the most beautiful state parks on Long Island. Jones Beach has been around since 1929. I am lucky enough to call the beautiful beaches making up Jones, my home.

Ever since I can remember my family would be on that beach day in and day out during the summer time. Living five minutes away allowed us to do so. We would set up our own little zone, spanning out our beach chairs, blankets and tents, in order to take up enough space around us so that non-locals would not disturb our piece of the beach. As a state park, Jones Beach sees all walks of life, many people from all over flock to the island during the summer time to get a glimpse of how us locals live all year round. I am the epitome of a beach bum. Summer days you can find me laying out on the sand during my break from work, oh did I mention that I work at the beach!

Come winter time the chilly temps do not deter the regulars. My friends and I will often get takeout food and drive down to the beach, all to just sit in our heated cars while gazing at the beautiful sunsets that our beach provides. OP is also a place for healing. I will never forget the countless car rides down the parkway, blasting music talking about all our problems.

My best friend Caroline and I knew that road like the back of our hands. We would drive down it almost every week, when one of us needed a therapy session, after a breakup or a bad day at school. Come the end of August 2019 it was time to say goodbye to our favorite place. As a proper send off we took a drive down OP, blasting our favorite tunes and reminiscing about all the memories we had made.

As we circled at the turn around to begin heading back home we began to shed a few tears as we realized our happy place was not going to be five minutes away anymore. I was ready to embark on my new journey, but I forever know that the beach is my home. 

• 

• 

A Philadelphia Story

As a so-called “a Philly native” by my friends, I know a lot of the ins and outs of the city. While most first impressions of Philly are the iconic food or the way people talk, yet for me Philly is home, and when you are in my house we have to get one thing straight if we’re watching football we’re rooting for the eagles.

I will never forget the day I went down to the Eagles parade after they just had won the Super Bowl in 2017. It’s hard to believe it was already 3 years ago, but I still remember like it was yesterday. I was a junior in high school, and because of the traffic the parade was going to produce, we had off of school that day, so like everyone else my friends and I decided to go down to the parade.

We figured the smartest option we would do was take the train down to the center city and walk to a spot along the parade route. Living in Warminster, the train line started right in our town so it was perfect. Another friend of ours pre-bought train tickets because they sold out quickly when news spread to go to the parade.

That Thursday morning, we were all up bright and early, My friends Matt, Keenan, and Jess went with me on this crazy journey. When I said early, I left my house at 4:00 in the morning to get to the first train leaving the station. We got to the station and there was a line that ended about a mile away. So we did not make the first train but we got on the third train and we did not even sit on the train we were standing in the aisle.

Who would have thought something like winning the super bowl would draw in a crowd this chaotic? After what seemed like an eternity we finally got to center city. The first thing we did was stop at my family’s cheesesteak place, Steves Prince of Steaks to grab something to eat. We ate cheesesteaks at 9 AM and as absurd as that sounds that is the only real meal we got to eat all day.

The energy was contagious. People of all ages and all races were all one family that day and everyone you talked to was an instant friend. It almost felt like we were walking in circles before we found a good spot along the parade route. We stood there for hours, dancing and singing and celebrating our win. 

I remember texting my dad that day feeling bad he could not come to the parade, and asking him a bunch of questions about directions and where to go. In a sort reply, all he said was “send pictures and selfies, I can live it through you” with a heart after it. I was proud to be there celebrating in my hometown, for my team! I’m sure my dad did live vicariously through the pictures I sent him that day, and it made him proud that I was out there having fun celebrating a sport he has waited his whole life for this moment.

The day came and went. It was very cold, but my spirit was warmed with the love of Philly pride. This day will be forever engraved in my memory, and I hope that one day, I can relive this day all over again.

A little place I like to call home

There is something about hometowns that always sets one town apart from another. One specific thing that residents alike could relate to. My Hometown is Warminster, Pennsylvania, founded in 1685 located in Bucks County PA. So you could imagine all the small historic trips we took in elementary school. We took almost what seemed like a trip once a month. With its history though we don’t get much traffic with tourists. A key experience that seems a little different then the rest though is our hometown diners. “The West” we like to call it but it’s just called Warminster West which is a very popular spot where everyone can seem to relate too. Both the high school the public and the private ones all have the same plan when it comes to after school events, is to grab a group of your closest friends and head over to the diner. The high school rivalry had its common ground though, Archbishop wood students and William Tennent students alike could all agree on this one spot to go.

Nothing was better than after school dance walking into a diner dressed up, and all the nice waitresses complimenting how nice we all looked and taking us in as if we were their own grandchildren. My go-to was to always get a vanilla milkshake and some onion rings after a dance. Why? Because it was cheap and for some reason, I would always get that. 

Since there is much to do around Warminster, our options as teens and kids to keep us occupied was to walk around to random stores and ride our bikes around. So most of the time plans were made to go to the diner and just hang out. This seems weird to think about that most teens would get their enjoyment out of going to diners, but surprisingly it is just something we all do.

After the checks were paid after giggling at nonsense for hours, we would say our farewells and call it a night. Most of the time going thereafter the school events was better than the event itself. I remember one dance I went to sophomore year of high school, I wasn’t having a good time and I just wanted to leave the dance early. My best friend, Danny, who is still my best friend to this day still convinced me to go the diner with all of our friends. And you know what? I am so glad I did. Having the waitress say how pretty I looked and that I didn’t look trashy but I had some sense of class really changed my mood. I once again ordered a milkshake and onion rings, and remember my belly hurt from laughing so hard with my friends. That was the cure that I needed. The laughs with friends you seem to remember the most.  

I am sad that I am no longer in high school to have that same feeling of going to the diner after an event, but from time to time, my friends and I will decide to share a quick bite catching up reliving our times in high school at the beloved place we have all equally grown to love.

• 

• 

• 

With virtual experiences growing more and more popular each and every day, at a time like this in a global pandemic it has never been easier to stay connected and occupied. Being in quarantine has been a weird confusing time for everyone. With a stay at home orders from all over the world, businesses, attractions, and tourist landmarks have been required to close until further notice.

 Landmarks such as the Effiel Tower being left closed and abandoned until restrictions lighten up. Luckily if you really wanted to see it right away you can take a virtual tour of it online, but is it the same? The virtual tour lets you walk around the different levels of the Effiel tower and see what it is like to look out over Paris. The only thing that its missing is the atmosphere of life.

There are no people in the walkthrough. When I went to see the Eiffel Tower part of the experience was walking all the way up to the top, that feeling of exhaustion and amazement that you were just able to walk all the way up the Eiffel Tower. When we got the first level stop it was so crowded you had to wiggle your way through people just to get a good picture.