I was in Gladwyne because I had to drop something off at house there. Only a minute or two away…read morefrom the home I was at is Saunders Woods Preserve and I decided to stop in. There is a medium sized parking lot towards the entrance of the preserve, which is convenient. I assume it could get a big crowded during the summer months. A large meadow that has path mowed down the middle greets you as you begin your walk. Eventually, the meadow leads to a wooded trail. Along the trail are some scenic sights including beautiful trees and a small creek. Overhead, you'll see many beautiful birds flying. Towards the summer, this seems like a nice place to see butterflies and flowers, too. There's also a historic building on this property, which is cool. There's a benches outside Altogether, Saunders Woods is a nice place to take a nice, casual hike!

4 stars for greenspace, but in the grand scheme of what Natural Lands has to offer, this is one of…read moretheir neighborhood trail spots, and not a grand destination preserve. This was my 12th NL preserve out of their current 20 properties. Saunders Woods is the second smallest preserve, and to give an idea, it is only 25 acres, while 90% of their preserves are over 40 acres, and 75% of their preserves are over 100 acres. That said, if you want a brief walk, or to sit in some serene nature, you've found a cool spot. This preserve has a swing on a tree that is wide enough to fit two adults. There is a meadow adjacent to the parking lot (one of the few paved lots at NL preserves), and the wooded portion is mostly the valley between surrounding residential neighborhoods. In the winter you can clearly see all the neighboring houses from the trail. It's great that this land has been made into a public nature preserve, and this suits locals as a wonderful spot to enjoy the outdoors. I don't recommend planning to visit if you are looking for a long hike, or a destination preserve with a lot to explore. Below is a list of all preserves from smallest to largest, so you can get an idea of the levels of wilderness they offer. Stone Hills Preserve 13 acres Sauders Woods Preserve 25 acres Stoneleigh 42 acres Hildacy Preserve 55 acres Wawa Preserve 98 acres Meng Preserve 101 acres Binky Lee Preserve 112 acres Willisbrook Preserve 126 acres Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary 200 acres Green Hills Preserve 201 acres Peacedale Preserve 222 acres Gwynedd Preserve 279 acres Harold N. Peek Preserve 344 acres Sadsbury Woods Preserve 508 acres Bryn Coed Preserve 520 acres Stroud Preserve 571 acres Crow's Nest Preserve 712 acres ChesLen Preserve 1,282 acres Bear Creek Preserve 3,565 acres Glades Wildlife Refuge 7,440 acres **Apparently 27-acre Sharp's Woods Preserve is now part of the Radnor Conservancy and is no longer a Natural Lands property.

First discovered Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance while working for a local cultural…read moreinstitution many years ago. * * * TIP FOR TOURISTS (& locals hosting people) * * * Do not waste time at the Visitor's Center down in Old City. Just go to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance's websites and get informed about all that is happening in town. This is relevant and current info, that is NOT influenced by commercial tourism. If you want to experience real CULTURE and not hokey horse-carriage rides on cobblestones, or people in character costumes, then Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is the place to research! They are the creators of Phillyfunguide, which is an AMAZING resource for locals as well as tourists, to find just about any activity, or cultural institution in Philly. You will learn so much about the city and its environs by browsing their compilations of cultural offerings. They also offer DISCOUNT deals on there (up to 50% off!!!) for tickets to all kinds of activities! There is always something for everyone, from the most obscure museum (like the Museum of Mourning Art, or the Rosenbach Museum & Library), to the most mindless jollies (Dave & Busters, or VF and Camden Casinos), to the most uniquely-Philly cultural experiences (Summer concert Series at FDR park, Eastern State Penitentiary, a DE River Cruise, or Magic Gardens on South St.). The PCA will cover it all, and tell you about it if you sign up for emails! Sign up for phillyfunguide.com and get weekly emails for half-price tickets to all kinds of local events! Keep in-the-know about all that is going down in your city, and get deals on all of it!!! Emails come every Thursday for deals on that weekend's activities (and includes the following week as well). As stated on their website, "Phillyfunguide is the home of Philadelphia's most robust arts and cultural events calendar, Funsavers half-price deals, and the Funperks loyalty rewards program." LOVE PCA, they have taught me so much over the years!!!!

The PCA is an excellent resource for artists in and around Philadelphia. They offer access to job…read morepostings, legal representation, career building workshops and grant money-- all things which artists need but are famous for not being very good at getting. Their website has on it a really great job board which has provided me and many of my friends postings about jobs in the arts and in non-profit corporations. They are like that very smart, connected aunt or uncle who is there to give advice when you need it.

Bella Vista Neighbors Association is an all-volunteer, non-profit civic association covering the…read morebella vista neighborhood. Everyone has been very welcoming and responsive to community issues, and helps navigate various city services to get help for residents. It hosts monthly general meetings at Palumbo Rec Center, and can also be reached via email or facebook.

Who doesn't like free? Throw in some art and history, and you got me. After a day of walking…read morearound and standing in lines to see other sites, I just walked right in here and went about the exhibits at my own pace. I realize that as I am writing this, this may not be open to the public because of the uptick in the new wave. The main exhibit in here is the 'People of Independence.' Which gives you a glimpse of how things were back in those times. The description states something along the lines of "those that prized order and reason" while living in a world or disease, slavery, and the unknown. Oh, if they only knew. The building itself was an amazing piece of art itself. High ceilings, original fixtures, and your typical looking bank building. They have made a few upgrades to the building, but overall it looks like how it was intended to look. Like I said, I went at my own pace here to take in what I wanted, when I wanted. Be aware of the other people in here, some of them will attempt to push you along. Just stand your ground and you will discover a bit of history that you were unaware of.

Hidden Gem in Old City…read more If you are planning a trip to Philadelphia, I highly recommend adding this stop on your spots to visit. It is free and has many portraits of prominent figures that worked on building what we call America today. This location only recently reopened possibly due to government funding being low on certain venues. We were running a few minutes late for the 1pm tour and asked one of the workers there if we missed the deadline and he replied, " you guys are the tour as you are the only ones who showed up for it"! Hey, works for us lol. After stopping here, you have many spots in the immediate surrounding area you can head to. I recommend if you are coming from out of town to spend at least a week in the city and don't forget to try a Philly cheesesteak, a Philly soft pretzel, and a water ice! As always people SYOY!!!

MAAG is a wonderful place to explore and share art. There is plenty of opportunities to get…read moreinvolved with the art programs, classes and the community. The gallery, store and classes are very good.

If you want African textiles or home goods, this should be one of your stops in Philly. They have…read moreclothing, textiles, jewelry, African paintings, woodcarvings, and sculptures. They also make in-house wellness products, including teas, incense, body butters, and seamoss. On my last visit, I left with both a beautiful mud cloth (in a pattern/color way I'd never seen) and a tote bag printed with pro-Black patches. I also wanted to note that this is a long-standing family owned business in Philly in a business corridor with other family businesses. We need to shop at these places of we want to see them stay open and thrive.

The items here are like a hug from your grandmother. Thoughtfully made, authentically curated from…read moreAfrica. Better than the items are the conversation that happens. This place is a portal to connect with your ancestors and all of our siblings through the diaspora.

They fell off. They closed TransWay to anyone who doesn't use Facebook. Before covid you could walk…read morein. Now you can't join. Trying to get a peer counselor who can handle someone with extreme trauma is nonexistent. If this sounds like you let me tell you what happened to me. No help led to homelessness. Homelessness led to violent assaults. Which led to brain damage. Which led to sex work. Which led to rape. Which led to hopelessness. Which led to despair. I'm now sure in America I will be homeless for life. My education means NOTHING. I'm worth nothing. Whether or not you can get help seems to depend on several factors. But if you're handicapped in any way you're not going to find much help here. Our society is very superficial and selfish. This extends to every community. Even ours. Some of us could've been saved. Hope is not just a word. And to me it's meaningless. I'm maybe too old to help. I didn't come out in my teens or 20's so my life is expendable. Yet old age is NOT a privilege I have. That's clear to me now. Don't think about moving to the west coast. It's worse. Don't come out in your 30's or later. There're no programs for us. It's us against the world. Better get familiar with self defense and tactical action. We got no allies. Choice: you come out and keep your career and (fake?) friends and family but be depressed. Or come out and find little to no support and watch the world try to bury you alive. Think being depressed is traumatic? You know nothing about trauma yet. They say "it gets better". They lie a lot. This place may help you. Worth trying. People like me had potential. We tried. But we failed to matter. This place is no longer useful in any way for me. Good luck. This is as good as it gets. Second update: Aug, 11, 2021, this place doesn't care about unhoused trans ppl. Or any unhoused people in this community. Unhoused trans women are extremely vulnerable and get killed the most. Because they have no place to hide. Safety is nonexistent. But I was giving out supplies, what I had. I had food, purses, make-up sponges, masks, and razors, I placed them gently off the fence with everything inside each one nice and neat. The rich gays running the place gave me flack for helping the most vulnerable in our community, because it's not the image they want. That's code for "they're not welcome". This place was only cool to me when I was out as a man. Once I came out as transgender my degrees from Temple University didn't save me from homelessness, and neither did the community. If it wasn't for TransWay catering to the trans community, albeit the housed trans community, cuz unhoused ppl don't have access to the internet and enough battery life for Facebook or for online video meetings. I stepped up, cuz no one else in this bougie ass place gives a damn!

William Way is a cornerstone of the LGBT community in Philadelphia. They offer peer counseling,…read moresocial and educational programing to the community at large. They have a full year of Art Gallery shows and the largest LGBT archives in the area. If you are new in town or just looking to get more involved in an organization that gives back every day. Look them up at waygay.org or just walk into the Center and say Hi! to the person at the front desk.

West Mount Airy's trinket trade station. Located beside a Little Free Library outside Vernon House…read moreApartments. I was delighted rummaging through this box which is part of a newer donation trend. Very cute beaded bracelets, plastic toy figures, & stickers at this location. (I gifted myself with a sea lion toy.) Fun distraction & discovery while waiting for the bus or out walking on Mt. Airy's Greene St. @littlelootphilly