2014-12-27

【Aiden in English】

It doesn’t sound normal for winter to be lenient in the Greater Philadelphia Area, especially at the end of December. Today, the weather was crazy with the temp over 60^oF or 15^oC. Dad thought that staying indoors was a waste of perfect weather. So he decided to take me to Fairmont Park in the City of Brotherly Love. 

Fairmont Park is huge and stretches for miles and miles. Located outside the heart of Philadelphia, it is of pure nature and fresh air, a perfect way to cool off (even though it’s winter). Like Central Park in New York and Millennium Park in Chicago, Fairmont Park is the most important urban park in Philadelphia. 

One of the best places to go in Fairmont Park is the Schuylkill River. There is a path next to the water about a mile long or so, where it had a nice view. This would be a double win for me to have a stroll: exercise and having a great time. The long walk began at Philadelphia Museum of Art. The path next to the river began way before that, but it was the only suitable parking spot in the area. Without much dilly-dallying, Dad and I started the walk. 

There were a ton of bicyclists on the path. They zoomed past Dad and I who were trying not to get run over. We didn’t realize the walk distance too long until about ten minutes later when the Schuylkill River came into view. The river lazily flowed as if it didn’t have a care in the world. Canadian Geese landed the water, occasionally dipping their heads under. The path then turned and put us right next to the water, but what wasn’t cool was how there at times wasn’t any barriers between the platform and the water, which was supposed to keep us away from the edge.

Don’t think that the only thing to see was a river. Along the path, there were statues given to the people of Philadelphia who contribute to the society. As we continued, we noticed that this path was way too long and so we decide to make a U-turn and walked back. But we had no idea that the Schuylkill River had another surprise in store. After walking all the way back to the car, Dad spotted a little balcony next to the entrance to Philadelphia Museum of Art and we walked to the balcony. There we saw a wonder of the Schuylkill River with a waterfall. The waterfall looked small but stretched on for a long distance. The white foam of pollution could be seen, which kind of spoiled it though. It bubbled at the foot of the waterfall, and without it, the scene would have been a beautiful sight. 

Nice weather in the winter is hard to come by, and Dad and I surely made the most of today’s weather.

【紅霞譯文】

在美東大費城地區，冬天和暖聽起來並非正常氣候，尤其時下臨近十二月底。可今天偏巧就這麼離譜，氣溫狂飆超過華氏60度/攝氏15度，爸爸覺得呆在屋裡愧對老天爺恩賜，因此決定帶我出遊“兄弟友愛之城”的費爾蒙特公園。

費爾蒙特公園面積很大，方圓足有幾里地，再加上本身偏離市中心，景色自然空氣新鮮，有利於修心養性（即使現在正值冬季）。如同紐約的中央公園、芝加哥的千禧公園，費爾蒙特公園堪稱費城最重要的市區公園。

水為萬物之源，斯庫基爾河無疑是費爾蒙特公園首屈一指的標誌性景點，河邊有條蹊徑長約一英里左右，沿途風光迤邐秀美。對我來說，溜達一趟不僅能夠活絡筋骨，而且還會盡飽眼福，可謂一舉兩得。徒步行走需從費城藝術博物館開始，雖說蹊徑遠離博物館，但因為只有博物館附近才好停車，所以我和爸爸不再猶豫，甩開腳步向前走去。

蹊徑上有很多人騎自行車，他們在我倆之間隨意穿梭，我們儘量躲閃，避免彼此碰到一起。俗話說得好，望山跑死馬！斯庫基爾河近在眼前，想不到我們硬要走上十分鐘之久。河水正不着急不着慌地慢慢流淌，一副滿不在乎的樣子；成群的加拿大鵝浮在水面上，偶爾把腦袋浸入水下。蹊徑順着河岸彎來繞去，帶我們來到河水淹沒去路的地段，這可不是鬧着玩的，走道跟河水之間連個擋板都沒有，萬一掉進河裡多瘮得慌。

千萬不要誤以為我們來此僅僅看到一條河，其實不然，沿途中立有不少為社會做出貢獻的費城人物雕塑。但我們越往前走越覺得路漫漫兮其修遠兮，再這麼繼續下去，不知猴年馬月方可走到盡頭。於是便當即立斷，馬上打道回府。可不等走回車位，爸爸又發現費城藝術博物館入口處有一小陽台非同尋常，我們隨即登台遠望，斯庫基爾河奇貌一覽無餘，其中更有瀑布近掛前川。瀑布落差不大，但由污染造成的白沫往上翻騰，有點大煞風景，否則風景着實叫人稱道。

冬季里難得遇到這麼一個風和日麗的日子，還好我和爸爸及時行樂，才沒有錯失良機。