Nov 30-Hopewell Furnace

Sorry, Elsie didn't mention that the monument in yesterday's photo was a memorial to the fallen soldiers and officers at Valley Forge. Sue's inquiring mind was asking. Today was a relax and enjoy the weather day. It was a bit gray, but at least 70 degrees. Really odd weather for around these parts. I did my homework, while Gene did laundry! We're parked in a beautiful PA State Park. It feels odd to be in the woods and not have a single green tree around. The trees are all deciduous so they are bare and gray. There isn't any underbrush, so the ground is covered with brown leaves. We realized the other day that we haven't seen a douglas fir tree since we left Washington (at least we don't think so). There are occasional hemlocks, pines, or nobles, but no good old Doug firs. I think it's true because I've been looking since Maine for a good fir cone for a project. We did wander down to see Hopewell Furnace National Park. Not terribly exciting, but it is one of only a few remaining examples of early ironworks. Built in 1771, they defied a British order banning ironworks in the Colonies, and cast wood stoves (furnaces), cannons, and ammunition. We also took a few Christmas pictures of ourselves. Aren't we cute???

Nov 29-Elsie at Valley Forge, PA

Oh, my gosh! This is the coolest place, but Mom and Dad wouldn't let me out of the car! Can you believe it? There were acres and acres of long grass, and thousands of those big dogs--the ones people call "deer". Charley, have you seen these things? They are HUGE and run like big rabbits! I barked and barked and tried as hard as I could and nobody would let me outside...not even to go potty! They just locked me inside and went off on their bikes to have fun. If I just had opposable thumbs I could have had SO MUCH FUN!

Washington Crosses the Delaware

I was pooped after trying to get Philadelphia on the blog, so Gene is taking a turn. I'll post his work and a picture or two. Gene Speaks! "Many times on our trips we can tell the historical importance of a site by who is in charge of a site: the National Park Service (NPS), a State Park, or a private venture. Of all the things we all learned in our history class is the story of General George Washington crossing the Delaware River on a freezing Christmas night, battling ice floes and the very cold. He led his 2,400 troops on to Trenton, NJ to a critical victory for the Continental Army over the Hessians. We left Philadelphia this morning for the short drive north to Pennsylvania’s state park, Washington Crossing. The park itself is huge with large grassy areas but no camping. The visitor’s center was closed on Mondays but the maps and information signs pointed out the information we needed. The bikes were perfect way to get to all the sites on this beautiful “spring” day (in the mid 60’s!), some up stream, and some across the bridge in New Jersey’s state park of the same name. Back in Pennsylvania there were several actual houses and other buildings, a couple of replicated boats that were used that night, and the appropriate monuments marking this historic night. The river was full and rushing, but there were no ice floes this day!"

Philly photos phinally!

Everything but a Philly Cheesesteak!

We have just spent two beautiful days in Philadelphia exploring what they call “the most historic square mile in America!”. The weather has cooperated perfectly. After a rainy Thanksgiving, the sun came out and we had blue sky. Saturday was really crowded (lots of families with bored children), but everyone was driving home on Sunday so it was quiet. Philadelphia played a huge part during the colonial era. After the Boston Tea Party in 1774, the British passed the Intolerable Acts and closed Boston harbor. The colonies all sent representatives to Philadelphia to plan a response…that was the First Continental Congress. This takes place in Carpenters' Hall. Then…shots are fired at Lexington and Concord Bridge in Massachusetts. The Second Continental Congress convenes, still in Philadelphia, this time in their State House (now Independence Hall) in 1775. They appoint George Washington as commander in chief of the Continental Army. While they are debating, the first big battle of the Revolution takes place at Bunker Hill in Boston. In 1776 the delegates sever all ties with Great Britain and sign the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. In 1777, the British are still pushing the Colonials west and British General HOWE and his troops occupy Philadelphia. Good ol’ Ben Franklin is over in France though, talking King Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie Antoinette into helping us defeat the British. The French send troops and supplies to help and it really turns the war around. There is still lots more fighting, but in 1783 the US and the Brits sign the Treaty of Paris to end the American Revolutionary War. It takes a while to figure out how to set up the new government, but in 1787, the delegates finish framing and finally sign the Constitution…in Independence Hall again! They had to figure out things like representation for the states, the House of Representatives with proportional representation and the Senate with each state represented equally. Philadelphia is the nation’s official capital from 1790-1800, while they build the new capital in Washington D.C.
We took all the tours and wandered in and out of all the historic buildings. All have been preserved amazingly well. Independence Hall is fully restored to look just as it did-- the right color paint and everything. The actual chair that George Washington sat in to sign the Constitution is there. It has a half-sun on the back – they call it the Rising Sun chair. Ben Franklin gave a speech the day they signed the Constitution—something about never knowing whether the sun was rising or setting…but with the signing he was sure it was a symbol of the sun rising over a new nation (or something like that!). The inkstand they used for signing the Declaration of Independence is also there. We saw it all, Old City Hall (where the first Supreme Court met-lots of pictures for Jennifer!), Carpenters’ Hall, The First Bank of the US, the Portrait Gallery, Congress Hall, the Liberty Bell Pavilion, all the churches, and Washington Square. The only thing we didn’t see was a decent place to eat a Philly Cheesesteak. One of my favorite stops was lunch at the City Tavern. It isn’t original like all the other buildings, but has been rebuilt to look exactly as it did in the 1770’s when the delegates met there to eat, drink, and argue. The staff is all in costume and the food is all authentic to the period. Martha Washington’s chicken pot pie, yummy! Sounds corny, but it wasn’t. Oh, almost forgot—the Liberty Bell. Yes, we saw it and took a zillion pictures like everyone else. It is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Lots of history/lore about the bell that I didn’t really get into. Cool to see it though.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're stuffed! We turned on the generator in the Wal-mart parking lot and cooked a turkey. We had red potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts, AND homemade pumpkin pie! Yummy! The only thing we missed....and we REALLY missed...was family and friends. Kind of quiet here. We love all of you, and absolutely missed being together for this holiday. Next year I get to be the hostess (if Hank will help me with the turkey)! We talked to a lot of you, which helped, but I'm getting a little homesick! Love to you all.

Nov 20-21 Two quiet, Elsie days on the Jersey coast

Elsie has been a great traveler, but she's had quite a few dull days lately. We decided she needed a beach day or two, so we headed down to the New Jersey coast. She ran all over Ortley Beach which seems to be on a long sand spit. The spit is pretty narrow but has about 4 blocks of houses and road right down the middle. Ortley is on the outside so it's a beautiful ocean beach. Not too many people as it's cold now so Elsie could be off her leash and play. Lots of digging, rolling in stinky stuff, barking, chasing, and swimming. Today we explored Atlantic City for about 10 minutes (lots of casinos and tourist traps) and spent the rest of the day on the beach again. Here's a picture of Elsie enjoying Trump's beach! New Jersey has pretty nice beaches.

Nov 18-Morristown

Another house, I know...and the historical timeline of this trip is certainly disjointed. Now we're back to 1779! The first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired back in Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts in 1775. We signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but we didn't really get the British out of town until 1782 when we signed the Treaty of Paris. There was a heck of a lot of fighting during that time-period. Morristown, New Jersey isn't a battlefield though. George Washington and his troops spent a nasty winter here in 1779. It was one of the worst winters the area ever had, and wouldn't you know, 10,000 men of the Continental Army had to stay here. They were cold, hungry, and sick (dysentery and yellow fever) and spent most of their time huddled in the 200 small cabins that they built. This was a tough time for Washington too--although he stayed in Morristown's finest house (it belonged to Jacob Ford's widow and her 4 kids). The troops were due to be discharged in the spring and he was worried that they'd all leave and the fight would be over. Luckily, the French get into action about then and send supplies to the Americans. We toured Ford's house, Fort Nonsense (which Washington supposedly had the troops build to keep them busy), and the Jockey Hollow Encampment area where the troops built the cabins and suffered all winter.

Nov 17--Another house (Thomas Edison), just for Laura!

Sorry about this LJ, but we did stop by Thomas Edison's house in West Orange, NJ. His laboratory is right down the hill, but it was under re-construction so we couldn't go inside. The house wasn't too exciting, but I was interested to discover that Edison made himself quite a bit of money from his inventions. He actually didn't inherit a fortune like a lot of the famous men we've studied, he made it himself. He translated his new technologies into commercial products and marketed them. Inventing the phonograph and the first practical incandescent lamp allowed him to go on inventing. Edison wasn't formally educated and called the 200 scientists that worked for him in the lab "muckers", and called himself the "Chief Mucker". Sounds like he spent most of his time in the lab...not much family life up at the house. At the West Orange lab they invented the movie camera, improved the storage battery, the fluoroscope (whatever that is), rubber from the goldenrod plant, Edison Portland cement...and a ton of other things. Edison himself had 1,093 patents. He lived from 1847-1931 so he's doing all this at more or less the same time that the Wright Brothers were trying to figure out how to fly.

Time to answer a few questions!

OK--I love all the responses to the blog. It's great to know that someone is actually reading all this! Sue's latest comment was that when she worked at Glenbrook in Tahoe they had a guest registry with Ulysses S. Grant's signature from when he stayed there! Cool. LJ is worried that we might actually have been foolish enough to take the motorhome through NYC---NO NO NO! We left the home in New Jersey and drove the Jeep. That was crazy enough, even for Gene! She also mentioned that we are going to too many people's houses. It's true, we are. The houses themselves aren't all that interesting, but the National Park Service rangers who lead the tours are fabulous. They each really bring their own part of history alive. You have to be here to enjoy them, sorry. I've had a few people mention that we've lost weight--thanks, but don't I wish! I think Gene has slimed down, but not me. I am thrilled to announce though that on the trip I've been able to taper completely OFF of prednisone. This is wonderful!!! It also probably accounts for my face being slimmer as prednisone makes you puff up. Hopefully I look like myself again...thanks for asking! A special note to Marc--the red "torch" I'm holding in the picture with the Statue of Liberty is the red cashmere hat you gave me a few years back...it is still my favorite! Special note to Hank--We haven't seen any Ninja's, but thanks for the warning (Elsie has been barking a lot, maybe she sees them?). We have also had some guesses about the Medal of Honor winners. Mom guessed Dwight and son John Eisenhower---nope. Sue guessed John and son John Quincy Adams---nope (though both were Presidents!). Medal of Honor is for bravery above and beyond the call...so Theodore Roosevelt and his father Theodore both won. The other father/son pair is Douglas MacArthur and his father Arthur MacArthur. All cleared up???? Keep posting!

Photos

I'm having trouble getting my photos to come up on the blog...I want you to see these too!

Nov 16-Sagamore Hill

Today we got brave. We wanted to drive out to Oyster Bay and tour Sagamore Hill, which was Teddy Roosevelt's home. To do that from where we are in New Jersey, you drive through the Holland Tunnel ($6 toll), cross downtown Manhattan, cross the Brooklyn Bridge, and drive halfway up Long Island. WE MADE IT! Wasn't nearly as bad as I'd imagined. It was worth the trip because Sagamore is just the way I thought it should be. It sits at the top of a hill (duh, Sagamore HILL), surrounded by apple orchards. You can't take pictures inside, but its FULL of interesting items that were gifts to TR from all over the world. Dark paneling with trophy heads of all kinds of rare animals hanging on the walls. He was quite a hunter...and environmentalist, which seems to conflict today, but didn't in his day. The Roosevelt's had a ton of money, so when TR was 26 he decided that he didn't want to live in the city--bought 150 acres on Long Island in what was then the wilderness. This is the home he had built...he lived there from 1885 until he died in 1919. He was the 26th president so Sagamore was the summer White House while he was in office. The furnishings are authentic and you really get a sense of the man when you visit. They have an impressive museum too. I didn't know that TR was a Medal of Honor reciepient for his command during the Spanish American War (San Juan Hill) AND a Nobel Peace Prize winner for negotiating peace talks during the Russo-Japanese war. TR and his father were both Medal of Honor winners, one of two father/son sets. Gene wants you to guess who the other two are...I'll tell you later if you can't get it.
The funniest part of the day was trying to get home. By the time we finished at Sagamore it was rush hour. We had a leisurely dinner in Oyster Bay...just long enough to get some of the cars home, and for it to get dark and the rain to start. Gene had been wanting to drive around in Manhattan so thats just what he did! We crossed the bridge back onto Manhattan and drove up and down several times. Up Park to Central Park, down Fifth (right past the Empire State Building), back up Third, down to WTC accidently (we missed the turn)...FINALLY through the Holland Tunnel again and HOME. He is CRAZY. It was dark (and pouring rain!)--people wearing black and carrying black umbrellas--taxi cabs flying all around--nobody cares about lanes or red lights--busses--Gene loved it! I'm sure it was the highlight of his trip to NYC. This morning he says, "did you take any pictures of driving home last night?". Yeah, right. Between reading the maps and fearing for my life (and the lives of all the pedestrians) I was supposed to take pictures. You get the picture!!

Nov 15-Teddy Roosevelt's birthplace and Grant's Tomb

What a day. We rode seven different subway trains today and got caught in a rainstorm. When it rains on the east coast it really RAINS...not just showers like we have, but bone soaking RAIN! It doesn't last long, but its impressive. We started the day by going back in to the WTC area because we wanted to see more of St. Paul's Chapel. After we got home the other day we read more about it and decided that we'd have to visit again. Then got on the subway for a trip almost all the way up Manhatten to West Harlem. The General Grant Memorial--usually called Grant's Tomb is up there. Its really a mausoleum...HUGE (the biggest in north America), and his wife Julia is interned with him. Grant was the Union commander during the Civil War, and is credited with saving the country from dissolution. He obviously won lots of battles during the war, but I didn't know that he is also known for his humane treatment of Lee and other Confederate leaders. He threatened to resign his commission if Lee was tried for treason. He insisted on protecting the full political equality of former slaves. As the 18th president he approved the 15th amendment which states that no citizen can be denied the right to vote based on color. Really ugly monument. TR's birthplace is in downtown Manhattan so we rode back down. It's under re-construction so I didn't take any pictures. They've got a pretty good museum downstairs.

Nov 14-Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty

Oh, dear...I've had several complaints that the blog isn't up to date! Sorry about that. By the time we get home at night I'm POOPED! Haven't walked this far since Sue and I did the 1/2 marathon. I'll start with Tuesday the 14th--which wasn't a big walking day, but quite interesting. We got up early (for us) and were all ready to meet the first ferry to Ellis Island at 8:00--unfortunately there isn't a boat until 9:30 at this time of year. Oh, well-we wandered around Liberty Park. Talked to a fellow that was fishing from the pier (yuck, can you imagine how polluted that water is?) about 9/11. He used to deliver packages to the 110th floor but had retired before the attack. He's the first one that we've asked any questions about that day. Very interesting. Finally got the ferry to Ellis. I think most people stop at Ellis for 1/2 hour or so...not Gene, he has to read EVERY sign in the museum. Took so long I thought we wouldn't make the Statue. I'll admit that all the information about the history of the island and about immigration was interesting, but really. The Statue is still beautiful, but I was disappointed that you can't go up inside it anymore. There are guards and security everywhere. I remember taking the girls up the spiral staircase to the crown and wanted to take Gene up. Now you can only get to the top of the pedestal, just below her feet. I'll post a few pictures, and one that Mom sent of the girls pretending to be Ms. Liberty in front of the NYC skyline. Note the WTC buildings in the background and how tall they were. By the time we were ready to leave we realized that we had forgotten to get the National Park stamp (we are collecting stamps in a National Park book) at Ellis Island. By then they weren't letting anyone off onto the island because it was closing time. We had to talk the deckhands into letting us jump off, run and get the stamp...got it, and managed to make the LAST boat back to the mainland. We've now got 36 stamps on the trip so far!

Nov 13-World Trade Center-St.Paul's Chapel-Federal Hall

We walked our feet off again today! We took the PATH (subway) right into the World Trade Center site. They had to rebuild this part of the line and now it kind of wraps around where the buildings used to be. You come in below ground...inside the enormous hole. Its an impressive place. I couldn't seem to take any pictures...it seemed somehow disrespectful. We wandered all over lower Manhattan. Down to St. Paul's Chapel which is the oldest structure in NYC. George Washington was a regular visitor. All the buildings near the WTC site were damaged, their windows were blown out, etc. St. Paul's is really close, but it was somehow protected. Went inside Federal Hall which was the meeting place for the first US Congress and the site where George Washington took his oath of office as the first Presitient of the US on April 30, 1789. Down at Battery Park we explored Castle Clinton which was built to defend NY during the War of 1812. Not much NY shopping when you travel with Gene!

Nov 12-Day two in NYC--the Rockettes!

Into NY early today to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes. Lots of legs and good Christmas songs. They are amazing dancers. We practically sat in the orchestra so we didn't miss a sequin! Then down to Grand Central Station for lunch. Took the tour of the United Nations in the afternoon. We did get caught in a rainstorm on the way home from the UN, but managed to get underground on the subway, and stay there until we were within blocks of home. The glasses are at the Rockettes--they made it look like snow was falling right on our heads. I thought they were a good look for us!

Nov 11- First day in NY City

We made it into town and back--piece of cake. We rode the Light Rail, the PATH (NJ underground), and the NY subway. Good fun and only $13.50 for transportation. Getting to the top of the Empire State Building is a lot harder than it used to be. We had to wait in line for 90 minutes. They check your bags just like at the airport too. Worth the wait though, and I took a zillion pictures of Gene and his map. The Veteran's Day Parade went by while we were out on the Observation Deck and we could hear the bands and see everything. If you look at the foggy picture--that's looking south to the Financial District. If you look at the right hand side across the river--see the tallest building? That's in Jersey City and our RV is parked right behind that building. Look again at the street that heads straight down to the south end of Manhattan. Its pointing just about where the World Trade Center buildings were. We wandered in and out of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, had ice cream at Trump Tower, and bought Lentil a stuffed Teddy Bear at FAO Schwartz. By then it was starting to get dark and we headed back to the rig. Gene is now gearing up for the Cougar game...wore his colors all day!

Nov 10-Driving to NYC

Now THIS was an adventure! Gene found an RV park that is in Jersey City, just across from the Big Apple. He didn't look nervous but he should have been! We drove the New Jersey turnpike--paid tolls and everything. Now we are settled happily in our campground. Its about 1/2 block to the harbor on two sides of our park. I can see the Statue of Liberty from the couch while I'm typing this! It looks like we could just walk two blocks and be downtown, but there is water in the way. We'll take the light-rail into town in the morning and go exploring.

Nov 9-West Point

West Point is just like any other small college (4,000 students), except the students are all in incredibly good shape and they wear uniforms of one kind or another. You can’t just wander the campus so we took the tour through Cadet’s Chapel, past all the sports fields, mess hall (meals together-everybody lines up and then they march in), cannon displays, statues, and beautiful views of the Hudson River. They also have a rather unsettling military museum. George Washington was convinced that controlling the Hudson was critical to winning the Revolutionary War, so he had a fort built at West Point, which is between Boston and New York. He even had them stretch a huge chain across the river to foul up any British ships that were trying to sneak by. Washington was afraid the British would be able to divide the colonists from Boston and New York. It was turned into a military (army) academy by Thomas Jefferson. Just about any famous military figure you’ve heard of went to West Point—Patton, MacArthur, Bradley, Eisenhower, Robert E. Lee…of the 95 major battles of the civil war, 90 of them were commanded by West Point graduates—on BOTH sides of the fight. Of the remaining 5 battles, one commander or the other was from here. The cadet that caught my interest though was James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Not sure what battle he fought in? Well, he excelled at drawing at West Point, but was kicked out when he flunked chemistry. He went on to make a rather nice portrait of his mother…got it yet? Whistler’s Mother!

Nov 7-Vanderbilt mansion

Well here's a good example of the difference between "old money" and "new money". The Roosevelts were incredibly wealthy--old money and prestige from both sides of the family. Their homes were full of things they collected all over the world, but nothing outrageous. Val Kill in particular was very small and simple. No fancy dishes or china--a comfy home. The Vanderbilts on the other hand were newly wealthy during the "Gilded Age" and it was important to show off their wealth to gain prestige. The first 2 generations of Vanderbilts in this country earned all the money in the shipping business, and the 3rd generation spent it all on mansions and expensive tastes. The mansion here was built by just one of the six children from the 3rd generation (if you can follow that). Evidently all six kids built amazing homes around the east. This one is supposedly small by comparison to the Biltmore (in NC) or Breakers (in RI) homes. This one was too much for me! Gold and silver everywhere. China. Huge rooms with chairs that looked liked thrones. Looked totally uncomfortable and unpleasant. No thanks.

Nov 6-Hyde Park, New York

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park in 1882. Except for his years in the White House he lived here for most of his life. The tour includes the home where he was born and raised, and the presidential library that he had built (and used as an office) while he was President. Its a pretty good museum of the life of our only 4 term president--the depression and WWII. Here's an interesting, but not very important fact: Eleanor was orphaned at 10 years old, so her Uncle Teddy gave her away when she married FDR. Back at Hoover's library we read a lot about the depression--and the fact that Hoover was blamed for most of it, somewhat unjustly. Well, on the other end, FDR was responsible for ending the depression and leading the Allies to victory in WWII. If Hoover gets a bad rap in a quick gloss-over of the facts, Roosevelt gets lots of extra credit for his role in instilling confidence and getting the country moving again. "Happy days are here again...", Little Orphan Annie and all that! I was most intrigued by FDR and Eleanor. Together they were an amazing team, and after his death Eleanor was appointed to the new United Nations (by Truman) and, as advocate for the common man and woman's rights, made her one of the most beloved people of the time. No wonder Gran was so enamored with her. Gran had lots of Eleanor's books and used to tell me about Eleanor when I lived with her in the apartment. We went through the Val Kill cottage that she and FDR built away from the main houses of Hyde Park. Eleanor was supposed to live there after she retired--but she was an incredibly busy lady traveling the world.

Nov 5-Rhode Island

Elsie has been bummed lately so we had a day just for her. This is the longest beach in the smallest state. Good picnic spot...plenty of sticks for chasing and sand for digging. Happy dog.

Nov 2 and 3-Three presidents

We love Boston. We've been staying in Quincy (south Boston) for four days, so this Walmart seems like home! We're about to take down the internet connection and move on so I'd better get you up to date before we leave. We spent the 2nd exploring the birthplaces and homes of Presidents John Adams (#2), and his son John Quincy Adams (#6). Even though they don't get a lot of print in our history books, the Adams family made huge political and intellectual contributions. John helped write the Massachusetts constitution which was used as a model for the US constitution. He was quite a reader and proposed many ideas that were ahead of his time, but have since become part of our government. He was in favor of over-riding Federal power instead of individual states rights for instance. We still debate a lot of what he wrote about. We spent yesterday at the Kennedy library even though we have a tough time getting our heads around Kennedy being "historical". The guide blew Gene away by telling him that only 50% of the Americans alive today were alive during his inauguration. We're feeling a bit OLD!

Nov 1- Commuter ferry to Boston for Chowdah

Seattle really needs to figure out some mass transit. Boston's is so easy. We went into town by train from Concord, and by subway from Quincy. Both were a cinch. Today was even better. We spent a quiet morning doing homework and paying bills, then went into town one more time by commuter ferry. It was a gorgeous afternoon, sunny and 70 degrees. The ferry is just for walk-on passengers, but zooms you over to the airport, and then into town. It was absolutely beautiful to see the city from the water. We just wandered around and then had clam chowder at the Charthouse Restaurant. It is in a building that was built in 1763 as the customs house in Boston. A customs house is where ship captains and owners paid the taxes on goods brought into port. John Hancock (or should I say JOHN HANCOCK) was the customs agent at the time! Dad and I opened the safe that good ol' John would have used to keep the $$$$. Great building, good chowdah!

November 1-Happy Birthday Caroline!

Four cuties! One of them is celebrating her 29th birthday today....the one in the back of course! Happy Birthday CK. Have a great cousin's weekend ladies. Love you tons, Mom and Dad