Philadelphia, PA, Wednesday, June 11

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia is the birth place of the Declaration of Independence.

We get input from several people as to the best way to visit the historic city. We decide that we prefer not to drive and waste time finding a parking lot hoping for an available parking space. We consider parking at the aquarium and taking the ferry across the Delaware. One of the campers near us tells us that is what he did, but the lady in the office informs us that we have to drive through a very rough area to get to the aquarium and that parking is $10.00. She advises us to take the commuter train. We decide to take the train.

It is a 20 minute drive to the station, parking is free, a round trip ticket is $4.80. This is very inexpensive and easier than driving. As usual we ask the locals for directions and a woman, who is on her way to work in Philly, says she'll help us with the system. We follow her to the first car and sit at the front where she greets the driver and tells him that we are vacationers. She introduces herself, her name is Susan, and points out all of the interesting areas and tells us about them as we pass by. This made the trip interesting and pleasant. She invites us to join her family the next evening for diner, but we tell her we do not want to impose on her and her family. We hope she was not offended. The trip on the PATCO Orange Line takes about 25 minutes.

The PATCO stop where we disembark is two blocks from the Visitors' Center where we head to start our tour of the city. The workers in the center are all dressed in period clothing demonstrating crafts of the late 1700's. We first meet a citizen playing music on the dulcimer, the one we now refer to as the hammered dulcimer. This instrument's sound is mellow and soothing. There is a gentleman in fine clothing greeting the visitors and a woman making little dolls from shaped pieces of wood.
We stop to watch ye olde book binder preparing blank books for use as personal journals or note books. He is skeptical of the ability of my tiny silver box to produce adequate photographs.

We pick up a map of the city and head out to walk the streets of old Philadelphia.

We pass these horse drawn carts that await to take visitors on tours of the city. We stop to visit with one of the horses by the name of Wizard who seems to take a liking to us. Wizard was given this name because of the lightning shaped markings on his ears. We prefer walking so we pass on the buggy tour.

Our first stop is the Liberty Bell Center. Display in the Center telling the symbolism of the Bell.

It took some waiting, but we finally had an opportunity to get an unobstructed view of the Liberty Bell. The arm behind Linda's head belongs to the security guard who's job it is to make sure no one goes beyond the ropes surrounding the bell.

Of course there is a security check as we enter the building. All bags and purses are searched.

As we exit the Liberty Bell Center we meet a young security guard and ask him where he prefers to have lunch. He directs us to Benny's Place just a block and a half up the street. Who is Benny? Aha, it is clear when we see the sign for the place.

We would have never thought to refer to Benjamin Franklin as "Benny", it seems far too familiar. The choice for lunch has to be a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich, naturally. We have been waiting to eat one of these and Philly must be the place to get the best. The menu has several variations of the sandwich. We ask the waitress for her recommendation and order two versions to share.

Ah, our order has arrived and we are more than ready to dig in. These sandwiches are delicious!

Carpenters Hall where the meetings among the founders of our country took place.

The hall sits back from the street.

Mosaic tile inlay on the floor.

This is the place where the signing of the Declaration of Independence took place. This display is of the furniture styles in the Hall at that time.

This is one of the fireplaces, there is one exactly like it across the room.

A closer look at the banner displayed above the fire place.

Rounding up volunteers to join the fight for freedom. The promise of weekly income, ale and food, and to those who stay the full course of service $40.00 and 100 acres of land when the war is over, is an incentive to join troops. The soldier out in front is giving a very arousing speech and garnering many volunteers for the cause, the children lined up beside the fife player and drummer. After many volunteers have joined the line a procession is lead out of the yard and into the street.

A monument to the signers of the Declaration of Independence in this yard.

Workers filling a trench on Market street. We pass by this scene on our way to the landing on the Delaware River. History meeting the present Internet age as lines are laid to bring in more Internet service.

Penn's Landing.

Bridge over the river to New Jersey.

Looking across the river to New Jersey, we can see the aquarium and a baseball stadium.

Looking back at Philadelphia from Penn's Landing. There is a stage at the water's edge and tape marks on the brick work here for performances.

Across the rive is the old Campbell's building. Susan, our friend from the commuter train, has informed us that this building is no longer owned by Campbell's Soup Company, but the sign has been maintained.

Irish Memorial

Christ's Church: Benjamin Franklin. Pioneer Alice. William Penn. Betsy Ross. George Washington. Absalom Jones. William White. Fanny Kemble. They, and so many more, come to life in the living history of a truly American church. More than 300 years of vision, faith and courage at Christ Church in Philadelphia! Benjamin Franklin is buried here. The church is place of worship still today.

Interesting old buildings.

First United States Post Office.

Clarksboro, Tuesday, June 10

Another hot, hot, humid day! We have decided that we are going to hide out in air conditioned places today. Tomorrow promises to be much cooler and drier, so we will visit Philadelphia then. We get directions to a mall and movie theaters from the office. Linda does need to get a couple more pairs of shorts.

We find the mall and buy two pair of shorts. Across the street from the mall is a multi cinema and we decide to see "Kung-fu Panda" since it is the next movie to start. The movie is fun and the CGA is incredible. Too bad the Bear didn't want to come along. Since the trailer has an air conditioner we can keep it cool in this hot weather and he had opted to remain there.

We spend the rest of the day reading books we brought with us. Also, being old people, we need our afternoon nap so we can stay awake until bed time.

Clarksboro, New Jersey, Monday, June 9

Today we head for New Jersey. When we reach the Patapsco River tunnel, a toll road, we are informed that we cannot go into the tunnel because of the propane tanks. We have to pay the toll, exit the freeway and go to the Francis Scott Key Bridge to get over the river. This will be nicer because of the view. The attendant in the toll booth says that after we exit to make 2 right turns then a left, just follow the blue signs to the bridge. OK, 2 right turns, but we don't have a street name for the left turn and cannot find any signs for the bridge. We are in an industrial area and stop at one of the businesses to ask for directions. The women in the office are very helpful and write down the directions. The streets are confusing and we have missed a street some where, so we stop again for assistance. We manage to find the street we need this time and notice little signs at the side of the street with blue circle containing a white arrow, but no wording to indicate where the signs lead. Anyway, the detour to the bridge is really something and we finally reach the bridge. What a beautiful sight! This IS much better than going through a tunnel. At least we don't have to pay the toll for the bridge, we show the attendant out receipt from the tunnel access and she gets approval for us to go through on that toll.

The tolls are really something, and are higher than we were expecting. It has cost us $27.00 in tolls today.

The Patapsco River leading to the Chesapeake Bay.

We don't know what this is, but it is pretty. We are still in Maryland, but the state border with New Jersey is coming up soon.

The Delaware River. The state border is in the middle of the river.

The bridge over the Delaware River and into New Jersey.

WE made it! It was pretty scary back there when we seemed to be unable to find out way to the Key Bridge.

The Welcome Center in New Jersey. Let's make sure we get a state map so we can see where we are. We never got a map of Maryland, we thought we could depend on the TomTom GPS system. We now know that the routs in the GPS systems are for cars, not RV's or trucks hauling flammable substances. It is not fun driving narrow streets while pulling a travel trailer.

It is another hot, hot and humid day and the Bear refuses to come out in this weather. It is much too uncomfortable for a being with fur such as his. Maybe he will be willing to venture out when we reach the Timberlane Camp Ground in Clarksboro, NJ.

When we find our space we discover this family still parked there. The check out time for this place is 12 pm, an hour later than all of the other parks where we've stayed. They are preparing to leave and are worried about making us wait. We strike up a conversation and find out that this is a family doing a reality show about their life on the road. The Discovery Chanel will be airing this show in the fall, if not on Discovery Chanel then on one of it's family of chanels. They are the "The Loud Family, Living Their Dream" and are very happy to pose with the Bear for this photo. They are traveling our country and figure it will take 2 1/2 years. The Evans family have a huge fifth wheel rig and the camera man is filming as the dad backs it out of the space. They have a guest book for those they meet along their way and will be sending out group e-mails to all those who have signed it. We look forward to receiving updates on their "adventure".

Pond in the Timberlane RV Park/Camp Ground. There is an island in the center where the duck feeders and shelters are located. I'll dub the island "Duck Island". We hear the pond is stocked with bass, and upon reading the park brochure we discover that it is a catch and release pond.

Bridge to Duck Island.

More residents of the RV park/camp ground.

The RV park has WiFi, but has been having difficulty with it today, probably due to the heat since their air conditioner hasn't been working well. We can't get onto the 'net and will be behind on entries again. Oh well, we knew there would be times that we wouldn't have Internet access.

June 8, D.C. Day Two

We opted to see the D.C. Mall today on the Tourmobile Sightseeing tram. I is cooler inside the cars especially when it is in motion. We bought the pass which is good for a full day, and we can get off and back on when ever we want at any of the stops. This is a good way to cover a lot of ground, getting to the spots we want to see quickly. There is also a guide on board giving the history & specifics of each location and monument.

Combine this tram with the Metro train and the day goes very smoothly. Unfortunately the Bear was not allowed to ride the train.

This view is actually the front of the capital building. This is usually the side that TV reports and interviews take place. Just east of here is Grand Central Station, which we would have missed if we had not taken the tram.

The entrance to Grand Central Station. We never would have known this was here if we had not taken the Tourmobile.

Looking north in the main hall of Grand Central Station.

Dan is ready for a hair cut by the newest stylist in the salon.

Looking east in the food court on the lower level of the station. This is the largest food court we have ever seen.

Looking west in the food court.

A replica of the Liberty Bell located outside of Grand Central Station.

Monument honoring Christopher Columbus. On the left is a figure of a Native American, on the right is a figure representing a Greek Philosopher, in the front an guiding angel. Behind the monument is the Grand Central Station.

U.S. Postal Service Museum. We see the methods of mail delivery since post office was established. I wish I could get photos in these museums, but using the flash washed out the details and colors.

Benjamin Franklin's statue in the Postal Museum. The first Post Master of the United States.

Department of Commerce.

Just outside the Museum of Natural History.

Museum of Natural History.

The Hope Diamond on display in the Museum of Natural History. I held the lens against the glass, but since this gem is surrounded on all sides by glass I get a glare from the glass panel behind the necklace. The Hope Diamond is 42+ carats, about the size of the palm of my hand.

Smithsonian Castle from across the mall, directly across from the Museum of Natural History.

The Natinal Archives where the Declaration of Independence is on display. However, the security is very tight resulting in a long, long line of people waiting to get in. A 90 minute wait in 99 degrees and 70% humidity, and in direct sun, is more than we can tollerate, so we just move on.

Jefferson Memorial.

The Washington Monument. Look closely, do you see a change in the shade of the stone use to build the Monument? When it was 1/3 completed the builders ran our of money and Congress would not give them funds to finish. It was 10 year later when they were able to complete the monument and by then the quarry the stone came from had been mined to a much deeper level where the stone was darker in color.

Gift from Italy, symbol of war, one of these are on each side of the bridge from D.C. to Arlington Cemetery. There are also two symbols of peace, but I am unable to get a good photo from the tram.

Bridge over the river to Arlington Cemetery.

This is all we saw of Arlington Cemetery since it was so late in the day and not enough time to do the tour and catch the last tram back to D.C.

This was the residence of the Gate Keeper on the Bridge. His job was to protect the capital from attack from the river.

Looking at the Smithsonian Castle on the way back from Arlington Cemetery.