We went to the Philadelphia area on Saturday for a family one-year-old birthday party. The grandparents, my brother Alan and his wife Sue, flew in from Seattle. Several years ago I officiated at the marriage of Sue's daughter and son-in-law, Marinna and Ted, who now live in this area, so it was very special to celebrate the birthday of their first child, Ginny. Marinna did a fantastic job using a lady-bug theme for decorations, cakes, invitations, party favors, and lots of food, but unfortunately she came down with a flu bug the day of the party and missed the whole thing! The party was held at PAWS, a kid-oriented place with farm animals, smaller caged animals that the children could pet, and lots of indoor and outdoor play equipment. Fun day.
On Sunday we went to Valley Forge. I have been so impressed with how alive history is in this part of the country. I feel like I'm finally starting to make sense out of the Revolutionary War and the Civil War periods.
At Valley Forge we learned that the hardship and deaths had little to do with the lack of food and cold weather, but more to do with illness and disease. The conditions were harsh -- 9-12 people crowded in the small barracks which they built, and many had ragged clothing and some had no shoes. General Washington did institute new regulations for sanitation and required smallpox inoculations, but still only a limited number of his men were fit for physical activity at any one time. Women sometimes accompanied their soldiers, staying in the primitive barracks with the other men.
I was also interested in seeing where the Washington's stayed at Valley Forge, since I've been reading a book about the Founding Mothers, including Martha Washington, and recently read another book about Abigail Adams.
(I was drawn to the book about Abigail because of my granddaughter's name -- Abigail!) We are also listening to an audiobook about John Adams.
We spent Monday in Philadelphia. It was another absolutely gorgeous day -- we have been so lucky with our touring days and good weather.
And again it has been wonderful to take in some of the historical sites that have been so important in the founding of our country.
It is amazing to reflect on the sacrifice, thoughtfulness and wisdom of those early founding fathers (with influence from the founding mothers!) It was a huge decision first of all to choose to break with England, forcing the start of a revolution, and then to organize those 13 colonies into a "united states," to write the declaration of independence, and then set out the bill of rights and constitution -- documents that would become the foundation of our government even today. We sat in the Constitution Hall where the first transfer of power from one president to the next happened (Washington to Adams) -- unheard of in other countries without a monarchy.
We learned where the term "red tape" came from -- as those early statesmen worked on official documents, they tied them with red ribbon/tape.
The Liberty Bell Center was quite interesting. In the late 1800s it traveled around the country to help heal the division of the Civil War.
Since then it has been used as a symbol of liberty for those trying to outlaw slavery, and to promote the rights of women and minorities. There were pictures of people like the Dali Lama and Nelson Mandela pictured next to the Bell.
The intent for religious freedom was impressive, although we did hear it said that people had the freedom and
duty to worship God however they wished.
A guide told us about Christ Church
(the name of our church in Santa Rosa, just different denomination!) This Christ Church was the first Anglican/Episcopal church in America.
The Quakers were quite prominent in Philadelphia and we saw two Meeting Houses. Since John and I both have ancestors who were Quakers, we've become more interested in that part of our history.
We also peeked into the cemetery where Benjamin Franklin and other dignitaries were buried.
Several statues of Franklin are located around the city. We toured the Betsy Ross House when we were here in 2007, so skipped it this time.
But we did have to indulge in one of the local treats -- the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich with all the works. Lucky we had a big lunch, since getting home took a lot longer than planned. The last 14 miles of our trip took us over an hour because of an accident. We were happy to finally get "home."
Only a few more days left in our New Windsor home.
FYI -- We've actually had good experiences booking hotel rooms on our excursions through Hotwire. Their "secret hotels" advertise 40% off the going rate. It has worked out well for us. We determine the star rating and the area we want. After we book it, they inform us which hotel we're going to stay at. Since we often don't know where we want to be anyway, it has worked out well for the most part!
We left New Windsor on a Sunday, and went to church at the Lovely Lane United Methodist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, which is where the official Methodist denomination was formed in 1784. The original meeting house is long gone, but the beautiful "Mother Church" was built in the 1800s, and has been kept up with lots and lots of donations over the years. The first minister was Francis Asbury, and his name plus all the preachers since then are written in the stained glass windows, or more recently on a separate panel. There was also a museum there with original documents.
Also stopped at a beautiful guest ranch, The Farm, owned by a friend of my cousin--perfect for your next Virginia family gathering!
