
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.



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.

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.


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.


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!
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