A few leftovers from Baltimore: 1. If Baltimore received any government stimulus money, they didn't spend it on street repair. Horrible!! 2. Calling ahead to the campground, the lady gave us some tips on visiting Ft. McHenry, etc., and she referred to herself as a 'Baltimoron'. Cute!! 3. In her kayaking around, Mary Lou made friends with this Canadian Goose. Making our way toward Pennsylvania, we dipped down into Delaware just so we could 'claim' the state. We are also on a quest to find a geocache in every state, so that was another reason to go. A convenient geocache was near a mall with a large, mostly empty parking lot. And since it was near the 4th quarter of the Rockets' final playoff game, we just stayed there to watch the victory. Go Rockets! Campgrounds aren't plentiful around here, but we found a nice one in Hatfield, PA, from which to 'attack' Philadelphia. The campground people were very informative about how to get the train to go into town. Parking there is very expensive. So we drove the few miles to the Lansdale terminal, parked for $1, and bought senior tickets ($2 each, round trip) for the 40 minute ride to downtown Philadelphia. Trains typically don't go through the better parts of town. Below are the best I could get from the moving train of what I think are called 'row houses'. There were literally hundreds of them in various states of repair (like slum housing). Just amazing that people live there. Notice the street between the buildings. Unusual to see this much green space. Backs of the row houses. Taken on the return trip from the 3rd seat from the window. We had to walk 4 blocks from the downtown station to Independence Square. Lots of people walking about, much like New York. The attractions here are the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and associated buildings. The Liberty Bell had it's own building, rather long with displays relating to the bell leading up to the bell itself. The bell was poorly positioned as it was placed in front of a window wall, making photos too backlit to capture the bell itself. The crack in the bell has been modified and reinforced to prevent further damage. The Pennsylvania Assembly ordered the Bell in 1751 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania's original Constitution. Sometime later it began to crack and the final expansion of the crack rendered the Bell unringable on Washington's Birthday in 1846. Independence Hall and the buildings around it were actually Pennsylvania state government buildings, but were used by the Continental Congress and the Federal government after independence. It was the nation's capital during George Washington's presidency, while Washington, DC, was being built. Here's the room where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were debated and eventually signed. There are two-place tables for each of the 13 'states'. Here is the room where the inauguration of John Adams as the second president took place. It is said that there were many teary eyes as it was realized that this was the first time in the history of the world at that time, that a transfer of governmental leadership occurred without bloodshed or between two unrelated people. Mary Lou walked a few extra blocks to visit the Betsy Ross house. She was actually a furniture upholsterer, but became famous for designing and sewing our flag. And what's a visit to Philly without a Philly Cheesesteak! And the cemetery with Ben Franklin's grave. Our ride back on the train was packed with commuters going home. It's actually a pretty good way to make that trip, rather than driving. A very smooth relaxing ride.
We're resting up for our next adventure. Stay tuned.
3 Comments
Ruby
5/19/2015 03:24:06 am
Great info and pic!!
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jackie
5/20/2015 01:53:00 am
cool pics as usual.. you can always take up photography!! Sale those pics. luv the goose and the sandwich lol
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Mickey Mixon
5/21/2015 05:08:35 pm
I feel like I have been on a History Lesson! Great pics and info.
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Who are we?Chuck and Mary Lou have been traveling in their RV since 2002 and have lately been taking longer, extended trips. This is our way to share our experiences. Trip Reports
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