Delaware is the First State of the Union. It is my 50th state. I have now been to them all! We went about 20 miles into Delaware to visit The First State National Park in a little town called Newcastle. It is a lovely community and many of the homes and businesses are original homes. It was settled in 1651. You can see the cobblestone road in the third picture. I asked the lady at the historical society how old the road is and she said it was made about 10 years after the town was settled, so around 1661. We watched cars travel on it and it is rough going. We certainly have some different National Parks in this country. This National Park is a building (first picture) that was formally the sheriff’s office and jail. The second picture is the historical building.
After our visit there we walked through town to look at the sites. There were some interesting signs to read and things to look at.
The second picture above is the walk to the Presbyterian Church.
They have a lovely area as well that is called The Green.
We enjoyed the morning in Newcastle and if you’re around Philadelphia, stop in and say hi. They are a friendly town and everyone was very nice and happy to see us. We’ve spent the day today enjoying resting and preparing to head to Washington D.C. tomorrow. I hope you’ve had an enjoyable day too.
Yesterday we drove across the river into Philadelphia to visit Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and other sites. I was awed by the fact we were walking in the same places as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Hancock and so many others. Our day began finding a parking space. We have a Ford F350 dually and it is hard to park. We thought we could park in the Independence Hall parking garage but it had a height of 6’6 and that’s the height of the truck, so we journeyed on. We were 25 minutes early but I began to fear we would miss our time slot until we finally found a place that would take the truck. We walked the three blocks to Independence Hall and went through security. I have been surprised that so many places have required us to go through an airport security type line.
The tour was led by a volunteer former history teacher. He was very informative. We entered into the Pennsylvania Supreme Court room first and then into the Assembly Room. We were told there was very little that was original in Independence Hall because the British burned everything that was wood to keep warm. But there were a few things. A walking stick or two, a quill, books that belonged to John Hancock. But the amazing thing was there is an original chair that George Washington sat in at the Constitutional Convention. It is called the Rising Sun chair.
The chandelier is a reproduction made in the late 1700’s from descriptions. It was amazing to be there and I continue to be amazed that we have remained a united country for so long. Although not so united right now, perhaps not really ever.
After our brief visit here we went to see the Liberty Bell that is housed across the street. You can get up fairly close and walk around it. It is something I never thought I’d see.
We walked toward Betsy Ross’ house and came across the Christ Church graveyard. There is a $5 fee per person and you can also pay a little extra to get a guided tour. We paid the fee and walked around on our own. There are five signers of the Declaration of Independence there including Benjamin Franklin and his family. I’m not sure why people are leaving money on the graves. Maybe someone else knows.
We journeyed on to the home of Betsy Ross. I was surprised to find out that she didn’t own the house, only rented rooms. It is a nice self-guided tour. There is a woman portraying Betsy Ross and I asked her lots of questions. It was a fun tour.
We then went to the Benjamin Franklin Museum. His home is no longer there. It was torn down in the 19th century. But the walkway he walked along is there and there is a nice museum.
Our last stop of the day was The Museum of the American Revolution. I’m not sure if we were allowed to take pictures but the displays were difficult to get a good picture anyway because of the lighting. We watched a short film about the American Revolution and then went upstairs to watch another short film about George Washington and his tent. They have the original tent he used during the Revolutionary War so he could be near his troops. I highly recommend watching it and seeing the tent at the end. There are several pictures online that we were given access to download.
We had to cut the visit short as we were late getting back to the truck. I have decided Tom and I would be divorced if we went on the Amazing Race. We disagree on directions often but this time I was right and got us to the parking garage. I was actually amazed myself. We enjoyed Philadelphia a lot.
We had a marvelous day and I hope your days are marvelous too.
This is Helen. Helen has always hated me. She would run and hide when I came around. If Tom was feeding her I couldn’t go into the kitchen because Helen wouldn’t eat. She never came near me and I was rarely able to pet her. I have never done anything to her, well except for that time I accidently tried to kill her by closing her up in the recliner. It was traumatic for us both. Her neck was being held by one of the metal pieces. Obviously she survived. Well there was also the time she swallowed a sewing needle when she ate the thread. That really wasn’t my fault though because my daughter left it out. Again, after surgery she survived. My goodness, I just realized if she was a child, I’d probably be arrested for child abuse. Really though, I’ve been nothing but gracious to Helen. As I said, Helen has always hated me….until now.
Now she comes and lays next to me on the sofa, she comes for pets while I’m in bed. She lays between my legs while I’m sleeping. Perhaps she has finally forgiven me for almost killing her when she was a kitten. Perhaps the 5th wheel is so small (well relatively, it’s 40.5 feet long) she has nowhere to go or perhaps she has dementia and has forgotten who I am. But I am enjoying the love, for as long as I can.
We were supposed to be or what I thought we were supposed to be, in Philadelphia today or at least Pennsylvania. We are not. I had my camera ready to take a picture of the Pennsylvania sign and it never came. We kept seeing NJDOT signs and finally realized that although our campground is South Philadelphia KOA, we are still in New Jersey. It’s a nice campground and the weather is lovely.
There are some sweet victories at campgrounds. I am always filled with such joy to find an empty washing machine at the laundry. Today was sheet washing day, always a chore because I have to put the things back on. I’ve said before it’s a full contact sport to put sheets on trailer beds. I was super excited to see a new oversized washing machine for not only sheets but blankets. Sometimes there are signs that say no blankets, but thankfully this one did not say that. What made my day even more was I was not the one walking away from the laundry when it was full, that went to someone else.
Something new, I have stopped ironing my clothes. I know, I know. But for those who know me, they know I used to never go anywhere without ironing my clothes. My daughter doesn’t even own an iron. She used to come to my house on the rare occasion she needed one. She also says life’s too short to iron. I am leaning that way. That’s not to say I never iron but it is becoming more rare. I haven’t decided if that’s camp life or retirement life.
Speaking of laundry, the other day Tom decided to heat a breakfast sandwich. I had taken them out of the package and so the directions were no where to be seen. Tom is a direction kind of guy. Here is our conversation.
Tom: How am I supposed to know how to heat these?
Me: I will tell you.
Tom: You’re supposed to know?
Me:
Tom (looking around the corner) while I am staring at him
Me:
Tom: Really, I need to know in case you are gone.
Me: Where am I going?
Tom: Doing laundry or taking a shower
Me: Wrap it in a paper towel, defrost for 90 seconds, turn it over and heat for one minute
Tom: This is not going to be hot enough
Me: I don’t know what to tell you, but that’s the directions.
The microwave dings. Tom eats the breakfast sandwich.
Today was a very short travel day. No stops, 2 hours 15 minutes and we were there. I love those days. So does everyone else her in the McFadden household, cats included. We are here for four nights and ready to see some history. Tomorrow we head to Independence Hall.
I hope you find the small joys in life. Remember life’s too short to iron.
There are so many stories of New Yorkers being rude and we even had a woman from New Jersey ask Tom why he would want to go to “the city.” But we found nothing but kind and enjoyable people. Yes, there are lots of people honking horns and people are busy and in their own world, but we didn’t experience any rude people. We really enjoyed our second day in “the city.”
We arrived at the Dover train station a little after 7:00 a.m. to catch the 7:33 a.m. train to Penn Station. We encountered a woman at the payment kiosk to park the truck and then later at the platform. There were several trains coming and she wasn’t sure which was the right train. We got her on the right one. I felt like a native!
Be aware if traveling on the train in the summer. It was 85 degrees outside and felt like winter in the train car. I was thankful to have worn a sweatshirt but I was still cold. Penn Station is a marvel. There are a multitude of tracks for NJ Transit, Amtrack, and others. I have compared it to being in a race you don’t want to run. You stand or sit in a waiting area and stare at the boards to see which track your train will leave from. It doesn’t show up until 10 minutes before leave time and then as soon as it is seen, everyone begins walking really fast to get there and get a seat. Thankfully we left before work was done for most people as I can only imagine what it is like after 5:00 p.m.
Trees mark the original tower footprint“Trees” of the TowersWall holding back the Hudson RiverStairs that saved hundredsSurvivor Tree
‘After arriving at Penn Station we caught a cab to the 9/11 Memorial. We had purchased a tour that begin in the center of the plaza and we sat down to wait for it to begin. While we were there we watched people taking pictures of a squirrel. It was as though they had never seen a squirrel.
A security person came by and told them not to feed it. A few minutes later a woman said, “I would feed you, but the security lady said no.” Goodness! There were certainly more interesting things to take pictures of than the squirrel.
We highly recommend you taking the tour. It’s a little pricey but worth the extra information. It was a sobering moment when we were told that a large wall with blue squares housed the remains of many of those who died on that day. Our guide said he was sad when people take smiling family pictures and TicTok videos. I didn’t take a picture. He has never been in the room and says not many have or ever will.
After the Memorial we headed a few blocks to Trinity Church. It was a scene from the movie National Treasurer and a tourist attraction as well as a working church. They were serving the Holy Eucharist as they do every day at noon. We also discovered it is the gravesite of Alexander Hamilton.
We then walked to see the steps where the lawyers walk down on “Law and Order.” It was a nice walk and a beautiful day. Afterwards we caught a cab to see the fire station from Ghostbusters.
We had lunch and then caught a cab back to Penn Station. I am surprised at our successful navigation of New York City but I don’t think I will be as intimidated in other large cities. We are heading to Philadelphia today for more history.
New York has been a joy! Don’t miss out on coming to this wonderful place.
Yesterday we successfully navigated the New Jersey Transit System. We took the train from Dover into Penn Station, caught a cab to a Starbucks near Central Park and waited for our Pedi-Cab driver to pick us up. It was a wonderful tour of some of the sights of Central Park. There were so many movie references, I couldn’t keep up with them all. We saw places where many movies were filmed including Elf, Serendipity, Enchanted, and so many more. We highly recommend this tour. Shakespeare in the Park is going on right now, a free production and people stand in line to get a chance at a seat. Seats are given out randomly, so you could be first in line and get a seat in the back. But it’s very popular.
Geographic Center of New YorkThe :Plaza HotelShakespeare in the ParkThe DakotaWhere John Lennon DiedStrawberry Field
After Central Park we headed to Radio City Music Hall, Times Square and Broadway. We continued our walk through the city to reach our scheduled time for the Empire State Building. It was not what I expected, but enjoyable just the same.
It was very windy on the 86th floor. We didn’t go to the top. We walked around the outside and I took pictures from each direction. Afterwards we searched for a place to eat nearby and found Jack Dempsey’s Pub. We enjoyed listening to our Irish waiter get excited over a golf game.
It was time to head back to the train station and journey back New Jersey. It takes 1 1/2 hours each way to travel but taking the truck into the city is a nightmare waiting to happen. It was a good day in New York City. My first time there.
Yesterday morning we headed to Liberty Park to catch the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I’ll be honest and say, I never thought I’d see it in person. We had a wonderful but tiring day.
We went to the Statue first and arrived at the area to visit the pedestal. Most people were only able to visit this part. You can walk out and see views all around. The picture above is a view from there. It is 195 steps to the pedestal. There is an elevator, which we stood in line for but it only takes four people at a time and there was a long line. So, I said let’s walk up the 195 steps. Big mistake, huge. But we made it and enjoyed the view. Tom was able to snag crown tickets. You are required to have special tickets to the crown because they only take so many people per day. We overheard someone talking and they are sold out until October. We got lucky! So, we continued up the 159 steps to the crown. It is not for the faint of heart. The park ranger told us it was okay to not go all the way to the top. I imagine this means some people don’t. It is a double spiral staircase and I can honestly say, I was not feeling so well after the first spiral but I was determined. We made it to the crown with jelly legs and were told to turn right, so we could see the face of Lady Liberty. First picture below. The second picture is what you can see of the arm out of the crown windows and the next pictures are in the insides of the statue including the stairs.
After looking out the small windows we headed down and I think that was worse than going up. But it didn’t take as long! We then toured the museum. The torch below is the original torch and was removed in 1984 as it was damaged beyond repair. Tom is sitting on a model of the foot. I’m sticking my finger up the nose of the face. Afterwards we got back on the ferry and headed to Ellis Island.
It was a quick walk through as it was getting late in the day and there weren’t very many ferries left. We didn’t see all of the exhibits but did watch a 30 minute video about the immigrants arriving on the ships.
There were walls and walls of tickets and postcards and photos. We were so glad we went. I hope if you are ever in New York, take the ferry from New Jersey and go early to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It is an all day event. There is a nice place for food right after getting off the ferry. Don’t forget to get your stamp in your National Park Passport. Be prepared to wait for the ferry in long lines. Tom said the majority of our time was spent waiting for the ferry and riding on the ferry. Thankfully it wasn’t too hot.
It was a good day! Here’s hoping your days are filled with good things too.
This morning we awoke to rain and cold. It didn’t get out of the 50’s here today. We headed towards Boston early this morning. We are in Littleton, MA. We found the Alewife subway station with no problems, parked and picked up our Charlie Card to ride. We got off at South Station and walked to the Boston Tea Party Museum and Tour. It was very interesting and there was a simulation of throwing the crates of tea into the harbor. We were on the ship Eleanor. Our guide was Mehitable Crane, the wife of John Crane. She told an amazing story about how they thought her husband was dead and because he couldn’t be found at the ship they took him to his shop but when they arrived the next morning expecting to find him dead, he was alive. Samuel Adams was also there and gave a rousing speech on why we should resist paying taxes on the tea.
We saw the last surviving tea crate. It was picked up near the harbor by a man and kept under the stairs of his home during the Revolutionary War. It was then passed down in his family being used for many different things before being donated to the museum. There is also a small bottle of tea that somehow survived. We weren’t allowed to take pictures in the museum. As we were walking out of one of the areas, we thought there was going to be a fight. A young boy had gotten into a man’s space and the man was mad. The mom apologized and reminded the man the spaces we were in were very close. He didn’t seem to care about that though.
After the tour we walked to Emmet’s Irish Pub for lunch. I, of course, had New England Clam Chowder. The most interesting thing at the restaurant was when I walked downstairs to the bathroom and there was a British woman standing there in her underwear drying her pants under the bathroom hand dryer. I asked her if she had spilt something on her pants and she said her son had spilt water. I told her at least it wasn’t tomato soup. She said, “yes, that is a good thing and it could have been worse. Her pants would dry.” It’s not every day you see a British woman in her knickers!.
We headed back to the the subway and got the train to our truck. Then we headed towards Rhode Island. Tom had found the closest town over the border and it was only an hour away. So, we drove through the pouring rain and made it to Cumberland, Rhode Island. I tried to get a picture three times. Mind you, it was pouring rain and the sign was on the left. Tom kept turning around and trying again and I told him to let it go. So, here is the picture I took and one I “borrowed” from online. That was the best of the three. 48 states down, two more to go. Delaware and Connecticut are all that’s left.
You might be wondering about the Rotary picture at the top. A rotary is similar to a roundabout but bigger and allows for a higher rate of speed. We saw these here in Massachusetts. It was a long day and we’re tired but we enjoyed our short time in Massachusetts. This was my second trip and Tom’s first. I’d like to come back some time and show him all the other amazing sites in Boston.
We hope your day was enjoyable as well. Tomorrow we head to New Jersey.
We took the bus to Bar Harbor to pick up our electric car. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the little Gem. It reminds me of Smart Car. It is actually a glorified golf cart that only goes 25 mph. We sat off for the park but you can only drive on roads that have a speed limit of 35 mph or less. We didn’t quite get the directions we were supposed to take so I had to turn around and go back to the lot. We listened again and got it right. I didn’t want to mess up because there is a $150 fine for driving on roads that have a higher speed limit. Plus she told us we’d be in the newspaper!
We had made reservations to travel up Cadillac Mountain. They are required from May to October. At 1,530 feet it is the highest point along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. It was very windy and cold. I saw a NP employee this morning and she said, “Just like that, it is fall.” She wasn’t wrong. The leaves on some trees have already started changing and the air is crisp.
Along the park loop there are beautiful views of the ocean. We had trouble even in our little car to find parking at several places. But we enjoyed what we saw.
After dropping off the car, we stopped for ice cream and to do a little shopping. We’ll be heading to Massachusetts tomorrow for a few days. We’ve met some nice people at this campground. We highly recommend Bar Harbor Campground, even though the sites are not level. One of the people we talked to this morning said that our area used to be tent camping and they just recently put in electricity and water.
We had a wonderful last full day in Maine. Come visit if you get the chance. It’s beautiful. We hope you’ve had a wonderful day too.
Yesterday we arrived in Maine, my 47th state. We stopped at a rest area, and a truck/camper from Connecticut went the wrong way and almost hit the truck to get into a parking space. The funny thing is, they are two spaces away from us in our campground. Tom keeps calling him my buddy. I was so shocked at what they were doing that I was staring at them incredulously. The rest areas are nice in Maine. We saw this in one of them.
Our campground is nice but the sites are very unlevel. I had to manually level the trailer for the first time ever. I missed my automatic leveler. I was waiting on the trailer to start rolling backwards. I could just see myself running down the hill after it, with my arms in the air. That would have been a site. I talked with a couple from Maine who were camping across from us and the husband had been to McAlester, Oklahoma, my hometown. What are the chances of that? We had a nice conversation and Tom came out hunting for me because I was only supposed to be putting my Maine state on the map.
We took the Island Explorer Bus to Bar Harbor this morning. It is a free bus that takes people all around the area. We had lunch at Route 66 Diner. It was yummy! We both had Seafood, of course. I also found a lovely little shop called Cool as a Moose. It supports Longshoremen. Here’s some pictures from the restaurant. I enjoyed a wonderful Blueberry Soda there, made in Bar Harbor.
The rain arrived around 4:30 p.m. It’s not supposed to last for more than a few hours. We purposely waited until tomorrow to see Acadia National Park so we wouldn’t have to worry about rain. We’re renting what is called a Gem, an electric car to drive around the park. More on that tomorrow.
Our campground is on the water but we aren’t in one of those sites. I did take a picture when I was going to get my laundry. It feels like fall here now and interestingly the “season” ends today. I think kids must be going back to school and things will start slowing down for them. The bus routes change tomorrow as well.
We are enjoying Maine, but I really want to come back and take the ferry to Nova Scotia. It’s only 3 1/2 hours! We’ve had an amazing journey today and look forward to the National Park tomorrow. I hope you’re day has been amazing too.
Quechee Gorge was our first stop this morning. They are doing some work on the bridge but we took a little hike to get a view and then were able to walk along the bridge and got a better view. It’s billed as the Grand Canyon of Vermont. I wouldn’t go that far but it was a beautiful hike and a beautiful area.
We then headed for Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park. It’s a different National Park than most. It was donated by the family in 1990 and became a NP in 1994. Tom still hasn’t been able to use his Discovery Pass. We’ve been to three National Parks on this trip and not once has he been able use it. This time it was because the Park is free but to tour the home is $6 each. So, we toured the home and looked a little at the farm side. It’s a park focusing on conservation and I really enjoyed seeing all the work they have done in Vermont for the forest.
Next was a trip to Sugar Bush Farms for Vermont Maple Syrup, Maple Sugar Butter, and Maple Cookies. It was a rough drive up the mountain but we saw goats and had a cheese tasting. We didn’t buy any cheese but the woman giving the tasting encouraged us to use the butter for our corn on the cob.
One last stop at the Lincoln Covered Bridge, built in 1877 completed our tour of the area. It was the only nearby bridge that had not been rebuilt.
We love Vermont. I can only imagine how beautiful it is during the Autumn. We did some shirts that said, “What happens in Vermont, stays in Vermont. But nothing happens here.” That sounds lovely, to be honest.
We’ll be heading to Maine in the morning for a few days. Another National Park is in our plans and promised views of the ocean. It was a marvelous journey today. I hope yours was as well.
