Better Late Than Never

Ranger speaking in Independence Hall

I've been too tired for the last few nights to sit down and share with you the places we've been.  Because we are all so tired, we've decided to take a couple of days off from traveling and just stay in camp until Wednesday.

Last Friday we ventured into Philadelphia.  My Dad was from there and I can remember several trips back here to visit his family.  Things are not how I remember them.  I guess we rarely came into the actual city.  Maybe it was just the route we took, but  traffic was terrible and the people seemed harried, unhappy and short tempered.  This was not the quaint little eastern town I was expecting.    Eventually we did find a parking lot and walked to Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was voted on and signed.  Once we got into the grounds of the park, the rangers were friendly, happy and well informed.  Our guide was great and reminded Pete of a young Bill Cosby.

The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia

Next we walked down the street to the Liberty Bell and then walked around the streets of old Philadelphia.  I was really happy to have Dad and Pete close by.  It wasn't the greatest area.

How Washington's men spent the winter

The last stop of our day on Friday was Valley Forge where Washington and his troops camped during one of the winters of the Revolutionary war.  We got there just before sundown and the grounds were peaceful and beautiful.

The cabins that the soldiers stayed in were bare and cold, and the home that Washington stayed in was lovely.  Rank had it's privileges even then.  We must have seen 50 deer that evening.   Even Dad says I'm not exaggerating on that one.

The home where Washington spent the winter

We spent another pleasant night in our campground and headed out toward New York on Saturday morning.  What a day that was, but Dad has decided he wants to tell you about that one.  That's it for now.  Loved your pictures from the family dinner last night.  Miss  you all and love you.

Mom

Dad and I having fun at Valley Forge!  You can see some of the deer in the background.

Dinner in Delaware!

Hi Family,

Tonight, I'd like to dedicate this blog to our grandchildren or as Grandpa calls them, the little punks.  First of all, I want to introduce Clifford to you.  Sarah and Andrew, I would imagine that you still remember the stories of Clifford the Big Red Dog.  Well, our motor home sometimes reminds me of Clifford trying to hide behind a tree, and our friends Pete and Linda wanted us to name our rig so we call it Clifford.  Kind of silly I know, but what can I say.  Anyway, when I talk about Clifford you'll know  what I mean.

Horseless carriage following Pete and Linda.

Amish man on his little scooter-bike.

Yesterday, Grandpa and I drove into Pennsylvania and into what is called the Pennsylvania Dutch country.  There is a group of people here called the Amish.  They don't believe in using many of our modern day conveniences and do without many of the things you and I take for granted.  They still use horse and buggies and make most of the things they need in their households.  Grandpa and I saw a horse and buggie, but I wasn't fast enough with the camera and I didn't get a picture.  Later though, we saw an Amish man riding down the road on a little bicycle-scooter thing, and I did get a picture of that.  After lunch by the Susquehanna River, we were leaving a little park, and a 1920's car pulled in front of us  right behind Pete and Linda.

Grandpa makes it to Delaware!

Last night, Grandpa really wanted to drive into Delaware for dinner.  It's such a small state, but he wanted to go there so we did and that's another state we have officially visited.

Well, that's enough for tonight.  I miss you all so much.  Please don't grow up too fast.  Tomorrow I'll tell you about Philadelphia and Valley Forge.

Much Love,       Grandma

P.S.  Tori, I know you're kind of old for this message but you know we love you too.

Tour of Gettysburg

Dad and one of the canons along the route.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB!  I know you had to work today, but hopefully it was a good day anyway.
Dad and I remember the day you were born so well.
Good old Fort Leonard Wood Missouri.  You're the best thing that ever came out of that place.

Today we had our own auto tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield.  Dad drove and we listened to a CD that explained the different battle sites.  We could move along at our own pace and we learned so much about the battles.

Look carefully at this old barn.  There is a hole just between the
diamond shaped designs.  THAT'S A CANONBALL HOLE!

Believe it or not, it helped that we had seen the Gettysburg movie.  I found myself picturing the actors who played the roles... Martin Sheen as General Lee, Tom Berringer as General Longstreet, Sam Elliot telling his men that they had to "hold the high ground" and Jeff Daniels as the colonel who held the high ground at Little Round top.  Today there are still over two thousand canons on the battlefields facing the way they did almost 150 years ago and they added to the feel of history all  around us.  The shear scope of the battlefields.... mixing modern day weapons and old fashioned methods caused so much death and injury.  The countryside looks so peaceful and it hasn't changed, but so many died.

Dad and I are back in camp having a glass of wine and thinking about the day.  Life is comfortable and tomorrow always seems new and surprising.  We head for Philadelphia in the morning and look forward to revisiting some of the places I saw with my mom and dad. 

That's it for tonight.  Hope all is well ... we think of all of you often.

Much love,   Mom

Our shaded spot in our Gettysburg campground.

Monticello in September!

What a beautiful day.  We drove to Monticello yesterday and viewed the most beautiful historical mansion I have ever seen.  I couldn't remember the details of our visit 34 years ago, but I did remember that I thought that this was one special place, and I was correct.  It is hard to believe that Jefferson thought of so many significant details to put into his home.  Double and triple paned windows, wine dumb waiters that brought the new wine bottles up on one side of the fireplace and took the empties back down on the other side of the fireplace, beds built into alcoves to save space in the room.... so many ideas that are still special today.

Dad and I are truly enjoying our time back here.  We love to just walk and walk on the grounds of these places.  We can take our time now and just absorb the world around us.  We really are fortunate.

We love you all,

Mom

P.S.  Today we drove to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  We will tour the battlefields tomorrow and then spend another night here in this quiet campsite surrounded by trees and memories of the past.

Mount Vernon

Dad sitting on the porch looking at the Potomac

We were awakened last night with the rain pouring down on the roof of the motor home.  It was a great feeling to be warm and safe inside and the rain had changed to drizzle by the time we left for Mount Vernon this morning.  It was about a 45 minute drive and traffic was very light today.  The setting at Mount Vernon was incredible and the grounds were well maintained.  Dad and I both remembered sitting on the porch looking out over the Potomac when we made the trip with Brett 12 years ago.  We had to sit there again, and we loved it just as much as before.  After taking a tour and walking the grounds for about an hour and a half, we had lunch at the center and then headed back to D.C. to see the Iwo Jima Memorial.  As we were leaving the memorial, about 50 or 60 Marines arrived to have a group picture taken.  It made it very special to see them proudly standing in front of the massive statue.

Linda, Pete and Bob in front of Mt. Vernon

Next we headed to the Jefferson Monument.  It took us a while to get there but we finally found a place to park and began the long walk to the monument.  It sits on the banks of the Potomac and reminded me of a quiet version of the Lincoln Monument.  Tomorrow we are off to see Monticello, Jefferson's home in the middle of Virginia.  Dad and I saw it with Jill and Rob in 1976 and I have wonderful memories of it.


I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for managing to post this blog all by myself.  Hopefully it will come through with no complications.   Thanks Rob for getting me started on the blog, and thanks Linda for walking me through the details tonight.  Let's hope it works.

Oh well, life is still good!  

Love, Mom

Another Amazing Day!

Yesterday was totally amazing.  We started at Arlington Cemetery ... at first we thought we would just walk to the various high points, but Linda suggested we might want to take the tour to get all the info we could. Well Dad knew just about everything they told us, but boy would it have been a loooooooong walk.  We started at the eternal flame for President Kennedy then went on the the changing of the guard a little further on, and then finally up to the top of the hill to see the General Lee House. 

Next we walked back to the subway and went back to the mall area and had lunch  before we walked to the Washington Monument and down to the Lincoln Memorial. I can't believe that Dad and Rob walked from the Capitol building all the way to the Lincoln Memorial when Rob was only 3. That's one long walk.  After a rest on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, we walked to the Viet Nam Wall and then to the Korean War Memorial. We stopped for a coke and then we walked to the White House. I can't remember being so tired in a long time.

We got back to the motor homes quite late.  I'm embarrassed to say I considered not even washing my face and brushing my teeth. Somehow I managed and fell into bed around 10 after I made Dad a fancy dinner of Campbells soup and some crackers.  

Today was spent doing laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and fixing dinner for the four of us.  It was nice to rest a little. I still can't get my pictures to go through so I'll send this separately so at least you will get the message. Tomorrow we are off the Mount Vernon and hopefully the Jefferson Memorial and the Iwo Jima Memorial.


Love to all,


Mom

What a day!

What a day! We began the day with a 9:00 tour of the capitol. We were the first tour group of the day and it felt like a private tour. Rooms that Dad and I remember as being filled with tourists were completely empty except for our group. Because there were so few tour groups, we were allowed to see rooms that were normally off limits. We felt we were so special and it all seemed so relaxed and totally unrushed (I don't think that's even a word).

We had lunch at the capitol and then went on to the Smithsonian Art Museum.  We were really looking for the Norman Rockwell exhibit, but it was at the Washington D.C. Gallery of Art which we found later in the afternoon. Next was the Air and Space Museum and then (my favoritie) Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was assassinated. We finished the day viewing the Norman Rockwell collection.  The collection was donated by George Lucas and Steven Speilberg.  It was really fantastic ... I hope people your age remember what a great artist he was.

This evening we spent a couple of hours just sitting with Pete and Linda and talking about what a great day it was and what an impact it is having on all of us.  I truly hope you can all have this experience someday.

Life continues to be good.  We love you all.

Mom and Dad