Exploring Cape Cod

Well, we slogged through the rain and made it to our new home in Middleboro Massachusetts. We are just south of Boston, somewhat near Cape Cod. Since the weather was still a bit rainy and cloudy, we thought we would take the day to explore the Cape before the holiday crowds arrived.

We drove through some pretty historical areas-- no time to stop at every landmark --darn it! For instance, we drove through the town of Orleans. Did you know that on July 21, 1918 the first and only enemy shells on US soil, landed in Orleans? They were fired from a German World War I sub, U-156. Interesting.

Our next stop after that was to one of the many lighthouses in the area. This is the Nauset Lighthouse. This particular lighthouse was moved from another area to it's present location. It is an active lighthouse.

We drove along a little further and decided to stop at one of the many Cape Cod National Seashore beaches. There are a number of them on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Cape. This adds up to miles of beautiful, sandy shoreline. Although there aren't any beachgoers in this view, we did see a number of people who "went to the beach" despite the cloudy weather. The beaches are staffed with lifeguards. Most of the surfers were wearing wetsuits and more than a few silly children were playing in the 53 degree(brrrr) water!

After a seafood lunch--some of the largest mussels we've ever seen--we stopped at the Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse in Truro. It is the oldest lighthouse on the Cape, built in 1797. It was a favorite stop of Henry David Thoreau in the 1850's. It was here that he said,
" A man can stand here and put all of America behind him"
It really seems like that. 20 years ago the lighthouse was moved 453 ft. back from the edge of an eroding beach cliff. It is a fully functioning US Coast Guard lighthouse.

We went to the end of the Cape at Provincetown. There we walked around some of the shops and the wharf. We went to one of the seafood markets. Look at this lobster! He weighs 9 pounds. Now that would feed a lot of people. We left this potential dinner at the market for someone with more money-- at $9 per pound he was too rich for us!

We enjoyed our drive out to the end of the Cape despite the heavily overcast skies. On the way back the fog started rolling back in. It was good to get home.

New York to Hartford

This is what we did on Tuesday --

After a full day of rain ( lots and lots of it) on Monday, we left Florida NY. When we were getting ready to leave there, we discovered that this little village is the birthplace of William Seward.
Since we lived in Alaska for a long time, we are very familiar with Seward. For those of you who don't know, William Seward served as Secretary of State to Abraham Lincoln and more importantly was instrumental in the US purchase of the Alaska territory.
The main road leading into Florida is also known locally as the Seward Highway. We got a kick out of that since we think of the Seward Highway as the one in Alaska.

We drove through the rain to Hartford Connecticut where we stayed for the night. When we stopped at the Connecticut Welcome Center to pick up a map. Since we only had one afternoon in the area we thought we would look at the Mark Twain Home.

Mark Twain lived in Hartford during the time in his life when he wrote most of the stories he is famous for ( Tom Sawyer, Yankee in King Arthur's Court, etc.). He shared the home with his wife and 3 children. It was pretty modern for the time with central heating and plumbing. The Twains lived in a pretty fancy neighborhood. Their next door neighbor was Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Toms Cabin).
The home was decorated Louis C. Tiffany (as in Tiffany glass). Although there was none of Tiffany's signature stained glass, it was very fancy. The walls were hand stenciled with metallic paints. The fireplaces had elaborate wood carved mantels and the crystal chandeliers were beautiful. Many of Twain's original furniture pieces are in the home. The restoration of the house is authentic because the home had been extensively photographed during Twain's residence. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos of the interior of the home. If you would like to see photos of the interior, they are available on their website: www.marktwainhouse.org
Although we only had an afternoon in Hartford, it looked like an interesting city, one we may have to visit again.

Visit to Sleepy Hollow

Yesterday crossed over to the east side of the Hudson River to visit the town of Sleepy Hollow. Yes--it is the town made famous by Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.


Our first stop was to the legendary Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Parts of this cemetery date back to 1650. A number of famous people are buried here.

The list includes Elizabeth Arden, Walter Chrysler and Samuel Gompers. In addition Andrew Carnegie is buried here. He is the Carnegie as in Carnegie Hall, Carnegie-Mellon Foundation, etc. It was surprising to see that such a well-known philanthropist and famous man had such a simple grave.

Washington Irving is also buried here. The cemetery is mentioned in his Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

On the site is the Old Dutch Church which dates back to 1697. It is still an active church and has been in continuous use except during the Revolution. The church yard is the one that the Headless Horseman rode through each night and returned to each morning.

Since Sleepy Hollow is on the Hudson River, it is home to another one of the Hudson River Lighthouses. Built in 1883, this lighthouse saw service to river navigators until 1965. While the river originally had 14 lighthouses, only 8 remain today. We have seen 3. If you read our other posts you saw Stony Point Lighthouse. What is the third one?? It's the Statue of Liberty at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor. It is a little known fact that the US Lighthouse Board was the original caretaker of the statue. Nine lamps in the torch and five others around the pedestal were set up to guide navigators. The dimness of the lighting was of little help and the lighthouse portion of Liberty Island closed in 1902.


Seen near the cemetery.....Hmmmm.

Exploring the Hudson River Valley

We spent the last 2 days exploring some of the historical sites in the Hudson River Valley where we are staying. Both of us are slightly surprised at the size of the valley and the size of the river--it's really wide. Since the area has been settled by one group or another since the 1600's , it's no wonder that it has seen so many historically significant events.

Our first stop was Stony Point Battlefield State Park. Stony Point is a small peninsula that sticks out into the Hudson River. In 1779, this area as well as Fort Verplank across the river were held by the British. Washington had his troops slightly farther north at West Point. A plan was devised to march on Stony Point and re-take control of the river. They were successful.
The museum at the battle site was really well done. They had actual British cannons that were captured in the battle as well as many other artifacts found at the battle site.

The other feature on this peninsula is the Stony Point Lighthouse. The Hudson River has been a major route for commerce and colonization since the early 1600's. In 1825, the Erie Canal opened and the river saw a surge of commercial navigation linking New York City with America's heartland. The first of the Hudson River's 14 lighthouses, Stony Point was built in 1826 to safely guide maritime travel along the river.
The lighthouse was continually staffed and lit by several people including one woman who lived there for 52 years. It has been completely restored and although not used for navigation anymore, is lit every night.

Our next stop was the Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville. This winery produced it's first vintage in 1839. Although it has changed hands several times over the years, it never closed making it the oldest continuously operating winery in the United States. They even operated during Prohibition by selling sacramental wine.
They produce a number of wines using New York grapes. It was fun to visit and taste the product.

Next we went to New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site in Vails Gate. This is yet another one of those "George Washington slept here" places !

A year after the southern portion of the British Army surrendered to the American and French forces at Yorktown, General George Washington was with his northern army in the Hudson Valley. His troops,consisting of 7500 soldiers and 500 of their wives and children set up their final winter encampment (cantonment) here. They built some 600 huts in their little "city". The most important building was the "Temple of Virtue" seen here. It served as a chapel, courthouse , concert hall and office for the cantonment. Although the Army continued to train and drill for a possible return to the battlefield, America's Continental Congress could barely afford to feed and equip her men. George Washington mad an emotional address to his men in this building, asking them not to resign over pay issues.
The site his being restored to look much like it did in 1782. The staff dress in period clothing. They operate a blacksmith cabin and gives lectures and demonstrations on life during this period. Some of the guys dress as soldiers and this fellow gave a demonstration of musket loading and firing. Hopefully the real soldiers did not cringe and close their eye s like this guy! It really did make a loud noise.


Tomorrow we will look for more things to see in the area. Despite some rainy weather, we have kept pretty busy finding new things to see.

A West Point Day

Today was a day to tour the U.S. Military Academy(West Point). We drove to the visitor center, located just outside the post, in the small town of Highland Falls. Boy, those 9/11 attacks have really destroyed the free access Americans had previously enjoyed to various sights. To see any of the sights we've seen the last few weeks, we have had to remove everything from our pockets and pass a more stringent screening than we do for the airport. The only way to see any of West Point now is by a tour bus with a tour guide. You must stay with the guide so you only see what the short tour will allow.

Our stops included the newest Cadet Chapel (there are several chapels of many faiths), the cemetery and Trophy Point. The organist was practicing several numbers for a Friday event in the chapel so that was a treat. The organ is the largest pipe organ in any church in the country! On this next Tuesday, the 1200 newest candidates for admission arrive to begin their basic training program..Those who successfully complete basic will become plebes.
We next stopped at the cemetery and the "old" chapel. The old chapel, constructed in 1837, was moved from its original location to make room for the current Library. Embedded in the walls are cannons captured from our adversaries we fought in our numerous wars. Also on the walls are plaques honoring all the Generals in the Revolutionary War, including Benedict Arnold, for his success at Saratoga, even though his treason was perpetrated right at West Point. He had agreed to surrender the West Point garrison to the British for a sum of money.
We were surprised to recognize so many of the West Pointers buried there. Some of the names included Lucius Clay(Commander of the Berlin Airlift in '48), William Westmoreland,( Commander in Viet Nam Mac V), Ed White(1st American Space Walker, died in Apollo 1 fire with Chafee& Grissom), Winfield Scott(Commander Mexican War), Robert Anderson(Commanded Ft. Sumter), and of course Lt. Col. George A Custer(Custer's Last Stand at Little Big Horn). Custer was a Brevet General in the Civil War. There were many more names recognizable, but we don't have enough room to list them here. "ALL GAVE SOME; SOME GAVE ALL."

We moved from the cemetery to Trophy Point, overlooking the Hudson River. This point is named for all the trophies (captured artillery pieces) displayed here. It's also where many Cadets propose marriage. Just below this point is the location Washington choose to place a huge floating barrier of chain and logs. It was designed to be adjusted with the river flow and tidal changes, and was removed in the winters and reinstalled each spring...The Brits never tested it! The photo shows a few of the actual links from the chain.
We left West Point after having a quick lunch at McDonalds. By the way, this McDonalds DELIVERS to the West Point dorms!!


We found yet another building that was "Washington's Headquarters" while he was encamped in Newburgh, New York. How many Headquarters have we seen now? Can you remember? I can't. Did you know Martha traveled with him? She lived here also.


While leaving Newburgh, we stumbled upon a real treat! There is a Karpeles Museum located in this little town! There are a number of items on permanent display but today they have a traveling exhibit of Einstein's Original letters and papers of his Theory of Relativity, along with several original papers belonging to Faraday and Newton. For those of you unfamiliar with the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums, please go to www.karpeles.com to learn more about what this eccentric gentleman has collected and accomplished by spending his wealth on some items that you wouldn't believe would have ever been offered for sale. He owns and exhibits some unique documents/letters, etc.

Summer Solstice in the Big Apple

Happy 1st day of Summer! This is what we did on June 21st....

Today we took a tour into New York City. Although we were able to navigate around Washington DC and Philadelphia on our own, we did not feel like driving into Manhattan. Our van driver picked us up bright and early at our campground. As a life long NYC resident, he filled us full of interesting facts about the city on our trip into town.

Our first stop was Liberty State Park, NJ on the shores of the Hudson River. There we picked up a boat to Liberty Island. By taking the boat from the NJ side, we avoided a lot of crowds and we got to look at the Manhattan skyline on the way. There we are--it's hard to get a photo of the whole statue and us but one of our tour companions gave it a good try.

We also saw Ellis Island. This is the place where millions of immigrants were processed when they entered New York. The National Park Service has opened a museum there.



We had some good views of the skyline from Liberty Island.

Of note, the space where the World Trade Center was is very evident. In this photo, the smaller black building near the center is the Deustchebank. The small spire on it's right top is the the Woolworth Building. The Woolworth building was behind the Twin Towers and was not visible from NJ prior to September 11.
The DeutscheBank building was heavily damaged and is scheduled for demolition because it can not be repaired. At this time the demolition is halted because they recently found bone fragments in the debris on the roof.

After our visit to the Statue of Liberty, we drove through the Holland Tunnel and entered Manhattan. Out first stop there was Ground Zero. Preliminary work on the Ground Zero memorial and the Freedom Tower have begun.

The "hole" goes down 6 stories. This cross is the last of the steel beams still standing from one of the towers. It was also scheduled for removal but apparently New Yorkers raised such a fuss that the decision was made to leave it for now. It will be moved later to another location.

Also of interest, 2 churches standing next to the Trade Center complex were not harmed. This cornerstone of St Paul's Church graveyard has not been cleaned and still shows the black soot from the explosion. Most of the other buildings in the area have been cleaned.

This church housed and fed firemen during the initial time after the attack. Now they host a continuing memorial to commemorate the hard work of the fire departments and rescue squads. A continuous stream of visitors parade through this area.

We drove through many of the streets of Manhattan, seeing many landmarks we had only read about. Out last stop was Times Square. What a crazy place! The sidewalks and streets were packed with people and cars. Looking all around, we saw signs for everything. These billboards advertise most of the current Broadway shows playing right now.

One of the craziest things we saw were the Naked Cowgirl and the Naked Cowboy. Apparently these 2 come down to Times Square most every day and play music and pose for photos. According to our guide they make about $1000 and then go home. Here is the Naked Cowgirl. Those pasties really sparkled! Only in New York!!

On the way back to the van, we stopped in at a little restaurant that our guide said had the best cheese cake in New York--he was right!

We had a great time seeing many of the sights. It was nice to have someone else do the driving.

Moving on

Our time in Pennsylvania is at an end. Today we left our home in HoneyBrook and drove North through Eastern Pennsylvania. We had nice weather and lots of rolling hills. To us-being from the West the Pocono Mountains looked more like little hills than mountains. Most of the roads were "well used" (full of potholes!) but we arrived safely in our new home in Florida, New York. We are in the Hudson River Valley just 45 miles of Times Square in New York City. Check in to see what we see in this area.

Amish Day

This post is about what we did on June 19th (it is a little late!). We went into Bird-in-Hand, PA to learn what we could about the area's 25,000+ Amish people and their very interesting culture.

We started out on a bus tour that took us over a number of back roads through the heart of the Amish farmland. First, we learned of some of the history of the Amish religion which had it's roots in 16th century Germany. We learned how they came to be separate from the numerous forms of the Mennonite faith. They came to America, specifically the Philadelphia area, at the invitation of William Penn, Pennsylvania's founder. Penn called his enormous land grant Penn's Wood and set it up as a place where religious freedom exists. As Philadelphia grew, the Amish moved west to the farmlands around Lancaster.

It us well known that the Amish folk live a plain and simple life without many modern conveniences. We saw a number of their one room schoolhouses that all looked like this one. All Amish children attend school through the 8th grade. They learn the usual reading, writing and math but no science. The schools have no frills, no indoor plumbing, no lunch rooms and no electricity. The schools are small and there are large numbers of them scattered throughout the countryside. Children must walk to school--rain or shine.

We past through lots of lush green fields of corn, hay, and tobacco (they smoke pipes and cigars but no cigarettes). Each farm had a large vegetable garden and some of them sold extra produce. We were able to watch several farmers baling their hay with horse-drawn wagons. It sure looked like a lot of hot, hard work. Many of the farms have set up cottage industries, such as furniture-making, canning of jams and jellies, quilt making and baking. We stopped at one farm that had a bakery that specialized in stick buns. We can give first hand testimony that they were delicious! Ovens and other appliances are all run on propane. Many farms have solar panels and battery systems to provide for their power needs. Every farm had a long clothesline full of freshly laundered clothes flying in the yard. Laundry is done on a wringer washer powered by a gasoline engine. All of the clothes are simple in dark solid colors sewn on an old treadle sewing machine by Mom. Mom's chores keep her really busy as the average Amish family in this area has 7 or more children.
We learned that some of the myths about the Amish are untrue. They do use mirrors and their children's dolls do have faces. They do have telephones--not in their homes though--only in a small phone booth that stands separate from the home. We learned that they worship every other Sunday, holding in church in each others homes. Weddings are always on Tuesdays and Thursday in the Fall.
We drove by one of their graveyards. All of the headstones are small and have rounded corners. Three of the local men were there preparing a grave for funeral to be held in the next day or two. It was over 90 degrees making this hand digging especially difficult.

Much of the Amish customs have to do with their strong sense of community. They are always encouraged to think of family and community first. Of course, they do most of their travel by horse and buggy. The idea is that the horse and buggy keeps them close to home, since the mode of transportation is so slow. Amish may hire a driver to take them in a car, use the bus or the train if circumstances require.
The roads are shared with the horse and buggies. We had a rainy afternoon as we drove around and spotted this buggy being patiently followed by the large semi-truck. Although the horses move along pretty quickly , lines of traffic are the norm along most of these roads. It was neat to see the gorgeous horses trotting so proudly along.

We had a great day learning about the Amish and their very different culture and way of life. An interesting note about the endurance of the religion-- over 95% of all Amish children make the choice as young adults to be baptized into the religion of their upbringing.

Happy Father's Day

Well, this post is about what we did on Father's Day--June 18th. Since Jim is the man of the day, he made his choices for what we did.

First we drove to Valley Forge National Historic Site located in--where else but Valley Forge, PA ! Of course, Valley Forge is where George Washington established winter quarters in the winter of 1777. The Continental Army spent a harsh winter here after defeats in the year prior. They built lots of little cabins like these but had very little to eat. Many of soldiers were so poorly equipped they did not even have shoes--brrrrrrrrrr.
During their time there, Prussian Baron Von Stueben came in and took over the training of the soldiers. When they marched out of Valley Forge, they were a much better army and went on to defeat the British. The actually marched out on June 19th,1777. We were there on June 18th and to commemorate the anniversary, re-enactors were at the site showing what the soldier's life was like.

When we finished at Valley Forge, Jim wanted to sample an authentic Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich. Internet research revealed that there are 2 places that are considered the home of the real sandwich. One is Pat's King of Steaks and the other is Geno's. They are situated across the street from each other in South Philadelphia near the Italian Market neighborhood. We did find them--yet another interesting adventure as we navigated the narrow, crowded streets through some rather unsavory looking areas. It turns out we were not the only people who thought a cheese steak was the ideal Father's Day dinner! Long lines and crowded streets told us we had found the place. We lucked out, parked across the street and in just minutes we were sitting at the street-side tables enjoying our meal. It was quite yummy.

Fortified with food, we decided to drive back to the campground using some of the lesser travelled local roads. We traveled through different neighborhoods,some of the rather affluent. In fact, some of the big, old homes were quite lovely. On the way, we stopped in at Brandywine Battlefield. The battle fought here in September 1777 was a defeat for George Washington and his troops.

There was not a lot of information about the battle at the site. Both George Washington and General Lafayette has headquarters here and those original buildings still stand. It made for a quick tour on our way home.

Jim thought his Father's Day was just fine--doing just what he enjoyed doing.

Philadelphia

Since it is Saturday, we decided to drive into Philadelphia. It's almost always easier to tackle the big cities without the commuter traffic. We were on the road bright and early and arrived at the Independence Hall Visitors Center just before they opened. To tour Independence Hall, free timed tickets are required ,so we stood in line and secured our tickets for mid-morning. Since the tickets for the entire day were gone before noon, it turned out to be a good strategy!

Our first stop was to see the Liberty Bell. It is nicely housed in a glass pavilion that has Independence Hall as a background. Since it is such an important American symbol, security has increased since Sept. 11th. In fact, we has to go through metal detectors and remove all belts. watches, wallets, etc. The security seemed a little stricter than the airport! More than one person was heard to comment that they hoped their pants (without belts) did not fall down!
When Karen saw the Liberty Bell in 1989, visitors were allowed to touch it. Apparently that stopped in 2000 when some idiot hit it with a hammer!! We enjoyed our visit with this symbol of freedom.

Next we went to our Independence Hall tour. Of course, this is another important American symbol--so off came the belts and all the pockets emptied again!! It's too bad they could not combine the screenings!

Our first stop was the Assembly Room. This is where the constitutional Delegates met to draft the Constitution. The desk and chair in the center front is where George Washington presided. The chair is the actual chair that Washington used.

We also visited the other parts of the Hall. For the first 10 years of our country's history, Philadelphia was our nation's capital. The House of Representatives met in this room. During those 10 years the number of Representatives nearly doubled as several new states were added to to the Union and the first census revealed a growth in population.
John Adams was sworn in as our 2nd President in this room.

Next we visited the Senate chamber. Here George Washington took his oath for his 2nd term. The Senators got the fancier room!-maybe 'cause there were fewer of them!

After we finished our tour we walked around the building, looking at the numerous statues and plaques in the area. On our way back to the car, we stopped by ChristChurch cemetery and saw Benjamin Franklin's grave. He and five signers of the Declaration of Independence are all buried just down the street from where all their important work took place.

After a busy morning of touring, we were starved! Since Philadelphia is such an old and historic city, we looked for something unusual. We found McGillan's Ale House. This pub has been in continuous operation at this location since 1860! Of course, we had to try it. Armed with a detailed map, we only had to circle the block a few times to find it and park. The food was delicious and the decor spanned 140 years of Philadelphia history. They had all 140 liquor licenses on the wall, photos from years ago as well as the original sign that hung outside now presiding over the bar.
It was a fun way to rest up from the morning.


Next we were off to visit the Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site. Poe lived in Philadephia for 6 years. This house is the only one that Poe lived in that is still standing so it has been designated as the National Shrine to this famous American author. During the time he lived here, he penned "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" among other works. The Ranger who led the tour ws quite knowledgeable and we learned lots about Poe and his rather unhappy life.

We saw lots of Philadelphia today and we thought that on the way "home" we would stop by Washington's Crossing, PA. Just North of the Poe house,this is the site on the Delaware River where George Washington made his famous crossing on Christmas Day in 1775 to take part in the Battle of Trenton.
As you can see, we did reach the river. This was after we made a wrong turn that took us on a loooong drive through some of the New Jersey countryside. Eventually we returned to Pennsylvania ! There is a marker showing the site of the crossing and the town has a few Pre-Revolutionary buildings. What an adventure!

Farewell to the Civil War

Well after 10 days in Gettysburg, we finally left the Civil War battlefields portion of our trip on June 16. Jim did some more touring of the battlefield but he will have to post those things later. It was very interesting but it is time to move on and go back in time to the Revolutionary War!
So we drove East through York and Lancaster to a tiny town east of Lancaster--HoneyBrook, PA. That will be our home for the next 4 days. Lots to see and do!

Taking a Break

For the last 2 days we have been taking a break---from the Civil War!!! For that to happen we had to travel out of Gettysburg. Believe it or not, there are plenty of other sites to see within an hour or so drive from Gettysburg.

Yesterday we drove to Lancaster. There we visited the Lancaster Central Market. This market claims to be the oldest continuously operating farmers market in the country. Market has been held on this site since the 1730's and this building was built in 1889. The posts next to the building are actually hitching posts. Brick sidewalks line the street and the city has built up around this old building.

We always like to check out local markets to see what regional foods might be interesting. Of course, fresh produce is always something we look for and we were not disappointed. Although it is still early summer some of the vegetables looked wonderful. Being near many Amish farms, we expected to find different kinds of meats and cheeses. Some of the vendors gave samples which was fun.
Of course SOME of things for sale were not the kind of food we are interested in.
Is $6.00 for a pig's stomach a bargain???
We did see lots of homemade pastries, candies and jams also. We did manage leave most of them in the market---it wasn't easy!

Today we drove into Baltimore Maryland. There we visited Fort McHenry National Monument. The repulse of a British attack against this fort in 1814 prevented the capture of Baltimore and inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner".

The fort is built in a star shape of a point of land near the entrance to Baltimore Harbor. The cannon seen here are on the ramparts of the fort looking out over the water.
The cannons had a range of 1 mile and those crafty British ships sat 1 1/2 miles away and bombarded the fort with bombs and rockets. Thus the line in the song" rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air". Fortunately their aim was not very accurate and the attack was unsuccessful. Despite nearly 24 hrs of attack, nearly 1500 bombs and rockets, only 4 men were killed.
The fort was defended by the Maryland militia, a group of local volunteers who really had little or no battle experience. Today, there was a group of re-enactors at the fort. It was neat to see their authentic and colorful uniforms. In addition, they had authentic rifles and were quite knowledgeable regarding the life of a soldier during the War of 1812.

Flying high over the fort is a smaller version of the flag that flew after the Battle of Baltimore. The actual flag that Francis Scott Key saw is now on limited display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. It is much larger than the flag we saw today. Apparently they do fly the larger flag but it was too windy today.


After our visit to Fort McHenry, we stopped in at LP Steamers, a local seafood eatery we read about on the internet. There we had a wonderful lunch cooked by some really nice folks. The fried soft crab sandwich was yummy.
Last but not least we went down to the Inner Harbor waterfront. We drove through Fells Point, a neighborhood established in the early 1700's. The old buildings and cobblestone streets were really neat. We also saw the USS Constellation at anchor. It was the one of the last sailing ships built by the US Navy and was used in --- ( what else??) The Civil War.

After that it was back to Gettysburg--a nice hour's drive through pretty rolling hills.