Day 110: A River Runs Through It

The Potomac River was our constant today...it thundered over the Great Falls, floated mule-pulled boats through locks in the C&O Canal National Historical Park, and flowed near Clara Barton's home. Its increased force in recent weeks, thanks to Irene and Lee, was evident in the piles of debris (including massive, uprooted trees) that lay upon the banks. And it was still flowing heavily over the Great Falls, to which we walked over a series of boardwalks on boulder islands. Not having been there before, we don't know if the level was typical; but the brownish color definitely wasn't...another symptom of the severe washout conditions further upstream.

We really enjoyed the canal visitor center and, in spite of our learning experiences on canals earlier in the trip, picked up new facts and interesting stories. We read about the families that lived in the canal boats, carrying cargo up and down the waterway. Their mules had a stable on board, and the young children were tethered to the deck to avoid falling overboard. One tidbit that Kelsey pegged correctly on her junior ranger book: a mule is the product of a donkey dad and a horse mother (we're not making any obtuse political statements here--promise!). And Kendall, wanting to impress the ranger when asked her favorite thing about the park, answered "The Rebution War happened near here. And my favorite president is Lincoln." :-)

The Clara Barton National Historical Park is nearby, featuring her home for the last 15 years of her life. Not just her residence, it served as the American Red Cross headquarters, a dormitory for R.C. workers, and a warehouse. She was given the land and the construction of a home of her choosing by the developers of the area, twin brothers who hoped to attract other buyers with Barton's presence in the neighborhood. Seventy-five years old when she moved in, Clara had designed her home based on a structure utilized by the R.C. during its mission in Johnstown following the flood of 1889...a modified warehouse, with rooms opening off a large, three-story atrium into which windows near the ceiling give light. The home's long hallway on the ground floor was used for assembly lines in putting together disaster-aid kits (the walls were lined with deep supply closets concealed behind the wood paneling) and as a dining room and meeting hall for large gatherings. And rather than waste donation money on such "frivolous" things as paint and wall board, Clara had muslin fabric, the same as that used for bandages, tacked onto the ceilings and walls.

She may have seemed a bit out of place with the other residents of the neighborhood, which was named Glen Echo by the developers. The Batzley brothers established the area as a vacation resort, complete with an amusement park and enrichment activities. The park's carousel remains fully operational, and we were really fortunate to get a private, behind-the-scenes tour of it. A Wurlitzer organ accompanies the spinning animals, and it's one of only three operational, publicly displayed organs of its type in the world. The carousel and organ are more than 90 years old, and they're by far the most beautiful we've ever seen. The girls picked their favorites of the animals, all of which have patches in the restored paint that show the original color and texture. They're lovingly cared for by one woman; she spent 20 years on the initial restoration, completing it in 2003.

The carousel holds another distinction--it was the site of one of the earliest civil rights demonstrations. In 1960, students from nearby Howard University staged a sit-in on the carousel and, soon after, the federally-held trolley tracks leading into the park, protesting the owners' segregation policies. The following summer season, the park finally opened to all. It was one more chapter in Maryland's long history of racial conflict...it was a divided state during the Civil War, a member of the Union despite its slave-dependent economy. Brothers literally fought brothers here. Now that our travels have brought us into the regions directly affected by the Civil War, it was sobering to be in a place today that has a more recent history in the struggle for liberty.

Mules pulling a boat along the C&O Canal

Great Falls, separating Virginia and Maryland

Two of the rangers, wearing interpretive garb, at the canal park. Kelsey and Kendall had just taken their junior ranger oath.

With Ranger Samantha at the Glen Echo Park Carousel. The horse behind them is in its stripped-down, original paint. The girls are sporting their 3 new ranger badges...C&O canal, Clara Barton site, Glen Echo park.

Day 109: Headlines

Harpers Ferry was a well-established city by the time John Brown really put it on the map with his raid on the Federal Armory in 1859. Known for its industry (many mills and factories powered by the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers), it was home to a federal armory. Brown was after the armory's 100,000 stockpiled weapons, planning to arm slaves and advance his abolotionist cause. The scheme failed, as militia and marines trapped, captured and eventually killed the conspirators. The building in which they made their last stand, a fire engine house on the armory grounds, became a shrine of sorts and was even transported to the Chicago Exposition in 1893. It's now back in the town, within 150 feet of its original foundation.

The town also has an amazing history in transportation...the canal system and railroads raced to gain control of its traffic; ultimately, the mules on the canal towpaths were no match for the steam engines. The abandoned canals now offer miles and miles of hiking fun, especially when the trains rumble by on the adjacent tracks. The tracks also run across the Potomac on an elevated bridge, sharing the span with a footbridge. We tramped back and forth across it, marveling at the views of ruins from the many floods in the town's history.

The road leading northeast from Harpers Ferry brought us to Antietam, just as it brought many of the Confederate soldiers who fought in the terrible battle of September 17, 1862. It gained infamy as the bloodiest single day of battle in the entire Civil War, with 23,000 dead, wounded or missing. From an analytical standpoint, the battle ended as a draw; but Lincoln needed--and therefore claimed it as--a Union victory platform from which to present his Emancipation Proclamation. He did so five days later (although it wasn't to take effect until January 1, 1863).

Antietam also holds the distinction of being the first battlefield photographed before its dead were buried. The images that appeared in newspapers around the country, of bodies piled and lined up in horrific numbers, awoke the nation's conscience as to the brutal realities of war. Clara Barton was dubbed "The Angel of the Battlefield" after delivering bandages, food and lanterns to many of the 75 farmhouses and barns used as field hospitals in and around Sharpsburg (the town adjacent to the battlefield and which was decimated by the fighting and aftermath). The Baltimore lady went on to found the American Red Cross in 1881.

The National Park Service has done a beautiful job of maintaining the landscape much as it looked up until the very morning of the battle...pastureland and plowed fields separated by criss-crossed fences and rutted farm lanes. A tower that looks as though it belongs in Tuscany gives a bird's-eye view of the lovely fields; it was erected in the 1890s by the War Department as an educational site, from which the battle's strategies and movements could be studied. The lessons we learned there today were about sacrifice, tremendous bravery in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, and a thankfulness to live in a country that can overcome so much pain and conflict.

John Brown and his cronies held out in this building until they were forced out. It's full of bullet holes.

The confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers...the old bridge supports spanning them speak to the history of both floods and heavy transportation.

The steep streets of Harper's Ferry have many layers; we ate lunch in a basement-level restaurant, which sat at least 20 feet lower than the current surface of the road.

One of the many roadside stops on the Antietam Battleground tour.

Top of the tower...and its view (below) of the Sunken Road, scene of unspeakable casualties.

Burnside's Bridge, place of many intense skirmishes

Day 108: Oh, Say, Can You See

We dropped Teensie in our Maryland campground and headed for Fort McHenry, guardian of Baltimore's harbor. When it held off the British during the War of 1812, its raised flag at dawn following a night of heavy bombardment inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the words of what became our national anthem. The fort is now a shrine and national historical site, and its new (as of March) visitor center is fanatastic. Our favorite part was the orientation film, full of battle drama, ending with the screen rising to reveal windows overlooking Fort McHenry, just a hundred yards away. President Truman signed a Presidential Proclamation that the flag should fly over the fort 24 hours a day. Flags are changed based on the weather forecast...the largest, 42x33 feet, can lift a handler off the ground in a gust of wind--that happened last weekend, the ranger tossed against a wall but not seriously injured.

Tomorrow we'll head west to Harper's Ferry, just across the state line in West Virginia. It sits at the confluence of two major rivers, and from the train, it's a beautiful place to behold (Stan and I passed through it when we journeyed to D.C. by train years ago). Back on the Maryland side of things, our campground sits in the middle of horse country, with big pastures and a practice race track nearby. Yet another lovely state to enjoy.

Trouble with pics tonight...will post today's tomorrow!

Day 107: "kindred spirits"

We made the most of a rainy day, catching up on schoolwork, bills, laundry and sleep. Nancy treated us to a fantastic lunch at a Belgian restaurant...in the middle of Carlisle! The five of us wrapped up our day with a treat--watching "Anne of Green Gables." For tonight's blog, we'd like to share some of our favorite Anne quotes.

Nancy-- "Tomorrow's a fresh day with no mistakes in it."

Susan--"I know I chatter on, but if you only knew how many things I think and don't say, you'd give me some credit."

Kelsey--Anne's just learned that her friend will not be allowed to participate in a special class at school, "Oh, Diana, I feel you've tasted the bitterness of death."

Stan-- "There are some things in this world that even I could not hope to understand."

Kendall, in her own words: I like all of it. I love Anne.

We're sad to leave Nancy and Pennsylvania tomorrow. We've enjoyed every minute here...and the girls are pretty put out that we're going, and that Nancy isn't coming with us. We all are!

We'll miss you, Nancy!

Day 106: two sides

Prior to the Civil War, southern states provided 75% of the world's cotton, and more than one-third of white families owned slaves. The war began not in an attempt to end slavery, but to prevent its spread into new states. [Sadly, we were reminded that even in communities supportive of abolishing slavery, there still was a mindset among many that whites were superior to African-Americans.]  The emotions we experienced today as we learned about Gettysburg were further complicated by a sense of disappointment in all involved...that "all men are created equal" was not followed as a God-given right.

And then there were the horrifying facts of the battle itself: more than 7,000 soldiers lost their lives, and 44,000 were wounded or missing. The town of Gettysburg was nearly demolished...buildings destroyed, and people virtually trapped in the buildings that remained due to the smell of death. Those 7,000 bodies, spread across a 25-square-mile swath, were buried in hastily dug, shallow graves which, thanks to downpours of rain in the days following the battle, were unearthed. The government quickly established land for a national cemetery in Gettysburg for the Union soldiers (the Confederate soldiers were buried elsewhere in mass graves). Lincoln presided at its dedication, presenting his "Gettysburg Address."

The museum and driving tour of the national military park could consume a couple of days in their immense detail. But in an effort to prevent the girls being overexposed to them, we also visited the adjacent Eisenhower National Historic site. Dwight and Mamie bought the 130-acre cattle farm following his 30-year military career, intending it to be their retirement home (they'd moved more than 40 times over those 30 years and had never owned a single one). And yet as the purchase papers were being drawn up, he was asked to run for the Presidency. It would be another decade before he and Mamie could enjoy their property as they'd originally planned.
In a recent poll about our most important presidents, Eisenhower was ranked 8th, having kept our country out of war during the turbulence of the Cold War... Ironic considering his role as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II. Perhaps our favorite aspect of touring his farm was the girls' Junior Secret Service program. Kelsey perfected her two-way radio skills, and Kendall learned about how the agents guarding the Eisenhowers set up their security office in the farm's former milking shed. Back in the day, the cows outside the shed loved to rub up against the window a/c unit, often pushing it off the sill and into the office. And that's not the only indignity those poor agents had to endure...Mamie loved to give nicknames to the protective detail: one unlucky fellow was dubbed "Twinkletoes."

One of my favorite Mamie stories...upon reaching the age of 50, she decided that she was due the luxury of staying in bed until noon each day. From then on, she attended to household business every morning propped up with lots of comfy pillows, a cup of coffee at hand, dressed in a colorful bathrobe. My hero! (Too bad her cook, maid and secretary--who made such luxury possible--weren't afforded the same option.) :-)

The Eisenhowers' farm. Most of it was built in the 1940s, incorporating parts of the property's original farmhouse (200+ years old).

Special Agent Stevens checking in with her Agent in Charge

Stan admired Dwight's outdoor barbeque patio

Kendall and the infamous iron cage which prevented cows from rubbing against the air conditioner

The girls and their favorite President, Abraham Lincoln, at the Gettysburg Battlefield Visitor Center

Day 105: A Sweet Ending

What do the Amish of Lancaster County and Hershey's chocolate have in common, besides the state of Pennsylvania? They both have roots in the Mennonite tradition: Milton Hershey was a Mennonite, and the Amish are a sect that split off from the Mennonites in an effort to adhere to stricter practices.

Following church with Nancy (a great service!), we drove to Lancaster county, the recognized heart of the Amish community, and enjoyed lunch at a "farm-to-table" restaurant in a town called Bird-in-Hand. Other memorable names of nearby towns are Paradise, Virginville and Intercourse. Not kidding! A film next door to the restaurant gave us a good overview of the Amish story, providing the group's history of persecution in Europe and explaining the choice required of young adults to choose whether to join the church. We were somewhat surprised to learn that of the young adults born into Amish families, 95% of them do choose to join the church and live separately from the secular world.

On our way back to Carlisle, we stopped by Hershey's World of Chocolate to learn about our favorite candy bar. The free tour was much more elaborate than we'd anticipated...a bit like a Disneyland ride, with singing animatronics and colorful displays viewed from a train of Hershey-bar cars. We loved it...especially as it ended with a free sample of the new Hershey kiss, called Air Delight. Yum.

Riding in the chocolate tour car

Day 104: Friendship!

Oh, to see a longtime friend is such a treat! Nancy and I were roommates both during and after college and get to see each other once a year if we're lucky. We were amazed to realize we've now known each other more than half our lives! The next few days together will be very special...and Kelsey and Kendall think Aunt Nancy hung the moon; they're trying to outdo each other, filling her ear with stories from our trip and playing show-and-tell with everything from a dental retainer to stuffed animals.

We'll join Nancy for church tomorrow morning and then visit an Amish community in Lancaster county. Today's drive across eastern Pennsylvania, mostly farmland, was so beautiful; we look forward to seeing one or two farms up close. And if we're lucky, we may sneak in a quick visit to the Hershey chocolate factory. "Sweet dreams" may take on a literal meaning for us. :-)

Day 103: Rail Tale

Despite a rainy day (to put it mildly), we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at Steamtown National Historical Park in Scranton, Penn. The site contains a roundhouse and a working turntable that moves huge locomotives from their bays to the yard tracks. And those engines...incredible! Most of the park's collection are steam-driven, but there are a few diesels around, too. We also walked through an old Pullman business car, a post office car, a caboose and a freight car, and rode on restored commuter passenger coaches from the 1920s. The museum does a fantastic job of explaining the workings of steam engines as well as detailing the history of steam trains, especially in eastern Pennsylvania.

The aspect we most enjoyed was seeing the unique "faces" of the engines...they seem to have personalities, with windows and front lights that look like eyes and nose; some have what look to be mouths, made of various pipes and mechanical gadgets. There were many more engines that we couldn't view; they're in various states of restoration, and plans are in place to one day build an additional facility within the park that will display many more of them. This place is an absolute treasure.

Our time at Steamtown was accentuated by our lunch inside the Radisson Station Hotel in Scranton. It used to be the ornate Lackawanna Railroad Station, complete with an arched Tiffany-window roof in the grand hall and lots of beautiful woodwork throughout. Radisson has done a wonderful job of preserving the elegant old as they've modernized the facility into a contemporary hotel. We left our picnic bag in the truck and splurged for a yummy lunch of soup and hot tea...the rain made us crave the warmth. It was so easy to sit in the former grand hall, gazing up at those stained-glass windows, and imagine the comings and goings of commuters and tourist passengers, heading to and from the tracks, dressed beautifully with hats, long coats and even gloves (it was a classier time, when travel was something you dressed up for and appreciated as a treat). We also imagined how much my dad would have enjoyed experiencing this place with us, as he was the consummate train buff. Our day in Scranton was a great one for family, past and present, with lots of reminiscing coupled with hopeful dreaming of future fun on trains!

One of the steam engines inside the museum...it's cut away on the opposite side to reveal the workings of the steam engine (2 photos down)

the cupola of a caboose

sorting imaginary mail in a post office car

the engine that earlier had pulled us on a short excursion, heading to bed in the round house after a rotation on the turntable

the former grand hall of the Lackawanna Station, now the Radisson hotel. It's not hard to picture it with long wooden benches and ticket windows.

Fall's a coming...as seen through a rainy window in a truck moving 65 mph!

Day 102: Deep Freeze

Today we completed the circle of George Washington's sites in New Jersey, visiting Morristown, in which he twice established winter camps for the Continental Army. The second, the winter of 1790, was the worst on record. At the time of the troops' arrival on December 1, three blizzards already had blanketed the ground in snow. And by early spring, more than six feet of it had accumulated. The weather blocked supply roads and killed livestock and wild game, leading to a food shortage that came near to destroying the army. Many diaries of the soldiers give testimony to the multiple times when four days passed between one meal and the next...and those "meals" might be no more than a bite or two of bread, or a piece of jerky.

And yet of the 10,000 soldiers encamped at Morristown, only 100 died. Just two years earlier, at the winter encampment of Valley Forge, the death toll equaled one of every five men, and those deaths were mostly attributed to disease. The meticulous layout of the soldiers huts at Morristown ensured proper drainage and much better hygiene, greatly reducing the outbreak and spread of typhoid and dysentery.

Toward winter's end that year, the English army occupying New York City got word of the malnourished and weakened American camp and decided to attack...doing so three different times. They were pushed back on each occasion and eventually gave up on ever claiming New Jersey. Their final attempt, at Springfield, NJ, was the war's last battle in a northern state. From there, Washington moved his troops south and to the eventual end of the war in Yorktown, Virginia. The determination and strength of those men was tested to the breaking point at Morristown. We came away from our tour today with a gratefulness to them, and amazement at their courage, especially as we headed home to our cozy camper, hot meal and comfortable mattress. The longer we journey on this adventure, the more we realize just what a miraculous thing our country really is...this "great experiment" in democracy, built upon the sacrifice of so many.

Washington's "War Room" in Ford's Mansion, his headquarters near the army encampment.

Martha Washington joined her husband at his headquarters each winter...he didn't go to his home at Mount Vernon even once during the seven years of the war, even though he sent his chief officers to their homes for leave at least once every year.

The headquarters, and (below) four of the 1,000+ huts that were built by the soldiers. Each one housed 12 men for the duration of the awful winter.

Day 101: Connections

Stan was in his element at today's national park site...it was all about wood stoves, turning wood into charcoal, and the mother of all wood piles! I've often joked that his chainsaw is the other woman in our marriage because he dreams about cutting wood--literally. (And when we traveled in Europe 10 years ago, his eye was drawn away from the Alps by the wood piled up beside the chalets!) Hopewell Furnace National Historical Park, an ironworks furnace dating to the 1770s, sits in a lush valley about 50 miles west of Philadelphia. It produced upwards of 30 different styles of cast iron stoves and, in its highest year of production, delivered more than 5,000 of them. It also supplied General George Washington with numerous cannon, 3-pound balls to be fired from them, and other iron tools used by the army. The furnace's owner during the war was a patriot and served as a commander in the Pennsylvania militia. And when the troops of the Continental Army were near to starving at Valley Forge, he supplied them with 1,000 pounds of flour. Due in part to his generosity, he bankrupted his business. The charcoal-fueled furnace and supporting outbuildings passed through many hands over the next century before the furnace was fired for the last time in 1883, having been pushed out of business by the rise of its descendant, the coal-fired iron factory.

We enjoyed seeing this place that played a behind-the-scenes role in General Washington's campaigns, especially after our visit to Valley Forge yesterday. The two days dove-tailed so well, something we hadn't anticipated. Hopewell Furnace also was a nice transition from the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia...a serene, pastoral setting, complete with sheep and chickens to accentuate the farm scene. We're now settled back into Teensie in a quiet campground in the Pocono Mountains. The trees on the rolling hills are beginning to take on shades of yellow and orange; fall is definitely on its way. Stan really misses the largest piece of fall--the start of school with a new group of students. A brief skype session this morning with his new class back in Colorado gave him a big boost and made him excited to return to the classroom in January. It'll be here before we know it!

Some of the stoves produced at Hopewell Furnace

Kelsey and Kendall had a ball chasing leaves

The main furnace complex

The waterwheel that powered the operation

Day 100: Triple Digits

We're in shock to realize it's our 100th day on the road. There have been a few days that were slow with loneliness, but on the whole, the trip is flying by. This was our last day with John and Gail, and we made the most of it, exploring Valley Forge National Historical Park and then taking in a special Rembrandt exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Valley Forge, the winter encampment for General Washington and his Continental troops, was chosen because of its vantage point over Philadelphia, occupied by the British throughout the winter of 1777-78. The park is much larger than we'd imagined, and it's a sacred place...where more than 1,800 soldiers died during that winter, not of starvation or cold (as romanticized over the years), but of disease: typhoid, tyhpus, dysentery and pneumonia. In contrast to that terrible statistic, Valley Forge also is where the American Army was born. Under the direction of Captain Von Steuben, a Prussian recruited by Ben Franklin, training manuals were developed, drills were mastered, and troops from 13 seperate colonies were groomed into a cohesive and effective fighting force.

The 12,000 troops that wintered in the 2,000 huts built in Valley Forge were joined by upwards of 400 women and children, both stragglers who had nothing left at home, or supporters who worked for the troops by cooking and laundering. The land itself was a key player, as well. It provided the 80,000+ trees used to built the troops' huts. By spring, the area was completely devastated, stripped bare and eroded, with no wildlife of any sort. It's difficult to imagine the condition, because the area today is covered in lush grasses with thick stands of forest scattered throughout the 3,600 acres. It's a recreational haven for hikers, cyclists and bird watchers, and is home to wild animals large and small. This peaceful place is a memorial to those thousands who endured so much and persevered toward the goal of freedom.

From the park's natural setting, we headed back into the heart of Philadelphia, to its incredible art museum. Some recognize it more for its front steps (Rocky Balboa bounded up them in the movies), but we were there for the special exhibition, "Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus." The Dutch artist, who worked in the 1600s from his home in Amsterdam, developed a style of depicting Jesus that gave more empathy and emotion to the face, and a sense of life and movement that captures the charisma and magnetism that peers of Jesus must have encountered. An audio tour guided us through the multi-gallery display, and we were amazed at how Kelsey and Kendall engaged with the mature experience. When driving back to the hotel, Kendall pointed out a billboard advertising the exhibit, saying "Look, there's Jesus that Rembrandt painted." That was a great exclamation point to mark our milestone day.

Valley Forge residents

One of the huts representative of the thousands that once stood in the area. Following the war, most of them were disassembled by locals, who reused the wood.

George Washington's Valley Forge headquarters. His wife, Martha, lived there with him for many of the months. They shared the small space with up to 10 others.

Stan headed up the stairs at the art museum. Hum the "Rocky" theme with me.

Views at the top...

...and back toward Philly

Giving Rocky Balboa some serious competition

Day 99: So real, so personal

Philadelphia...city of brotherly love. After our day spent exploring Independence National Historical Park, we'd change the phrase to city of fatherly love. The sacrifices made by our founding fathers, and our deepened appreciation of them, have forever transformed the way we view the events and actions leading to the establishment of our United States. The national park does a fantastic job interpretting both the loyalist and patriot sides of the independence equation, and we came away with a new understanding of the fear, heartache and even spiritual agony faced by the people in the 13 colonies. To act or even speak against their king was to commit treason, and yet not doing so was to ignore the trampling of God-given rights. The untenable position carried a myriad of possible consequences, including rifts in families, financial loss and alienation.

Our focus on the Revolutionary War had never ventured past the end of the war itself. And so our experience in Congress Hall, just west of Independence Hall (in which the Declaration and the Constitution were signed), was eye-opening. It's the room in which the great experiment of American democracy moved from a crazy idea to full-blown reality...the room in which the Congress of the United States met from 1790 until 1800, at which point it moved to the newly completed Capitol in Washington D.C.   Starting a government doesn't just happen overnight. Case in point: the government was to provide mail service, but Georgia didn't have roads to accommodate its delivery. Should those needed roads be the responsibility of the federal government? The state? Those details had to be hammered out before the government's responsibility of mail delivery could be implemented. The decisions made by that first Congress have carried to today...roads connecting states are federal roads or highways, and roads within a state are assigned as state, county or city responsibility. The number of legal wrinkles to be smoothed out must have seemed insurmountable at times. And perhaps the most significant event was March 4, 1796, when John Adams was inaugurated in Congress Hall as the 2nd President of the United States: the world's first peaceful transfer of power. Our goosebumps at that point in the ranger presentation felt as big as marbles.

The day had so many special "ah-ha" moments, it's hard to pick which ones to highlight. But one in particular deserves a special note. We were exploring the National Constitution Center, a highly interactive museum dedicated to illuminating the Constitution as a living, breathing document that leads and defines our country today as much as it did 224 years ago. One of the first displays was a screen on which 100 pictures of faces were streaming. I reached out and touched one that looked vaguely familiar...and was thrilled to my core when the next screen opened with the name Susan Epperson, and a piece detailing her legal case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court (which ruled in her favor). Susan is the mom of Mark, with whom we enjoyed New York City just two days ago! She's a wonderful woman who has poured herself into our family's life in many ways over the years, and she's a great friend of both our moms. I'd known she was a rockstar biology professor, but I'd never known of her landmark 1968 case in the education field. Seeing Susan in that museum reinforced the concept of the Constitution being of, by, and for the people...Susan is our people!

On the road toward Independence...literally!

Independence Hall (formerly the Pennsylvania State House). Parts of the structure are undergoing renovation...thus, the scaffolding.

Our ranger guide told a funny story about this modern take on the Declaration signers...just a month ago, he asked a big crowd of visitors to identify the man in the very center of the scene. A little boy, about 7, raised his hand and said "Bill Clinton"! (It's George Washington)

Take my word for it...we're standing in front of the Liberty Bell!

John and Kelsey getting cozy with James Madison in the National Constitution Center's Statue Hall.

Kendall and Benjamin Franklin, who was 81 at the time of the Signing.

Philly has done a beautiful job of creating a park setting around its historic buildings. Independence Hall is in the center distance behind the girls.