Capitol tour, Library of Congress

Monday morning we toured the capitol building. It was interesting learning about the history of the building, seeing where our forefather’s passed laws and where John Quincy Adams listened to his opponents whisper about their plans unaware the acoustics enabled him to hear their discussion.

The capitol dome

Painting shaded to look like 3D

Congress wasn’t in session til 2pm so we went off to the Library of Congress. We spent six hours there! We took a tour, viewed exhibits and even read in the library. The kids played an interactive game where they gathered information at the exhibits and the “passports” stored information which allowed them to learn more about the subjects at home on the computer.

It's very decorative inside!

More memorials

Our second day had us visiting more memorials. We started with the Iwo Jima memorial. It’s huge! It’s a wonderfully patriotic iconic display of the marines.

Just minutes away were the Pentagon 9-11 memorial and Arlington National cemetery. We watched the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The kids were amazed that these young men guard this 24 hours a day no matter what the weather. We saw the space shuttle Challenger and Columbia memorials as well as JFK’s eternal flame among the rows and rows and rows of white headstones.

Pentagon 9-11 memorial

Our last stop was at Thomas Jefferson’s memorial. I’ve wanted to get to his memorial on past trips, but my legs were always too tired. We took advantage of the fact that we’d driven and headed over there late on a Sunday.

The DC area

We started our tour of Washington DC at the Air and Space museum. We were able to see the Wright Brothers flyer, The Spirit of St; Louis, jumbo jets, unmanned aircraft, and space craft. We watched some videos and pieced together more of our countries history. It’s really amazing how far air travel has come in the past 100 years!

We wandered out onto the national mall to see the Washington monument, the capitol building, the WWII memorial and Lincoln memorial from a distance. Do you know the difference between a monument and a memorial? A monument is started when the person is still alive.

The City of Brotherly Love

Philadelphia is a pretty important city in our nation’s history. You can visit 15 national historic sites in just three blocks! Prior to Washington DC being the nation’s capital, Philly was where congress convened, where Washington was sworn in for his second term and where James Adams took over after Washington. The country held its breath as Adams became president because nothing like this had happened before- the trading of power usually involved murder or death.

We toured the Todd house, home to Dolly Todd who later became Dolly Madison. She lived there with her husband, John Todd, and her two younger sisters. They had two sons, but one died from yellow fever as did his father. Dolly’s mother had a boarding house and Aaron Burr was boarding there. He had a friend that fancied Dolly- James Madison- and they ended up getting married and she became our country’s fourth first lady.

At the other end of the block we toured Bishop William White’s house. He served at Christ Church where George Washington and Benjamin Franklin both attended. His family was well to do and he had a fabulous house. He loved to have dinner parties and both Washington and Franklin dined there. In the kitchen the guide mentioned that women’s long dresses would sometimes catch on fire while cooking and they could end up dying.

We went into the building to see where the first continental congress met to discuss how our government would be set up. At Independence Hall we saw where the Declaration of independence was signed, where congress first met and the original printed copy of the Declaration of Independence with all their signatures.

The Liberty Bell was the last thing we saw and we were able to walk right up without a line at the end of the day. No one knows when exactly it got its first crack, but it got it’s second crack after ringing all day long to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. They stopped ringing it after that. The material they chose isn’t conducive for a good quality bell, but the symbol it represents remains strong. They had many items on display with the liberty bell image and different groups over the years that have used the symbol in fighting for freedom- suffragists, abolitionists, etc

We enjoyed a wonderful colonial dinner served by wait staff in colonial attire while a harpist strummed out some lovely music. My mom ordered a pork chop and it was the size of her head! Rick had a yummy pot pie and I had trout. They served wonderful bread- Sally Lunn and some biscuits Thomas Jefferson loved. We loved them both and have since made both in the RV.

When in Philadelphia one MUST run up the stairs like Rocky! It was dark and raining, but I had to do it. Mom was right by my side and we bounded up the four flights of a dozen stairs and then a small flight of five more at the top just for good measure. Then my family showed up with an umbrella so they could take pictures. Jacob wanted to run so he went down to the bottom and Gramma joined him part way up. I went down a flight of steps so my photo could be taken. We were out of breath, but now we can say we did it. Gonna fly now...flying high now…great now the song’s stuck in my head.

Late Show with David Letterman

Two decades ago I told my husband that if I would’ve met David Letterman first I would’ve married him. I like intelligent, funny guys. I guess that’s why I love my husband. Anyway, since we were going to New York I hoped we could see his show. Of course, I think I should’ve been on the show to talk about our fabulous adventure, but I never wrote to tell him about it so I settled for applying online for tickets and hoped that they would call. They did call and they asked me a trivia question to get my free tickets. I answered correctly (“Who is Alan Kalter” was my question). When I applied I made sure my mom would be here to watch the kids since you have to be 21 to attend the show. The kids were happy to have a day “off” and play with Gramma. Rick and I were happy to get to spend time together, but it was a stressful morning. We left early, but luckily Rick asked me about my id. I hadn’t brought my wallet thinking Rick would pay for everything, but I immediately remembered I needed my id to pick up the tickets, so we turned around and we lost half an hour. Then we took a wrong turn. Then we watched our train pull away. Luckily, there was another one in a hour and it would be close, but we had a slim chance to make it in time to pick up our tickets. We had to be there by 3pm and we arrived at 2:53. Whew!

We entered the Ed Sullivan theater where the Beatles and another one of my favorites- Elvis- have performed. The stage was so bright and clear, much more so than on tv. We were entertained by a warm up comedian, the band and then Dave came out. I enjoyed the show immensely. It was fun to laugh after a stressful seven hours getting there. They panned the audience- we were in the balcony area- so we waved, but they had a graphic on the scene for tomorrow’s show so you have to look closely to see us.

After the show we walked the twenty blocks back to the train. It was a perfect night to stroll. We walked in the Broadway area and down into Times Square. It’s always so fun with the bright lights. Even though we couldn’t take pictures, it was a night we won’t forget.

Lancaster

Our trip has been revised many times- sometimes many times daily- and that’s how this day went. We’d planned on going to Philadelphia, but a late start and some wrong turns and we gave up and went to the Amish area in Lancaster. We found a little market on the side of the road and picked up a Shoo Fly pie. I’ve read that you need to try Shoo Fly pie and whoopee pies while you’re here. The ingredients include molasses and brown sugar. Doesn’t sound too bad, but after tasting it I realized why it’s not popular everywhere. It was pretty dry. Mom, Rick and I discussed how to make it better, but we weren’t sure it would get better.

While in the area we went to The Amish Village. The guide spent a lot of time with us and it was really informative. We toured an Amish farm house built in the 1840s. The kitchen had a propane powered refrigerator and stove as well as a battery powered sewing machine. She said that when they build they build into a hill and start with the kitchen in the side of the hill. The basement kitchen is used in the summer to keep the house cool and for canning and butchering. The only decorative item the ladies wear is the bow on their bonnets- no gold buttons, no patterns. Men don’t wear belts or grow mustaches because the men that persecuted them had mustaches, shiny gold buttons and belts so The Old Order Amish don’t have those in their society.

The kids go to school til 8th grade in one-room classrooms. The Amish have tried to change the child labor laws as it relates to them because they’ve faced charges since their children work with them. They pay property taxes, but they don’t pay into social security. When the older Amish decide to “retire” they move in with their children. They go to the doctor if they are sick and they contract with folks that have cars if they need to get somewhere further than the horse and buggy will carry them. It’s an interesting group and how they do things seems to work well for them.

Hershey

If you know me, you know I like chocolate. How exciting it was to be able to go to Hershey, PA, where the street lights are covered with Hershey Kisses. Our first stop was Hershey World where we took a tour and learned all the steps in making the chocolate treats we love. I didn’t realize there were so many steps. The kids tried their hands at packaging kisses. They did a better job than Lucy did on her tv show. We enjoyed lunch and shared a yummy peanut butter cookie with Reese’s then spent some money in the gift shop.

Our next stop was the Hershey Story museum. We learned about Milton Hershey’s life. He made a fortune, lost it, made another and gave it away. His wife had an illness that was never diagnosed, but they traveled far and wide to visit spas to try to find a cure. They were unable to have children so they started a school for orphaned boys. This school has evolved into a coed school for children from a poor background, but with good character that the board feels will do something with their life. By the time the children leave they have learned an occupational or mechanical skill to provide for themselves. Time after school is not just homework, but chores too.

Hershey basically built the town of Hershey providing homes for workers, encouraging businesses (even Reese’s and Stover chocolate companies), parks and helping out churches financially. There’s also a Hershey medical center at Penn State. They created the first artificial heart in 1990. He was a great guy that did a lot for his community and his legacy lives on.

Gettysburg

Our trip to Gettysburg started with early morning fun- dressing up in Civil War clothing for photos. Rick was a confederate general, Jacob was a foot soldier and the rest of us gals were dressed appropriately. Becca, at age 14, was ready to be married off. Rick didn’t like that. Becca and I wore interesting hair wraps that our hair was tucked into quickly.

Our next stop was the Gettysburg national military park. We saw a movie about the three day battle then headed upstairs to see the cyclorama. This was a beautiful oil on canvas painting that surrounded us- it is as big as a four story building and longer than a football field! This was created in the late 1800s after the battle. I couldn’t believe the size and the detail.

We then toured the museum and viewed uniforms, equipment and even hard tack from the battle! The hardtack wasn’t moldy- that’s kind of frightening. I always enjoy the interactive exhibits and the kids got a kick out of listening to the different bugle calls.

We finished the day driving through the battlefield. There are many monuments to the different states and groups that fought here.

New York City- day two

Touring New York with children is a different experience than if we were alone. I wouldn’t have gone into Toys R Us and I may not have cared to visit the “Night at the Museum” museum, but that’s what we did. We started off our second day in New York touring the museum of American history. We saw the hotspots from the movie and learned a little along the way.

When we left we strolled past The Dakota where John Lennon was shot and then wandered through Central Park. The NY marathon was the coming weekend so they were setting up tents in the park and there were runners everywhere. There were downed trees from the snow the week before and city workers were busily cleaning up. We found the Balto statue and posed for pictures. Balto was a Siberian husky that lead a sled dog team with serum 600 miles to Nome in 1925 to save sick children from diphtheria. The Iditarod commemorates this event annually. My kids enjoyed Balto’s Disney movie so we stopped for photos.

We hopped on the subway and headed to Wall Street where we saw the Stock Exchange and Federal Hall where George Washington was inaugurated as our first president. We made our way to the 9-11 memorial walking past Occupy Wall Street. There were police everywhere surrounding the Occupy Wall Street area.

The 9-11 memorial is free, but you have to reserve tickets. They were very organized and we made our way to the memorial. It was incredible. Just beautiful.

I had learned somewhere about a pear tree making it through the attack- it was the only tree that was standing at the time. It was nursed back to health and was the only green leafed tree among the changing oaks.

The worst part about touring New York with children? Explaining 9-11. Neither Rick nor I could get through what happened, why it happened and the days following it without tears. I loved the saying on the t-shirts and magnets- “In darkness we shine brightest.”

Famous faces, famous places

It was a beautiful day today. We’ve really had great weather for the past six months. We headed to Liberty Park in NJ to take the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty. As we approached the park there was a gathering of people. We weren’t sure what was going on then we recognized Gov. Christie was giving a speech in the park. There were news crews and a lady eyeing us as we slowly drove past.

We paid for our ferry tickets and took the short trip to Ellis Island. Our country has provided refuge for millions for hundreds of years. In the beginning, as people arrived in our country they didn’t have to meet any requirements, but the first restriction for entry was if they were hardened criminals or prostitutes. Later they were checked for disease and given a questionnaire with 29 questions. They'd have to fill out their name, vocation, where they were from and answer other picture type questions since there could be a language barrier or the immigrant might not be able to read/write. There was a lot to see and learn, but we were on a restricted time schedule so we didn’t get to all of it.

We hopped on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. As we rounded Liberty Island it was wonderful to see the statue right in front us of. It was just great!

Our first stop was at the ranger station. Faith worked on her Jr Ranger program prior to our arrival so they awarded her with her badge and we went to listen to a ranger speak about the statue. Our guide was very knowledgeable and our 30 min tour turned into an hour.

We learned many things about the statue- her crown has seven spikes for the seven seas, seven continents, seven days of the week, because it’s a lucky number… or it might just be for symmetry- they are not sure why seven was chosen. Originally, she had the shackles on her left ankle and a broken chain in her hand because she was willing to fight for her freedom. With the end of the Civil War it was decided to go a more gentler way to unite the country and she was given a tablet to hold with the date our of centennial anniversary inscribed on it. This gift to the United States from the French started as a way to show their appreciation and condolences to Mary Todd Lincoln. They wanted to make a medallion to present to her, but Napolean III, the ruler in France at the time, was against it. People donated two pennies each and $40,000 was raised for the medallion, which was placed in a purple box and presented to her. The box is now in the Library of Congress with Robert Lincoln’s collection. During the planning of this medallion the idea of the statue started. The statue took nine years to make and three years to get here! It was shipped in 300 pieces that took 5 months to reassemble.

Our next stop was 15 minutes away in Hoboken- Carlo’s Bake shop from the tv show Cake Boss. This Jersey fella runs the shop with family members and makes incredibly designed cakes. Becca loves the show so we hoped the lines would be short so we could grab a sweet treat. Lucky for us, we were able to not have a long line and to be able to see the pastries. They boxed them up for us and we were off to the airport to pick up Gramma. My mom is staying with us for the month of November so we drove to Philly to pick her up. We stopped at the Molly Pitcher rest area along the way. It was a great day and everything went smoothly.

The kids measuring themselves to see if they are taller than Gramma!

Day off!

We had an unplanned day off due to exhaustion from walking around NYC. Rick wore boots instead of tennis shoes so his feet were killing him and, after 10 hours of sleep, our early riser was still asleep! So we spent the day doing school work, went shopping, found a Chick Fil A and prepared for Gramma’s arrival. My mom will be joining us for the month of November. We needed this day off, but the days to come will be exhausting too. The snow storm threw us off schedule, but we’re going to try to get everything in.

Tonight we happened by chance to drive past Molly Pitcher’s Inn. Becca wrote a paper on her a few years ago. She was nicknamed Molly Pitcher for bringing water to the troops during the Revolutionary War. Her husband died while manning the cannon so took over.

New York City- day one

We took the train from NJ into the city. Coming up from underground we were in the fashion/garment district. The names of famous designers were at our feet as we walked. Our next stop was Times Square. We saw the “ball” that signals the start of the new year, M&M World, huge blinking billboards, and Toys R Us with a three story ferris wheel inside.

Shopping for Monster High dolls

Lunch on the street

We walked to Rockefeller Center and I was surprised the holiday ice skating rink was already in session. I would love to skate there! We headed to the Top of the Rock for the observation lookouts on the 68th-70th floors.

You can see the Times Square ball that drops each year lit up on the right side

The zamboni was cleaning the ice

We walked up 5th Avenue to find FAO Schwarz and play on the big piano. You can buy your own for $250,000! We also found a foos ball game with Barbie dolls as the "players" for $25,000.

It was Halloween so we saw many people in costume, but this guy was the most creative!

Times Square at night

It sure felt like we covered a lot of ground. We spent eight hours in the city and walked for probably seven of those hours. The kids did a great job and only complained about their aching feet, rightfully so, at the end of the day.