Virginia Beach Boardwalk Oct 25, 26, 2011

We stayed at the Chesapeake Campground in Virginia, and of course headed to the Boardwalk to get our "tootsies" in the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a bit chilly in our previous stops along the coast.  Beautiful beaches.

Inbetween the hotels, restaurants, etc. along the board walk they had interesting sculptures, (Neptune), others like the fish collection on the right, and a large display of statues commemorating WWII.  Impressive, and a fun walk...we walked a lot!!!!  And had lunch a cool little place called Abbey Lane which was full of Beatles memorabilia.
Are we sick of clam chowder and lobster/clam/seafood bisque yet?   Nope.

Chesapeak Bay & Ingrid and Hugh October 22-24, 2011

We stayed one night in West Virginia...should have stayed another night and caught Antitam, but we were really getting sick of rain...and were anxious to run away from it.  Our stop in the Baltimore area was at Abingdon - a lovely park right on Chesapeak Bay.

Right across from our site, we saw our first really nice evidence of fall colors.  That evening we drove to Harve de Grace (also on the Chesapeak Bay, and had a lovely dinner with Ingrid, (ex-PFE colleague from STL) and Hugh.  We were also in a supper club together. The food and the company  in the bay-side restaurant were both great!!!

On to Delaware on the 24th...again a token one nighter...stayed at an Elks Lodge in Seaford, DE.  Nice spot...but no one was there.   We put a donation in an envelope, and thanked them for their hospitality.  :-)  On the 25th we were on our way to Virginia.  These pics don't do justice to the experience...but we crossed the Chesapeak on a bridge/tunner.  Bridge for a while...then tunnel for a while...All in all the crossing was bridge...tunnel...bridge...tunnel...bridge...about 20 miles worth.  Interesting!!!

Philadelphia October 21, 2011 (And the story of Ben Franklin)

We took the walking tour through Historic Philadelphia.  Our guide was British, so it added a bit of elegance to the story.  On left...the original post office - one of the many inventions of Ben Franklin.  Still open and handles a small bit of mail each day...mostly outgoing with a special "commemorative" cancel.

The backside of Franklin's print shop and post office...the privey pit, and the water well.

However...in today's standards, it would never be allowed that the two would be so close together.

Thr structural frame is where his house was located.  On the same corridor just behind the post office.

Congress Hall, where the secret meetings took place, and decisions were made to sever ties with England.  Truly an act of treason in the day.
Elfreths Alley is famous, and is as it was created back back in 1703

Ben Franklin was known for so many inventions, it's difficult to recount even the several that were mentioned on the tour.  We all know about the lightening and the key.  But, how about lightening rods - to prevent house fires...and fire insurance...and the first fire department.

Betsy Ross Home, and Constitution Hall...where all of the signatures are available on all of the pertinent documents connected to the Freedom of the United States from British rule and command.

Of course we had to find "what food is famous in Philadelphia"...of course, the Philly Cheese Steak, and home brewed lager with Mac and cheese on the side.  We were told that some diners make the Philly Cheese steak sandwich with CheeseWhiz instead of "real cheese"...YUK.

Topped it off with the Liberty Bell, and a pic of Jean with one of the various "dressed in character for the times."

We took a bus tour - as is our usual to capture the most narrative - but after getting a "so so" pic of the mint and of the gate to China town...we hopped off...and walked back to the historic square to poke around a bit more on our own.

Gettysburg, PA Oct 20, 2011

Our trip to Gettysburg was another "Great Adventure"  Part of the tour included the cyclorama - circular theater with a mural depicting all stages of the war.  With lights and sound, the action of the battle of Gettysburg came to life on the walls around the dome of the theatre.  Neat!!!

Abe Lincoln greeted all visitors to the museum.  Many artifacts along the bus tour route.  This National park has over 200 of the original 400+ canons used in the battle at Gettysburg strategically placed throughout the battlefield.

And the fields where the fighting took place. This was the turning point of the Civil War.  There were over 40,000 men who took part in this war.  It was most evident seeing it on the cyclorama which was painted in the late 1800's, has been moved 3 times...and was restored when the new museum was built .  The war was known to many as 3 days in July...1863.  July 1,2, and 3.

The Union army had a great advantage as they we positioned on the Little Round Top...General Meade statue "appraising" the situation in the fields before him.
 And Jean got to put her hands on a real Civil war gun.  Woohoo!!!

The dead from the war were not officially buried until several months after the war.  Lincoln's famous Gettysburg address was delivered at the Dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery on Nov 19, 1863.

Pennsylvania October 18 - 22, 2011

We stayed just one night at the Elks Lodge in Seaford, DE.  (Had to meet our one night stay criteria, even though the state is very small.)  We met Bob and Carol Tones - full time RV'ers for 13 years.  When it was discovered that Bob had Parkinsons, they downsized to a class C, and Carol does all of the driving now.

We stayed in a small town "Ephrata" which was central to everything we wanted to do in Pennsylvania.

Dinner - great reminiscences - and adjustments - with our long-time friend in Chiropractic, Dennis Fitterer.  I'm quite certain that our kids remember Denny from the Palmer Homecoming days.

No trip to central Pennsylvania would be complete without a visit to the Hershey Chocolate World.  The tour was free (always a good thing for us) and informative, and entertaining.

AND......................after traveling the entire upper northeast...VT, NH, ME, MA, RI CT..................
This was the first evidence of real FALL COLORS that we experienced.  Pennsylvania was beautiful.  It was a late season up north...the locals kidded that the Fall Colors just couldn't get it together...kinda like the RED SOX.   :-)