Valley Forge National Historical Park, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

Today we headed to Valley Forge National Historical Park which preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment.

General George Washington led the main body of the Continental Army of approximately 12,000 which encamped here at Valley Forge from December 1777 to June 1778.

Cabins have been constructed to demonstrate the conditions under which the soldiers endured the winter at Valley Forge.

Interpreters are dressed in the garb of the day and display items used by the troops to survive the winter.

The National Memorial Arch is inscribed with Washington's tribute to his army:

"Naked and Starving as they are

We cannot enough admire

the Incomparable Patience and Fidelity

of the Soldiery."

General Knox' Quarters during the encampment is in the process of rehabilitation in preparation for future use.

The Knox Covered Bridge was built over Valley Creek in 1865. It is still used by over 2,000 vehicles per day and has a height clearance of only 10 feet.

General George Washington's headquarters during the encampment is open to the public. George's wife, Martha, lived with him here during the later months of the encampment.

Incredibly, George Washington's Headquarters wasn't declared a National Historic Landmark until 1972.

The house's interior contains many actual and recreated artifacts of the revolutionary period.

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben served as inspector general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

He is credited with teaching the army the essentials of military drills and discipline and wrote the standard United States drill manual which was used until the War of 1812.

The Washington Memorial Chapel was completed in 1917 and serves as a National Memorial to General Washington, as well as being an active Episcopal Parish.

The church features The National Patriots Bell Tower with its carillon of 58 tuned bronze bells, representing all states and U.S. territories.

Listen to the music of The National Patriots Bell Tower in the first portion of this video.

The entry hall to the church.

The interior of the church.

The ceiling of the church.

The church is surrounded by gardens and statues and also features its own thrift store.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/philadelphia/ pictures 1-62.

To be continued...

Views of Atlantic City and Square Dancing

Today we took a drive to the city that is "always turned on"...Atlantic City.

The visitor center located right in the median of the Atlantic City Expressway will provide you information on many things to do in the city. First thing to know...there is NO free parking at Atlantic City casinos unless you have gambled enough to become a Gold Card holder.

Atlantic City is surrounded by water. This is a view from the Atlantic City Expressway.

Atlantic City has several casinos surrounded by a lot of shopping with run-down areas of the city right next door.

The walkways of Atlantic City connect casinos to each other and parking garages.

Big casino names of Atlantic City include Trump Plaza, Caesars, Showboat, Tropicana...

who can forget the Trump Taj Mahal?

And, of course, Bally's, not to be confused with Bally's Total Fitness. Ain't much exercise going on inside these walls.

After driving through Atlantic City, we headed back to Holly Acres RV Park.

When we arrived, we found some Square Dancers in the activity hall.

Take a look.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/drive-to-atlantic-c/ .

To be continued...

Holly Acres RV Park, Egg Harbor City, New Jersey

Next we headed to New Jersey which welcomed us with lighted signs...

and painted signs...

and lots of toll. New Jersey would stand out in our minds as the state with the highest tolls at more than $50. Instead of The Garden State, New Jersey will be known to us as The Toll State.

We were headed to Egg Harbor City and Holly Acres RV Park.

Coming in the entrance...

A little shade and just enough satellite access...

Wanna play a few holes?

The park features a nice swimming pool and its own spring-fed fresh water pond.

There is a cultivated blueberry field and an activity hall where you may find a bunch of square dancers.

There is a very nice self-contained bathroom.

A fax/scanner/printer is conveniently located at your feet.

But where is the water fountain? We don't like drinking out of no stinking old-fashioned bowl...

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/holly-acres-rv-park/ .

To be continued...

Washington, D.C. Pt. 4

Today we decided to introduce Jerry and Lee to The Metro.

Jerry has a little trouble with the ticket machine.

Jerry and Lee think "They made us take PUBLIC transportation!"

Actually, that's the lower level of the double-decker bus which we had reboarded to continue our sightseeing.

You may recognize this building. You have probably seen it on the back of both the $5 bill and the valuable penny. We heard that a famous man was sitting inside.

Indeed, inside we found the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln (also known as Honest Abe), presiding. The statue, carved from white Georgia marble, stands 19 feet 9 inches tall and 19 feet wide.

Next we visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where visitors can search the directory for names of those who fought in the War and died in service or are still unaccounted for.

The nearly 500 foot long wall containing over 58,000 names gets over 3,000,000 visitors annually.

Personal mementos are placed by family members and friends.

The bronze statue The Three Soldiers stands a short distance from the wall.

Arlington National Cemetery was our next stop for the day.

Established during The Civil War, today more than 290,000 people are buried in the 624 acres of the cemetery.

The most well-known individual grave in Arlington is that of President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was the first individual known person to be given the honor of having an eternal flame at his grave.

Other notable graves at Arlington include JFK's wife and two of their children, as well as his brother, Robert.

Also notable at Arlington is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb actually contains the remains of one unknown soldier each from World War I, World War II and the Korean War. A Vietnam War soldier was disinterred and identified in 1998.

The Tomb of the Unknowns, as is it also known, has been perpetually guarded by the U.S. Army since April 6, 1948.

A hilltop at Arlington National Cemetery provides a wonderful view of the nation's capital.

The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum was our final stop of the day.

This is an actual Apollo Lunar Module.

This is the actual capsule and couch used to transport Able, a rhesus monkey, into space. In 1959, he was accompanied by Baker, a squirrel monkey, in a Jupiter missile nose cone.

This is the actual tractor that provides nightly hayrides at Cherry Hill Park.

This is the actual Chatfield who knows that as long as he's in the driver's seat, this thing ain't moving.

These are Sammy and Pedra. Sammy is trying to figure out who the new gray kitty is while Pedra is trying to figure out who the old gray kitty is.

As promised, here is a video. The setting...Arlington National Cemetery.
For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/washington-dc-day-3/ .

To be continued...

Washington, D.C. Pt. 3

We completed the double-decker loop tour and had lunch at Union Station.

Then we headed back out to get a better look at the Capitol from the lawn.

Next we headed to the White House Visitor Center.

Here we learned about the various functions of The White House itself.

We got a look at the general layout of the building thanks to this diagram.

The most famous room in The White House, The Oval Office, changes with the times and the presidents.

Then we got pictures from this side of The White House...

and that side of The White House. See, Marlon really WAS there.

Then we walked over to the Washington Monument which Doug missed earlier in the day.

Two gawking tourists took in the size of the sand-colored obelisk.

The Monument stands 555 feet 5.5 inches tall! At the time of its completion in 1888, it was the world's tallest structure. The Monument retained this title for approximately seven months, when the then-completed Eiffel Tower surpassed it in height at over 1,000 feet.

That guy sure looks short!

At this point, we decided the unusually hot temperatures near 100 degrees had tired us out and it was time to head back home for the day.

Maybe we'll have a video to watch tomorrow.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/washington-dc-day-3/ pictures 1-42.

To be continued...