Pennsylvania and the D.C. area

Hershey Thousand Trails camp site.

Nearby Green Dragon Flea and Farmers Market.

Also nearby is this roadside farm store.

  Those eggplants are 3 for a dollar and

 the boxes of tomatoes are 1 dollar.

Enjoying the fruits of our shopping labors.

Campbelltown barn converted to an antique mall.

After leaving Hershey, we stopped in Hampton (near Baltimore) 

to visit Maryland's largest plantation and National Historical Site.

Judy, near the milk/spring-house used for

 preserving and making butter for use and sale.

The owners built this great greenhouse to grow their own citrus.

There was also an enormous ice cellar constructed

 so ice cream could be enjoyed in the summer.

Our site in Greenbelt Park in Washington D.C.

We took the subway to Arlington National Cemetery.

This is the Monument to the women in service to our country.

JFK's grave.

RFK's grave.

Rutherford B. Hayes grave. 

 Most of you know that we visit presidential sites. 

 Both these and National Park sites

 are easily found in the D.C. area.

Robert E. Lee's Arlington House.  

The graves seen here are civil war casualties placed 

this close to Lee's abandoned home to, some say, 

piss him off and insure that he will not return. 

 He did not.

  He spent the rest of his life repairing the nation.

We walked over the Arlington Memorial Bridge, 

one that symbolically re-connected

 the Confederacy to the Union.

More walking brought us to the newest Monument,

Martin Luther King.

World War II Memorial.

Couldn't resist the pose!

In one long day we drove and visited seven 

National Park sites near D.C.

Fort Washington.

Harmony Hall Manor.

The Manor House.

Fort Foote, 

part of the Washington Civil War Defense system.

Oxon Hill Park--this colonial farm had views of 

Washington burning during the War of 1812.

I warned Judy to get out of the displays,

 but got the picture first.

She then had me get into an antique manure spreader.  

I must be old and worthy of spreading!

Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

He explored and mapped the Chesapeake Bay over several years, 

became great friend of the natives, and married Pocahontas.

In the colonial farm house in Piscataway (National) Park

 across the Potomac from

 George Washington's retirement home, Mount Vernon.

We took our last stroll of the day to view the water lilies.

A visit to the birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner.

Baltimore, Maryland.

We were fortunate to visit during the month-long

 200th anniversary of the song's composition.

We enjoyed two great speakers, each claimed the 

other was there during the War of 1812, 

thus their amazing proficiency.

Our second speaker had lots of help unfurling the

 correct size banner that was raised so the British would

 know of the United States resolve. 

 Francis Scott could also see the this flag.

Off to the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia.

New Jersey

The pose.

 In the dunes, between the boardwalk

 and beach, just south of Atlantic City.

Gateway National Recreation Area-Sandy Hook Unit.

http://www.nps.gov/gate/index.htm

Climbing the last 9 steps up the ladder to the light.

The Sandy Hood Light has been in

 continuous use for over 250 years.

After a picnic lunch, a short stroll on the beach, 

NYC in background.

Just down the shore from Gateway NRA is a location used by

 seven presidents to escape the summer DC heat.

 (Grant, Garfield, Arthur, B. Harrison, McKinley, Hayes, and Wilson)

Garfield recovered from an assassin's bullet here.

We also visited the "Church of the Presidents" in Long Branch.

To our surprise and good luck, friends Margie and Dean Loveland 

were in our Thousand Trails RV park when we arrived. 

 They are native to and very knowledgeable of the area. 

 They were a great help with our broken fridge, 

supplying ice, freezer space, and info. 

 Dean is a great pickleball player and took

 Dennis with him several days to challenge matches in Ocean City.

THANKS!

After a morning on the boardwalk and on the pickleball courts,

 we enjoyed a local joint for a seafood feast.  

There are always chores to do--but alas,

 I had to take the motor home to a 

dealer to get the fridge fixed. 

 Fortunately, it was under warranty!

A great display of the wildlife in the area of the

Great Egg Harbor River National Wild and Scenic River.

http://www.nps.gov/greg/index.htm

A wild and Scenic National River.

http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/maurice.php

On a lake created by damming the 

Great Egg Harbor River near Mays Landing.

The above rivers are inside the Pinelands National Reserve.

http://www.nps.gov/pine/index.htm

We took a short hike around a lake in the Pinelands 

to view carnivorous plants.

Here is the Round-leaved Sundew.  

This Pitcher Plant and the Sundew were not doing enough,

 because Judy's legs were more bug-bitten 

than the bugs were plant-bitten!

After the fridge was fixed promptly 

(in at 8 and back on the road at 10.  

thanks, http://www.scottmotorcoach.com/)

 we  drove to Morristown and 

visited the first National Historical Park.

This beautiful building was built in 1935 as a museum 

and monument to the winter of 1779 encampment.

http://www.nps.gov/morr/index.htm

Washington wintered here, with Martha, in the 

worst winter (1779-80) on record.  

The troops stayed about 5 miles from this mansion.

Another presidential and National Park site.   

With the fridge fixed, a good night's sleep,

and icewater in tow, we headed from a parking spot

 to visit a couple of National Park sites.

Patterson Great Falls NHP is the place where 

Alexander Hamilton envisioned an independent America.  

That America must manufacture its own goods. 

 This place of water power provided that 

beginning well before the Revolutionary War. 

The Patterson Great Falls.

Between the two National Park sites (in Caldwell, NJ) above and

below sits the birthplace of Grover Cleveland.

We had a great tour of the building and 

grounds by a very knowledgeable historian. 

Cleveland was our 22nd and 24th president.  

We also visited the re-constructed church of his father.

West Orange was our next stop, and a visit to Thomas Edison NHP.

 What an amazing and enlightening tour! 

 We also enjoyed a phonograph demonstration, 

a walk through the plants, 

and a visit to the Edison ground and mansion.

In one of the plants.

  Although nearly deaf, Edison chose all of the music to be recorded! 

 His machines, although better than the competition's, eventually failed.

  Two reasons--Edison did not like jazz (very popular at the time)

 and his recordings were played at 80 RPM's.  

Victrola and others standardized.

  

Visiting the Edison mansion.

We could live here!