New Jersey -- what's to see there?!! A couple of battlefields near Morristown, and Atlantic City -- but we're not gamblers so that doesn't have alot of appeal. We did get off the Interstate and drove through some of the small towns around Morristown, Bernardsville & Bedminster -- on our way to Princeton. Lovely estates and nice towns all along Route 202.
As we were driving along, we saw a sign -- "USGA Golf Hall of Fame" -- figured we couldn't miss that. So we screeched that big ole van around a corner and drove a couple of miles through more beautiful countryside to a lovely estate. They have a very nice museum there with lots of old clubs of famous players, a Ben Hogan Room, and golf balls going back to the "feathery". They show how all the generations of clubs and balls were made. When uniformity and testing came into being, it was (and is) the USGA that verifies conformance and sets the rules for what is legal. One interesting exhibit was of submissions that were not approved -- some were pretty funny! Did you know that wooden tees didn't come into being until 1923? They mounded up sand before that!
Another building housed the actual testing facility for golf balls. Everybody gets a souvenir ball (or two) with the testing information still on it -- kind of cool! It is now all computerized, but what they put them through is interesting. Since it was late in the afternoon, they had quite for the day, and the deer had taken over the range where the robot fires balls out of the building, while computers record winds, temperature, etc. Another unexpected fun find!
We tarried too long at the Hall of Fame, and were caught in Friday evening traffic on 202/206 -- what a pain!! Naturally it was dark when we got to Princeton, and we were all spun around trying to find the motel area. Little frustration on both of our parts! Ended up at The Novatel -- a European chain that provided us a wonderful room for $80 in a city of $100+ hotels! You could really feel the European influence in the rooms and lobby. One of the nicest places we've stayed for the money. Enjoyed having room service and watching the Louis Ruykeyser special at Carnegie Hall. Most places we stay, there is no restaurant -- so this was a treat!
Had to spend a little time exploring Princeton. A charming, upscale town of 12,000, with the campus running right along the downtown area. It was game day, so most people were there and the downtown was pretty empty -- just no place to park -- thank goodness for the "handicapped" sticker. We're going to miss that starting next month!! The buildings on campus are old and varied in their Architecture -- makes for an interesting walk around Campus, which is quite large, we only explored a small part of it.
Decided that the Philadelphia area had lots to see, so headed for King of Prussia, which seemed to be pretty central to all the various things. We've checked into an Apple Inn, near a huge shopping center, and plan to use this as a base for the next several days as we do the battlefields and downtown Philly.
We loved Philly!! Not only does it have so much history from the American Revolution -- it has done a god job of integrating the modern along side the history. It does seem a little bizarre to cross several blocks of cobblestones as you enter the Freeway, but -- it holds speeding down! The Independence National Historic Park contains The Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, and many other historic buildings -- most still intact from the late 1700's!! In Independence Hall, you can see the actual room where Washington presided over the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Actually very moving. You can almost see George sitting in his chair (the original), cajoling his fellow citizens into compromise.
Until the new pavilion is completed, you can still touch the actual Liberty Bell. It is in very poor condition and people touching it is making it worse, so they are moving it to a new hall -- and removing it from the reach of people -- kind of too bad -- but future generations need to be able to see this symbol of our Independence.
Again, we took advantage of the "hop on, hop off" trolley tour, and saw all the sights around town. Betsy Ross house, The Philadelphia Art Museum (you would recognize the steps -- think Rocky), Old and new Statehouses, Fairmount Park -- the largest city park in the country -- larger than NY Central Park,and historic district, including the only US Post Office not to fly the American Flag. Because it is in the historic district from before we had our flag -- they can't fly it!! The B. 'Free' Franklin Post Office from the 1760's!! Good bit of trivia!!
On leaving downtown, we decided we would try to find "The Main Line" area -- Philly's society area of wonderful homes -- we had some vague instructions on where it was. We were enjoying our ride through Fairmount Park, and saw a sign to one of the mansions, so thinking we were in the right area, we took the next exit. Within 3 blocks, we were in the worst ghetto you can imagine -- it was scary!! Lot's of one way streets, thugs everywhere, and we were running out of light!! YIKES!! All we wanted to do was to get out of there -- FAST!! Fortunately we found a main street, and just headed in the general direction we had come from!! In about 10 minutes we found our way out!! WHEW!! Society will have to wait for another time!
Off to Valley Forge - the winter encampment of Geo. Washington's troops during the Revolutionary War. The movie prepared us well for the driving tour of this large Historic Park. Everything, except George's Headquarters house, are reproductions. But it is still quite easy to see what went on there that winter.
As we headed for "The Shore", we stopped to visit Phil's friend Nick Freeman at the H. Freeman factory. We had a nice visit there, and Phil finally got to meet Carol, whom he had tormented there for years! She is the Customer Service Rep. and really a nice person -- and she didn't look at all like Phil had pictured her -- isn't that often the way? Nick gave us a tour of the factory -- what was most amazing was how all those sleeves, lapels, backs, fronts, and collars get back together at the end of the process!! Still alot of hand work in those garments, but things like the cutting have been automated. No wonder their suits are so beautiful! They turn out about 1200 garments a week under several brands, custom, and contract.
We couldn't leave Philly, without a pilgrimage to the home of the Philly Steak sandwich at 9th and Passyunk -- Pat's Famous Philly Steaks. Right near downtown, and on the edge of the Italian section -- and on the narrowest street you can imagine -- people parking everywhere to walk up to the take out counter. Then there is "Geno's" across the street -- the competition, also attracting a large lunch time crowd. Quite a scene. The drive through the Italian section as we headed for the freeway was something -- vegetable stands, boxes, crates, garbage, trinket shops, and bakeries lining the street to the point where you almost couldn't navigate the roadway! A lively atmosphere to say the least! Oh, the Philly Steaks? YUM!!
Nick had given us a tip that we needed to head for Cape May, then on to Atlantic City. Cape May is at the very southern tip of NJ, and a quaint, Victorian era town that was also a favorite, along with Newport, RI, of the East Coast socialites. We found a wonderful ocean front location with a balcony with rocking chairs to watch the sunset. It was one of the most spectacular we have seen -- red, red fireball, followed by crimson clouds. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera handy. We enjoyed a late afternoon walk along the "boardwalk" -- not a real boardwalk, but a nice paved walkway all along the shore. Had a wonderful dinner at The Lobster House -- another Nick Freeman tip -- thanks Nick!!
Election Night in Cape May -- we stayed up til almost midnight -- what a roller coaster -- and we still don't know. Phil and I feel really weird -- neither of us has missed an election for many decades. We were hoping our ballots would be forwarded to Andrea along with our other mail - but, alas, it didn't happen. The first all mail Oregon election in history--and we missed it. Some say we were lucky, as the Oregon ballot was massive!
We enjoyed seeing all the B&B Victorian's in Cape May, as well as Sunset Beach - home of "Cape May Diamonds". Actually quartz rocks that are polished and cut into quite pretty jewelry. Had to pick a few from the beach, and buy some polished ones as souvenirs!! For some reason, only found in this location. Had a fun morning exploring this delightful town.
Took the scenic route to Atlantic City, through lots of small towns on tiny spits of land along the coast with lots of wetlands. What was interesting was the different characters of each of the towns. Wildwood -- very carnival/family/hotel oriented. Avalon--nice upscale residential area, and others a combination of tourist retail and housing.
Ran into our first detour due to the weight of our van -- we estimate it between 4 and 5 tons. A bridge between the land spits was undergoing some repair, and was limited to 3 1/2 tons. We had to turn around and take a different route into Atlantic City. Fortunately, we were in no hurry, and enjoyed the scenery just as much!
The Monopoly City. Get your board out -- all the streets are here! Made our way to the Boardwalk area, and looked for a hotel without all garage parking -- we never fit in those garages due to our height. We were heading for the Tropicana or the Holiday Inn, both right on the Boardwalk. Saw the big garages and looked a little further (turns out both could have accommodated us in surface parking that wasn't obvious at first glance). We landed at the Days Inn, and for $79 a night have a wonderful boardwalk front, ocean view room -- with parking for the Van!!
We expected to not like Atlantic City, since we are not gambling people, but we were pleasantly surprised. Walking down the boardwalk in the evening was very enjoyable -- we felt safe, and the weather was great. We actually went into the Tropicana and spent $15 -- had about 30 minutes of fun!! The people watching was great!!
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PHIL-OSOPHIES
As you can guess, we travel with a portable bar -- we do enjoy our cocktails in the evening -- big surprise, huh? What has been amazing is the purchase of alcohol around the country. Each state seems to have their own twist on how you accomplish this feat. In Michigan we encountered "diluted" alcohol -- just that, --certain stores sell it diluted, and other stores sell the "real" stuff -- they don't seem to mind the difference there -- hmmmm. Then you have the "everything, everywhere" states -- they stop just short of selling it in your local McDonalds. Then you have your "big box" states -- stores bigger than Home Depot that sell everything you can imagine --and including stores on freeway exits that go ONLY to the liquor store!! We also have encountered various permutations on the "confusing" ideogram. Pennsylvania has one of the more interesting twists. Wine and Spirit stores that can sell NOTHING that doesn't have alcohol in it -- not tonic, not soda -- but also no beer. That is a separate bureaucracy with separate outlets. They can sell anything else they want -- but only beer for alcohol! But they can't be a "grocery store" -- convenience store OK -- grocery stores can't sell beer or any other spirits!! What a country!!
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Before we left Atlantic City, we went to see Diana's gowns -- a charity exhibit at the Tropicana. She was a size 8, and these gowns were just beautiful. It was interesting that most of them were variations on 2-3 basic pattern styles. It was also interesting the changes they made that completely changed to look of the dress. Phil entertained the ladies at the gift shop while I enjoyed the gowns!
On our way back into Philly, we had to cross a toll bridge. Normally, we pay just like a car, because we only have two axles and are less than 20' long. This is the first bridge we have encountered that charges by weight once you are over 3 tons--regardless of axles. So what we thought was an outrageous $3.00 toll for a fairly short bridge, turned into a really outrageous charge of $9.00 for a 2 axle vehicle -- $4.50 per axle over 3 tons!! The bridge tender didn't even ask us our weight -- he knew we were overweight!!
Once we got back into Philadelphia, we had wanted to try again to see "The Main Line". We got there during rush hour (dawdled too long in Atlantic City), so decided to drive on to Lancaster - our next destination.
Lancaster, the Amish Country. Very rural, very relaxing -- at least at this time of year! You can tell by the size of the parking lots that this place is a zoo in the summer! Enjoyed a wonderful Dutch/Amish buffet with many regional specialties -- and just good home cooking. We found many of the vegetable preparations too sweet for our palette, but the desserts -- shoofly pie, pecan/chocolate pie, bread pudding -- ooohhh. Also enjoyed real homemade apple cider for the first time this fall.
We found the best shops and crafts in two towns with funny names -- Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse. I'm sure there are lots of jokes about the later.....Had a wonderful time eating the food -- more good Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish cooking -- and exploring the shops. Many wonderful handicrafts. Managed to make a few Christmas purchases before leaving town. Had a very interesting conversation with a "modern" Mennonite owner of a quilt shop, about the Amish people and the Mennonites. She really gave us alot of insights into their life. She describes herself as somewhat modern, but still conservative. She spoke of her mother as being "more plain" and her grandmother as "very plain". There are differences in educational views, technology views, business views, as well as the religious differences. She was very open, and we appreciated and enjoyed her candor and helping us understand more about their culture.
Gettysburg will begin week 24 of our trip tomorrow.
