First in the Hearts of His Countrymen

10-15-10

On our last day in the east, we visited George Washington's home, Mt. Vernon.  We toured the mansion, the grounds and visited his tomb.  There is a wonderful museum there also.  We ate in the Mt. Vernon Inn.  And we enjoyed this interesting, educational, tranquil day.  The weather was beautiful again.

What I found very interesting was the story of Mt. Vernon's survival.  In 1853, it was in complete disrepair.  A group of women formed an organization to save it.  The Ladies of Mt. Vernon, got the money together and began the restoration process.  They opened it to the public in 1860.  It has been their special project all these years.

Winterthur

10-14-10

We drove to the Winterthur Museum in a downpour -- and it didn't stop all day!  Nevertheless I enjoyed the world renowned collection of American antique furniture collected by the DuPont family.
I included a few pictures here.

All Aboard!

10-13-10

Strassburg Railway next stop.  Carroll was in Paradise on this historic steam train ride through Pennsylvania Dutch country.

 The rest of our day was spent driving through Amish country on our way back to Baltimore.  I really enjoyed looking at these beautiful white, curtainless, autoless homes.  We saw several buggies and many horse drawn plows or other farm equipment.  The children go to their own private schools and I was delighted that we happened to be driving by a school when the children were being dismissed.  They looked so cute as they came bursting through the door in their black pants, skirts and aprons and their blue or purple shirts and blouses.  I tried to be respectful of their beliefs and I did not try to take pictures of them but if you look carefully you will see a farmer or two from a long distance. 

A House Divided

The National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg was incredible and we ended up spending a couple of hours there.  And then we were on to Gettysburg to see one of the most famous and deadly battlefields.
Of course, Gettysburg was the major "turn around" battle in the course of the war.  The cemetery which was dedicated by Lincoln with his profound Gettysburg address was very touching.  It is hard to imagine how many people died there on July 1, 2 and 3 in 1863. 

Possible unknown soldiers - these were just marked with a number.

One of the rows of graves of the deceased which encircle the large monument at the highest point.

This is the highest point of the cemetery.  The graves of the dead encircle this in numerous rows.

Cherri's Chocolate Factory

10-11-10

Hershey's chocolate factory -- the sweetest place on earth.  I loved my visit to Hershey and I developed quite a respect for the Milton S. Hershey.  He gave his entire fortune away in 1919 to support his work with orphans and underprivileged children.  All proceeds from Hershey's entertainment goes completely to this work.  We also toured the gardens which were beautiful.  Carroll enjoyed the collection of antique autos that was also on display there.

Day on the Road

10-10-10

We stopped by a maple syrup "museum" and learned the art of tapping trees.  It was very interesting.  Did you know the sap can only be harvested in the winter - before the tree buds.   Then we drove to Woodstock, VT and saw Billings Farm.  It was fascinating with a fun combination of old and new.  It included museums as well as demonstrations.  I'm proud to say I finally know what an ox is!  They were doing cider pressing when we were there.  We drove over our first covered bridge (we were lost!).  Then the rest of the day was spent on the road -- long drive.  Next stop Hershey, PA.

Oh, yes, we have named our GPS Tara, the Druid goddess of travel.  Tara has been very good to us with only a couple of minor issues.

Sashaying Through Shelburne

10-9-10

I keep trying to capture the beauty of these leaves, but I just can't do them justice.  You have to see it yourself.

Today was awesome.  Several people had told me about the Shelburne Museum.  It is incredible.  We stayed there the whole day - and we still didn't see everything.  Electra Havemeyer Webb founded this museum.  Her grandmother was a Vanderbilt.  And both, Havemeyer and Webb, were families of wealth so this gave Electra the opportunity to pursue her hobby of collection.  She was an avid collector of folk art - and just about everything.  Most of the buildings in this huge, beautifully landscaped museum, she purchased and moved to the site.  Then she completely set them up with articles of the building's era.  For instance she had an inn, "the Dutton House",  from the 1820s completely furnished in period furniture.  There was a paddlewheel boat, a train station, an amazing circus building, 1787 sawmill - complete with equipment - it just goes on and on.  We weren't even able to see it all in an entire day.  I recommend it to anyone.  There is something there for everyone to enjoy.