Halloween

This year was a typical Halloween...carve pumpkins...

eat chili and cornbread...costume pictures...

hand out candy...and pie!

Fall Getaway

A couple of months ago I told my old time friend, Del Patten, that I'd fly back to DC to accompany him when he went to the temple for the first time.  Well, when the time came, it turned out to be a very expensive proposition at a very inconvenient time.  So, we compromised.  He would go to the temple without me, and I'd fly back in the fall to visit with him and make a vacation out of it. For a month,  I had a great time planning and preparing for this trip. I decided to make a quick visit to DC and Philidelphia, and then spend some time in Amish country.

Tuesday, Oct 11th
After a 2 1/2 hour delay at LAX, the plane finally landed at Reagan, I picked up my rental car, and drove down to Fredericksburg, where Del lives.  After quick visit with him, I was off to find my way to the Averys, friends of Del's where I was to spend the next two nights,

Wednesday, Oct 12th
It was dark when I arrived last night, so I really didn't get to appreciate the scenery until this morning when it was light outside.  Looking out the window of the bedroom, I felt like I had been transported to another world.  The Avery family lives out in the country with a huge house (7 bedrooms and that many bathrooms!) and lots of land all around.

A funny story about this picture.  When I first looked out the window, there were lots of ducks on this pond, as well as the two swans.  After I got dressed and went out to take some pictures, the ducks were gone, but the swans were still there.  I walked up very quietly, not to scare them off, and was amazed at the beautiful picture I got.  I even posted it on instagram!  That evening, when I was back at the Avery's, I mentioned the picture to Naomi and she laughed as she told me that the swans were fake, put there to discourage geese from settling.

Today was spent with Del.  We visited most of the day, with a field trip to Chatham Manor, a mansion built between 1768-1771.  It started as a plantation with over 100 slaves, but during the Civil War, the Union took over the house, using it as their headquarters, and later it became a hospital for the injured soldiers.

The grounds were beautiful.  













                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                          This catalpa tree was actually here during
                                                                                                   the Civil War, very old and very gnarly.

Thursday, Oct 13th--DC

Today was my day for a quick trip into DC.  On my way in on the metro, I stopped off at the Pentagon to revisit the memorial for the people who lost their lives on 9/11.  It is such a beautiful, moving, and thoughtful tribute. 

184 people lost their lives that morning, either on the plane that flew into the Pentagon building, or working in their offices.  The angle of the benches is the angle that the plane was flying when it went into the building, and the benches are placed either facing the building, for those that were in the building at the time of the attach, or facing outward to indicate that they were aboard the plane.  They are placed chronologically, from youngest, aged 3, to oldest, aged 71.

You can see the lighter colored brick where the building was repaired
after the attack.

I then made my way back to the metro and into DC where I spent several hours visiting with Mr. Lincoln...

...and Mr. Jefferson.

I was also able to capture some beautiful, moving photos of some famous monuments.

Always poignant, the Vietnam Wall

Statue remembering the woman's roll in Vietnam

Washington Monument 

The Capital Building with Washington's flags in front,
and the WWII fountains in the foreground.

I couldn't get over all of the pokemon stops on the mall.  The only bad thing was that I had no battery life on my phone to be able to take advantage of either them or the 20,000 steps that I walked today!!!

I left DC in time to get to Columbia, Maryland for a dinner theater.  The food was good and the show was great.  A very fun evening.

Friday, Oct 14th--Philadelphia

My hotel for tonight was outside of the city so I wouldn't have to drive in the traffic, find parking, and worry about one way streets.  I found one with a train station right on the property, so all I had to do was check in, and then take a 3 minute walk to board the train.  It worked perfectly.  I got off the train right in the middle of the historic section of Philadelphia. 

First stop, Reading Terminal Market .  Mel told me this was the best place for a Philly Cheesesteak, and since that was on my list of things to do, and it was lunch time, I went in.  Oh my!  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was huge, crowded, and loud.  I'm sure you could find anything and everything to eat there, including fresh fruit and flowers, all sorts of meats and fresh seafood, and lots of fresh baked breads and pastries.

Mission accomplished!

Next up, Independence Park.  I had been to Philadelphia probably 30 years ago, and had visited these historic places then, but I wanted to visit again; a little older, a little wiser, and much more appreciative of the men who met here to found our new nation.

The house where Thomas Jefferson lived
and wrote the Declaration of Independence

The Liberty Bell

Independence Hall
(Philadelphia, not Knott's Berry Farm!)

The room where independence was discussed and voted on.

I immediately thought of the movie 1776 when I saw this staircase.
This is where John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and others  sang as they
passed the pen around to see who would eventually write the declaration.
Thomas Jefferson lost!!!

I had never been to Betsy Ross's home before, and found it very interesting.  Making a flag for the new nation was a dangerous job.  If she had been found out, she would have been charged with treason and possibly imprisoned.  Historians believe she probably worked on the flag in her bed chamber, where she would have had privacy.

The stairs were not made for tall people with big feet!

Some sights around the town...

Old meets new.

 My last stop today was the new Philadelphia temple.  It was only dedicated a few weeks ago, so I felt very blessed to be able to go inside and do some temple work.

Saturday, Oct 15th-Lancaster, Bird in Hand

I knew I had almost arrived in Amish country when I came up to this buggy being drawn by a horse.
I had to slow way down and follow him until we crested the hill and I could see if it was safe to pass.
I spent the afternoon learning all about the Amish people and their way of life.

First, I toured an Amish school.

The schools are all one room schools, with outhouses in the back and some simple play equipment. The kids go to school up to the 8th grade,  After that, their formal education is over and they spend the rest of their childhood with practical practice, helping with the farming or house hold chores at home.  The teachers don't have special training.  If a young woman wanted to become a teacher, she would apprentice in the classroom for a couple of years, and then take over the class when there was an opening.  If a child continued their formal education by attending more school, they couldn't be baptized.

The first two rows are high German,
the language that is spoken in  their church meetings.

Their days are 8:30-2:30, 180 days per year.

Teachers are always single women.  Once they marry, they quit so they can stay home and take care of their home and family.  Teachers are paid $1 per student per day.

The house tour was very interesting.  The Amish don't use electricity, but they do use batteries, propane, and diesel engines.

You can tell an Amish home
by the green pull-down shades.
Sometimes, the unbaptized girls bedrooms
have white, lacy curtains.

Notice the motor under the washing machine

After dinner, the kids play with simple toys
like this marble game

They all have gardens and can for the winter

Everywhere you looked, there were clothes lines filled with clean clothes.

They were very ingenious about getting light.
There is a butane canister inside the wooden base,
and the top is fitted with lantern mantels.

They have no church building, but worship in member's homes.  They have a church wagon that is filled with benches, hymnals, and other things needed for worship.  This wagon is delivered to the home during the week, used on Sunday, and then rotated to the next family.  Worship services are spoken in high German, usually last 3-3 1/2 hours, and then they all stay for a meal. There are no pianos, so the singing is a cappella.  The music that I heard sounded almost like a Jewish cantor or a medieval chant.  Very unusual.

I went on a farm tour, visiting the outlying parts of the city, and stopped at a working dairy at milking time.

I loved seeing the men out in the field with a plow or some other
farm machinery hitched up to a team of horses

The Amish don't like to have their pictures taken, so I had to be pretty stealthy
to get this shot of a dad and his two sons working outside of
the barn.  

Again, a hay baler being pulled by horses!

I kept seeing these and finally asked what they were...
corn cribs!

The entire family helps with the milking,
The machinery is run by air suction.

Typical farms are 30-60 acres and grow corn, oats, barley, and alfalfa, all used as feed for their animals.  They also grow tobacco as a cash crop, and yes, it's OK for the Amish to smoke!

One farm actually was raising camels.

We also stopped at an older man's home who was a basket maker.  

I loved all of the buggies...

This young man was on his way to do some "courting".  A young, unmarried
couple have to travel in an open buggy.  Also, men are clean shaven until they marry.
After that, they never cut their beard again.

 Sunday, October 16th--Hershey, Strasburg

 They don't actually give a tour through the Hershey's factory anymore, but they have a cute little ride through a "Disneyland style" exhibit, explaining how the chocolate is made.

And then, also like Disneyland, the ride spits you out in the middle of a huge candy store.

I also took a trolley tour through the town with emphasis on Mr Hershey and his philanthropic activities.  He was quite a man.

This evening I took a scooter tour of some covered bridges.  I was pretty nervous about driving a scooter, but they gave me some instruction, and said I was good to go.  I had a great time, and the views were spectacular, but I'll admit, my heart was in my throat the entire time.  

The tour guide explained that originally, most of these covered bridges
had a mill nearby to harness the water power.
This is the only one I saw.

Monday, October 17th--Lititz, Valley Forge
Lititz is a really pretty, quaint little town a few minutes north of Lancaster.

It's two claims to fame are...

and

During the pretzel factory tour, we got to roll our own pretzel,

and see how they were originally made, before big factories and modern machines.

The ovens were stoked with either wood, coke, or coal to a temperature
of 550*.  The pretzels were bakes for 10 minutes, then removed
to the kilns upstairs for drying and packaging.

Next up, Valley Forge.  I couldn't have done this trip without my phone giving me directions, and it did a pretty good job.  But, as I was heading to Valley Forge, following my phone's directions, I came up to this CLOSED bridge.  Where I wanted to go was on the other side!  I got out and took a couple of pictures, and then had to figure out what to do next.  I finally made it back to the interstate, entered into my GPS "Valley Forge Visitors Center", and voila...

 ...I made it!

Today was hot and humid, so I opted for the self guided car tour instead of walking the miles of trails.  Along the way, there were places to stop and explore.  One of the most interesting stops was a
re-creation of the cabins that Washington's men lived in during that horrific winter, 1777.

 At General Washington's headquarters compound, there were these smaller cabins for his guard.

This was the actual building Washington used for his headquarters.  I felt in awe as I realized that I was walking up the same steps as one of the greatest men on our history.

Some of the pretty fall colors with Washington's headquarters
in the background.

Tuesday, October 18th--Washington's Crossing
Before I headed out to Washington's crossing, I just had to explore the B&B that I stayed at last night, The Great Valley House.

This back part was the original house, and the very top window was my room

According to the owner, it is the oldest house in Pennsylvania.  The oldest part, which is where I had breakfast today was a kitchen area with a huge fireplace for warmth and cooking.  There was a small room off the back that was the original parent's bedroom, and a ladder that came down from the ceiling that lead up to a loft where the kids slept.

My bedroom was on the third floor, with a slanted roof-line that I kept knocking my head against. I'm thinking that people were shorter back then.

 But, this is why I choose this particular room!

The old, original, over sized clawfoot tub!  Need I say more?

The B&B is set on 3.5 acres of woods and during my exploring this morning, I saw a family of dear out for their breakfast.  I also saw a spring house where people used to keep things cool and a door in the side of the hill.  I asked about it, thinking it was a root cellar, but it was the exit for a tunnel that people used during the Revolutionary War and also it was used with the Underground Railroad. Pretty cool.

The last stop of my trip was Washington's Crossing, where General Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River that fateful Christmas morning.

My tour guide pointed many things wrong with this famous picture; the boats were much larger and flat topped, so the people couldn't be inside the boat, Betsy Ross's flag hadn't been made yet, and the Delaware freezes, but not that much floating ice.  But the spirit captured by the artist is spot on.  This crossing and upcoming battle needed to be successful for the American troops.  Up til then, Washington's men had lost battle after battle. One more defeat, and the war probably would have been over.  

Replica of the Durham boats used my Washington and his troops

An ice house used by the tavern.  

The bar where the inn keeper served his
food and drinks.  When he had to leave the tavern,
he closed and locked the grill to keep patrons
from stealing.  That's where "bar and grill" comes from.

The oven used to bake in the tavern

The outside of the oven. I can see why this type of oven was called a "beehive" oven.
I

The Delaware River today.

One of the best things about going back east this time of year was all of the beautiful color in the trees.  Everywhere I looked, I saw reds, yellows, oranges, and greens,  Abslutely wonderful.

 Some final pictures from this great trip.

I tried grits for the first time.  Kinda like cream of wheat,
only gritier.  I'm not a fan!

Homewood Suites had these cute ducks in the kitchen and bathroom.

One night, I noticed this beautiful, full moon

At The Hershey Inn, I actually got a key!
Talk about old school.

In Philly, I carried my backpack because I needed
a skirt and shoes for the temple.  The next day, I had this
huge bruise from scraping my arm with the shoulder straps.