Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Today was very laid back.  I slept in and after lunch I visited this really cool nail salon owned by a woman from Colombia.  The decor is so unusual.  Burlap coffee bean sacks on the walls and also used for arm rests on a split wooden tables with the curved sides up. Brown tones on the walls and floor.  Espresso Colombian coffee served with unrefined Columbian sugar which they import directly from the farmers.  Salsa dance music plays in the background.  Indirect lighting helps keep the place mello.  The pedicure took an hour with the foot massage.   I didn't want to leave.  My nail technician Kelly was a wonderful impressive young lady.  She left Viet Nam by herself when she was 18 years old.  Enduring hardships when she arrived in the US, she soon worked thru them and now in addition to working at Mi Cumbia she has a fashion blog and a line of clothing.  She takes classes for self improvement.  And she is one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet.  Everyone there was happy, friendly, and enjoyable to be around.  I highly recommend this spa if you are in Philadelphia - don't pass up the opportunity to pamper your body and soul.

After my spa treatment I walked to Reading Market for a late lunch.  I had been there in 1999 when I was working the RMHC International Conference for their 25th anniversary.  It's a cool market.  You can buy raw meat, fish, veggies, fruit, bread and other specialty items or you can sit and have a meal and beverage from one of the many ethnic vendors.  The market takes up a city block.  It's a great place to grab something to eat and people watch.

Walking around town there's a lot to see in this city.  I love the old architecture mixed in with newer buildings.  I've walked at least 5 miles each day and love seeing the different neighborhoods and specialty shops.  

I have been staying at this really nice bed and breakfast, La Reserve (www.LaReserveBandB.com)  The owner and staff are so kind and hospitable.  I love Ed the day manager.  He bakes cookies for afternoon tea - Yum!  I have suite with a large living room and full kitchen, so I grocery shopped so I have dinner in.  It has been a real treat staying here and enjoying Philly.  

Happy Memorial Day! May 30, 2016

Happy Memorial Day!  Thank you veterans for your service.  We would not enjoy the freedoms we do today without your sacrifice and your commitment to our country.  

During this journey I have been filled with facts and images of the fight our forefathers embarked on and won to earn our freedom.  From George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to Abraham Lincoln and General Grant, from the North and the South to the East and West, we have a great country founded on laudable principles and truths.  We aren't perfect, but knowing that every day we can wake up without tyranny, that we can speak our mind without fear of prosecution, that we can travel without restriction, practice the religion of our choice, marry whomever we love, and vote for the candidates we want to hold office, yes we are a great nation.  There is no doubt in my mind.

Today, I visited the birthplace of our country.  There I was, standing in the same room where the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, looking at the actual chair George Washington sat in while he led his fellow patriots, and learning that the Preamble to the Constitution was written by a man just 24 years old, Gouverneur (actual first name - pronounced goveneer) Morris. I was filled with pride.

Next to me were people from other countries speaking languages unfamiliar to me.  They came here to learn about our history just as I am.  They were taking pictures just like me.  We are so fortunate that we had such brave, intelligent, honorable men and women to forge the birth of our nation.  We Are a Great Country.

Freedom doesn't come without a price.  We have a duty to the men and women who fought for our country to vote.  We have a responsibility to learn about the candidates and know where they stand on the issues.  Do you know that only 42% of the population voted in the 2014 mid-term elections?  You would think that with all that is at stake, more people would want their chance participate in democracy.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia is the place where our freedom began.  As Americans we can honor the men and women who sacrificed so much to protect us by doing what we can do to show our gratitude for those who paid the ultimate price.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Yesterday I left Mt. Vernon around 12:30 and arrived in Gettysburg at 3:00 p.m.  

This museum and visitors center was the best yet.  I started with the film which gave an excellent account of the battles at Gettysburg.  After the film we were directed up stairs to a 360 degree panoramic photo experience complete with objects in the foreground to expand the experience. The proctor narrated the battles again while sound effects and lighting enhanced the storytelling.  Here are some of the panorama photos. 

The museum told the story of the entire Civil War era beginning with President Lincoln's presidential campaign and concluded with reconstruction and the civil rights movement.  There are several small video theaters throughout the museum each telling little bits of the timeline.  The space surrounding the videos display everything from newspaper headlines to artifacts such as military uniforms complete with hats, belts, canteens, knapsacks, knives, guns, and cups.  Some have information about the soldier, others do not. 

There a photo album with family photos of the two Presidents: Abraham Lincoln and the south’s president,  Jefferson Davis complete with their wives, children, and times lines of their life span.

The section on the Gettysburg address was incredible.  An actor's voice-over recording of the speech played on a loop in the while you could read the speech in Lincoln's handwriting on an electronic graphic copy of the original manuscript.  I learned that Lincoln was not the main speaker for the cemetery dedication.  He was suppose to just say a few words.  Edward Everett was the featured orator who went first and spoke for 2 hours.  There were opposing views about the content of Lincoln’s speech.  The newspapers from the south called it “silly."  The northerners thought it was "eloquent" and "timeless."

When the museum closed at 6:00 p.m., I visited the battlefield and cemetery.  The graves of the Union soldiers are organized by state with the state marker noting the number of dead.  The Confederate soldiers were left in shallow graves for 9 years until they were dug up and moved to southern cemeteries, mostly Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.  Only the Union soldiers are buried in the Gettysburg Cemetery because the cemetery is for the soldiers who fought to preserve the union not destroy it.  Some graves are marked as "unknown," others are marked with the name and rank of the soldier.  All the graves had American flags on them for Memorial day.

Mt. Vernon

This morning I drove to Mt. Vernon, George Washington's family home.  He lived there since he was 3 years old. His older brother Lawrence named the plantation after his former commanding officer. The house exterior is wood.  To create the appearance of stone, the boards were painted and then sand was sifted on the paint.  Lawrence owned the property until he died, then George inherited it.  George bought adjacent farms as they became available amassing 5 miles of property along the Potomac.

I arrived an hour before my scheduled 9:00 a.m. tour of the Mansion, 8:00 a.m..  Good think I did.  I had the first parking space and when I got to the house, they let me tour early, so I had a private tour! After the tour, I took a boat ride to see the neighborhood from the Potomac.  

It is really a special place, unfortunate that I couldn't take photos in the house.They have most of the original furniture, art, and chandeliers.  There are very colorful paintings of Washington, Lafayette, Martha, their grandchildren, period Christian paintings of Mary and baby Jesus and one of John the Baptist, nature scenes from the northeast US, many many lithographs and silhouettes.  The room colors are recreated from originals based on renderings and supply orders.  The great room is a pale green accented with a hunter green and white. The crown molding in the great room has to be at least 2 feet wide curved around the room and butted up against another 6 inches at the ceiling, very unusual.  The center windows in the great room have three panels, the center is 2 feet taller and wider than the side panels.  The center panel is also arched.  They provide a view of the forest making the light spilling into the room brilliant.  There are several bedrooms, a formal dining room, a family dining room, luggage room, and library.  His office has his original desk and chair.  The chair has a built in overhead fan that would move back and forth to cool his head.  It's got to be hot under that wig.   

The master bedroom has 2 walk in closets, one is a dressing room. If you peek around the corner of the master bedroom, you can see a really cool clock on the mantel. I asked about it and the proctor told me it was the most expensive item in the house.  

Since Washington wrote his name in all his books they are too valuable to have in the house.  The books on the shelves in the library are from the period; not personally owned by the Washington family.  

When Lafayette came to visit he had his own room.  Other guests would stay in the other bedrooms as available. Each year after he completed his presidency, 700+ visitors would stay at Mt. Vernon visiting the Washington's. 

Next to the house are the kitchen rooms, craft houses for making clothes and shoes, livery barns, laundry, green house, garden and seed house.  There are slaves quarters for both men and women.  

In his will Washington released his slaves and provided for the education of all the school aged children; however, Martha held on to them until her death at which point they were released.  

After the tour I took a little ride on the Potomac.

You can walk to his tomb.  There is an American Flag on one side and an George Washington Regimental Flag on the other side.  Martha is buried next to George and other family members are in the crypt in the back of the tomb.  How fortunate we were to have George Washington for our first president, such an honorable man.

The Visitors Center has a nice video, museum and gift shop.  There are also photos of dignitaries from the last century who have visited the house.