A quick stop to connect with another moment in more recent history before we leave the city of brotherly love is the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Rocky Balboa hangs out in statue form at the foot of those long laborious stairs we remember from the movie. The Rock is standing with fists raised in triumph. He should have quit while he was a winner and not bothered with the sequels.
Valley Forge is pastoral and serene this morning; in stark contrast to the winter encampment of George and his 12,000 Continental Army troops that took place here in 1777-78. Canada Geese are enjoying a pond, a woodpecker is beating out a rhythm, the sun shines, and green is the pervasive color. The army lived here in severe winter conditions for six months in small cramped (12 to a hut) log huts constructed by the men. They persevered to march off in pursuit of the British having survived a test of will and commitment.
Following along after George and his army, we crossed the Delaware....via a toll bridge, and landed on the Jersey shore where we encountered, not the British Army, but many miles of "crazy". We skirted New York City, but even at this distance we could feel the impact of this enormous city. We surfed through 12 lanes of fast moving traffic, underpasses, overpasses, criss-crossing and swooping, each segment following its own twisting path. Planes, with landing gear down, flew overhead at seemingly eye-level as they neared touch down. Absolute, organized, chaos. The New York skyline was visible in the distance with the Empire State Building still holding dominance. We crossed the GWB...the George Washington Bridge... spanning the Hudson River, and officially touched the isle of Manhattan before we were swept through this mill race and back onto the semi-sanity of I-95.
In Hartford, we stopped to pay a visit to Samuel Clemens, or at least his memory, and to discover that his next door neighbor was Harriet Beecher Stowe. Some lively over the fence discussions, no doubt. His home was designed by an architect who's forte was cathedrals, and that influence is very evident in the magnificent red brick mansion. This is where Clemens was most prolific in his writing and it is interesting to see how he 'disciplined' himself to focus on the task by positioning his desk in a corner away from all windows, with his back to the billiards table.
Last stop, the haven of Chicopee Falls, and Jim's cousins, Sandy and Mary Ellen.
Running Odometer: 6320
States: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts Total: 22
Valley Forge is pastoral and serene this morning; in stark contrast to the winter encampment of George and his 12,000 Continental Army troops that took place here in 1777-78. Canada Geese are enjoying a pond, a woodpecker is beating out a rhythm, the sun shines, and green is the pervasive color. The army lived here in severe winter conditions for six months in small cramped (12 to a hut) log huts constructed by the men. They persevered to march off in pursuit of the British having survived a test of will and commitment.
Following along after George and his army, we crossed the Delaware....via a toll bridge, and landed on the Jersey shore where we encountered, not the British Army, but many miles of "crazy". We skirted New York City, but even at this distance we could feel the impact of this enormous city. We surfed through 12 lanes of fast moving traffic, underpasses, overpasses, criss-crossing and swooping, each segment following its own twisting path. Planes, with landing gear down, flew overhead at seemingly eye-level as they neared touch down. Absolute, organized, chaos. The New York skyline was visible in the distance with the Empire State Building still holding dominance. We crossed the GWB...the George Washington Bridge... spanning the Hudson River, and officially touched the isle of Manhattan before we were swept through this mill race and back onto the semi-sanity of I-95.
In Hartford, we stopped to pay a visit to Samuel Clemens, or at least his memory, and to discover that his next door neighbor was Harriet Beecher Stowe. Some lively over the fence discussions, no doubt. His home was designed by an architect who's forte was cathedrals, and that influence is very evident in the magnificent red brick mansion. This is where Clemens was most prolific in his writing and it is interesting to see how he 'disciplined' himself to focus on the task by positioning his desk in a corner away from all windows, with his back to the billiards table.
Last stop, the haven of Chicopee Falls, and Jim's cousins, Sandy and Mary Ellen.
Running Odometer: 6320
States: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts Total: 22
Now you are in familar territory for me. A few summers ago, after NECC in Phillie, I visited through Valley Forge, and my brother Dan once lived in Hartford, so I toured the Clemens and Stowe houses. I liked the billiard room the best.
ReplyDeleteRani Ramaswamy said...
ReplyDeletePauline:
I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed reading your blogs- it has been fun, without any of the hassles you must encounter-
Rani
Exciting drive through history: Philadelphia to Valley Forge to Mark Twain's home--great. Favorite Twain quote for all educators "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them"
ReplyDeleteI think my mom is more buff than Rocky!
ReplyDelete