_Well it’s finally happened….  First I’ve got to say that we’ve been on the road constantly for some time and we are visiting as many historical sites as we can fit in.  In doing all of this I’ve found myself WAAAYYY behind in my blogging and hence I make some mistakes.  I have posted the Eisenhower story and tied it into the Valley Forge post…that was wrong !!!  The Eisenhower farm is located just outside of the Gettysburg National Park not Valley Forge…SORRY !!!  Another thing that I thought I would mention is that Valley Forge was a battle for Independence from England and took place between 1775 and 1783. And now I’ve got something else that has really gotten to me…  Somehow I’ve lost ALL of my pictures from Gettysburg through Washington DC.  This is just about the worst thing that could happen when writing and publishing a blog…RATS !!!

Now I’m here to write about our tour to Gettysburg which was a battle between the Union and Confederate Armies where the battle lines were drawn up in two sweeping arcs on July 2, 1883.  General Robert. E. Lee began moving his troops northward and by chance found that they were at the same place (Gettysburg) as the Union troops under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker on the 1st.  On the 2nd the main portions of both armies were about a mile apart and Lee ordered an attack on the Union flanks.  There was pushing back and forth with heavy losses on both sides.  On the 3rd of July Lee’s artillery opened a 2 hour bombardment on the Federal lines followed with a charge of his infantry.  The attack failed and cost Lee and his Confederate army 5,000 men in ONE hour.  When the armies marched away from Gettysburg they left behind a community in shambles and over 51,000 soldiers dead, wounded, and missing.  The wounded and dying from both sides were moved into nearly every building and the dead laid in hastily dug graves or left were they dropped.  The situation became so dismal that the Governor authorized the purchase of enough land to properly bury the dead and this became the sacred grounds now called The Gettysburg National Cemetery.  The cemetery was dedicated on the 19th of November, 1863 and the principle speaker was to be President Abraham Lincoln and the speech he gave is now known as The Gettysburg Address… 

I’ve mentioned many times before about seeing and enjoying the movies that are made available at the Visitor Centers and the movie at the Gettysburg VC is the best yet…IT WAS AMAZING !!!  A little background is this…  “The Battle of Gettysburg” is a painting by French artist Paul Philippoteaux.  It is a 42 foot HIGH by 359 feet in circumference and was painted in 1883.  Yes, it has been cleaned and placed in 4 different locations and I must say that it is unbelievable…  As we stood at the mid height point in the “CYCLORAMA” (a building in the round) it looked like we were standing in the middle of the battle field.  The feeling was as if we were in a 3-D movie but the reality was a painting on a flat wall 25 yards away from us and completely circling us in a battle scene.  It didn’t move but a light would come on with the fire of the cannons and the sounds were of “war”…quite an experience !!!  I’ve never had a need to take a camera into the visitor center and I sure as hell didn’t think I was going to need one there…little did I know and there wasn’t a second chance unless you wanted to purchase another $15 ticket.  I take my camera now no matter what. 

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A couple of miles away from the farm we stopped at the visitor’s center at Valley Forge.  As with all the National Parks, they had a film available for us to watch and refresh our memories of the struggles that took place at Valley Forge.  Imagine the hardships that occurred at Valley Forge, the encampment was characterized as “suffering as usual”.  The misery of the untrained, starving troops, that didn’t have the proper clothing, shoes, rifles and ammunition and deadly diseases.  All this took place on a long wet and snowy winter.  Then came the knowledge that the British commander Sir William Howe, was about ready to march His Majesty’s finest 17,000 well trained, fed, and outfitted army from Chesapeake Bay were they’ve been encamped for some time.  General George Washington’s 12,000 fighters were getting ready by constructing huts, miles of trenches, 5 earthen forts, and a “state-of-the-art bridge over the Schuylkill River” in anticipation of their arrival.  When that time came, they were ready and they had a General that would lead with a lot of heart and the trust of men to lead them to a victory.  Today the battle field of Valley Forge is covered with mowed grass and walking/biking trails and running in and out a 20mph roadway.  On top of all this, are several officer’s quarters and miles and miles of monuments

_representing where the many different troop encampments and engagements with the British accorded.  Another one of the highlights of our visit was the tour of General George Washington’s Headquarters.

_It was the home of the Potts family until it was established that this conflict would take place at Valley Forge.  At that time the family opened their doors and offered their home to General Washington for use as the “Headquarters” and focal point for most of the camp activities.  Our stay at Valley Forge will stay with both of us for a good long time.  The high and lows that George Washington and Sir William Howe troops went through, the sickness and killings through the battle, still hit home with us today.  Soon we’ll be off to visit another battle field…we’ve got to remember whether we like it or not.

_Our next stop was up to the farm of President and Mrs. Eisenhower.  The farm is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Park so it gave us the opportunity to see both in a single day trip.  The President had always wanted to get back to farming following WWII but with a number of delays it wasn’t until just before he ran for the Presidency that they fulfilled their dream.  As it turned out, it was a wonderful place to escape too and entertain international guests.

_One guest that really liked it there was the Soviet President Krushev.  He made sure to visit the farm twice and was looking for at least one more.  One thing I didn’t know about Eisenhower was that he had always wanted to paint and while we were there we saw about 10 paintings and drawings hanging on the walls of their home.  One of these was this painting of a young Mexican man. 

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First of all let me set the records straight….YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO TO PHILADELPHIA to get a good Philadelphia Hoagie.  We walked the streets of Philly and sampled and sampled but could find NONE better than the Hoagies we’ve had at Franklyn’s in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho !!! 

Now let’s get back to the Philadelphia that we came to see.  Independence Square hosts some amazing historical sites and we spent the better part of two days just soaking up as much the history that’s available there.  Our first stop was the visitor’s center and taking in their movies is something we always do.  This one was about William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges, which established a practice of the colonies that welcomed everyone, regardless of religious affiliation or national origin…imagine that !!!  It then told the story of Independence Hall, a national shrine that was built from 1732-1756 and is where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution was debated and signed.  The next thing we like to do is grab one of the Hop-on / Hop-off buses and tour the whole city so that we can figure out just what we want to see and how to get there later.  Within 3 buildings we walked the same floors and stairs that our forefathers walked many times while writing, debating, and signing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the same halls were earlier the Bill of Rights were written.

_Across the street is the new and modern home for the Liberty Bell.  After standing in line to get in and then going through the inevitable search of our backpack we walked the halls displaying the many facts and pictures of the Liberty Bell.

_The Liberty Bell cracked long ago, but as an icon of freedom its voice has never been stilled.  Its crack is a reminder that liberty is imperfect and we sure know that don’t we…       Looking for a little diversion from the museums and historical buildings we decided to walk a half dozen blocks to find the Philadelphia City Market.

_The food that was being served looked and smelled so great that we almost forgot that we had another dinner location planned, and the produce…amazing with freshly picked and beautiful produce with fair pricing to match. 

_Before leaving the New York / New Jersey area, we were invited to visit Paul’s home along the Jersey Shore and park the coach in his drive for a month or two… 

_While we appreciated the invitation and his hospitality, we could only stay 4 or 5 days if we were to stay close to our somewhat flexible schedule.  Besides, we were afraid we would bankrupt Paul with all the great food he put together for us.  Paul has a wonderful house in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey.  It sits alongside a man-made canal so it gives him a piece of waterfront property that easily takes him out into a large bay and then out into the Atlantic Ocean.

_On the weekends Paul will volunteer with the Coast Guard Auxiliary to help with all the water area around here, but fortunately for us this weekend he was able to get some time off and take us out for a great boating adventure. 

_One day while Paul went back to work in New York, Louise and I drove down to Atlantic City to visit “Donald” at the Taj Mahal

_and see if he would accept a small donation from us...  I say that because we lost our shirt on his slots.  One thing that Louise and I totally agreed upon was how disappointed we were with “The Taj” and the rest of Atlantic City…  Besides, the next day we were watching a little TV and saw were 3 men robbed a couple, stole their car, and killed him and in the same Taj Mahal garage that we were parked in…it’s another reason why we stay away from MEXICO !!!