Oh, Say I Saw...

... some of the same things.

But I started out by going to DC to visit the US Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard. It was a little confusing, along the same lines as Annapolis. The GPS told me to drive through a barricaded fence. I think the Navy would have frowned on that!

The museum was pretty good... but they didn't have the same level of original pieces. The most impressive, however was the stern or bow of a gunboat from Benedict Arnold's battle of Valcour Island near Fort Ticonderoga, in 1777 (I think. I'm going off of memory here). Anyway, that was very impressive. It was a good museum. They did have quite a bit of different stuff from Annapolis's collection so it wasn't deja vu or anything. And they did have an impressive group of cannons and anchors outside. I think what I need is a break from Navy museums... We'll see if I end up going to the Intrepid tomorrow or not. I may just want to sit down in Central Park. Maybe I say this because I'm finally pretty darn tired tonight! :)

Getting out of DC going the right direction took quite a while. I somehow ended up in a lower class neighborhood which was quite a shocking difference from the suits and ties I saw across the river. When I was speeding through Baltimore again (on a different freeway) I caught a glimpse to my left of a flag full out in the breeze... it was the large banner! So like Francis Scott Key, I saw what I wasn't expecting. It was a delight, although brief as it was :)

I got off the freeway in Delaware this time trying to stop by a historic site there... just to say I've been *to* Delaware, not just through it. A monument to the first Swedish settlement of Fort Christina is on the outskirts of Wilmington, but when I got there it was closed for "repairs". It's only a statue on a grass lawn... what were they repairing? Oh well. I did get out of my car so it counts as a visit.

The next leg of the trip was also two hours... this time for the Battlefield at Monmouth, in New Jersey. Today has been so beautiful, and not muggy for the first time. I arrived right when the visitor center was closing, but the guide let me look around for a second anyway. He was very nice, and even explained what the building on the far hill away from us was. It was a sixteenth century house that was right near the actual fighting. The valley was so peaceful. I sat under a tree enjoying the perfect weather and I wrote a letter to a friend. I wished I could go on sitting there all evening, but I had more friends to meet!

I thought I'd swing by the Princeton Battlefield on my way to their house, but the road was closed so I had to pass by. On the detour route, I saw the edge of the University campus and the very picturesque "Princeton Station". That's the lovely thing about taking whatever comes... sometimes it's more beautiful or interesting than otherwise. I forgot to mention on Saturday that my route on US 1 took me right by the Franklin Mint. It was unexpected for sure!

I know Andrew and Denise from the University of Washington campus Christian group I went to. Andrew is here going for his doctorate in mathematics, I believe, and Denise has an office job at the University as well. They welcomed me with a fabulous chicken and broccoli casserole dinner with a fresh fruit dish as well. Yum! And they also took me on a walking tour of the campus which included a building that housed a session of the Continental Congress in 1783.

I think I need to get to bed though... it's after 11:30 now and I must get up earlier than normal for New York, New York! :)

Jp