On the road again Sunday May 4 to Mass at St. Sebastian in Bella Vernon, PA.  

We were 30 minutes early.  The church filled up.   Parishioners were very nicely dressed...dresses and heels for the ladies and suits for the men.  Don't see that often.

 Easter flowers are always so pretty.

We toured the Statehouse of Ohio in Columbus.

Interesting to learn how little money the state had to build a Capitol.  They had stone steps and walls.  The docent showed us where there were fossils in the stone wales.

They used special techniques to create an optical illusion.

We stayed at Flying J in Vandalia, OH.  Talked with a couple from Ontario.  They are heading back home after a month at the beach.  They are saddened by the cooler temperatures.

On the road again Monday May 5 to the Air Force Museum in Dayton.  We thought we'd be there a few hours and go to a few other places in Dayton.  NOT!!!!

The Museum is HUGE.  We got there at 9 am.  Went out to the RV for lunch at 1.  Back in for the guided tour at 1:30.  Whew.  That fantastic docent whisked us through that Museum in THREE hours.  What an incredible place.  A person could spend three days there.

We stayed at the Flying J in Spiceland, IN.  As we are pulling in Phil sees an rv like ours. oh, look Wisconsin plates.  Oh, look it's Dave and Karen...we know them.  Had time to visit and catch up with them since we were on a rally with them last June.

On the road again Tuesday May 6.  What a trip we have had again.  Saw our son run the Boston Marathon...personal best time of 3 hours 8 minutes.  So proud of you, Ted.  Considering some 9,000 runners (out of 34,000) finished ahead of you, we kept watching for you AND big thrill for us and for you...we got to see you and you saw us.  Proud you finished in the top 11%.

I marveled again at the unique houses around the different regions of our country:  Cape Cod and Federals in New England, Mansions and row houses in New York, stone houses and the Amish in Pennsylvania.  We left home and our trees had not budded out yet.  I loved seeing the redbud, forsythia, mock cherry, pear trees and dogwoods blooming.  I saw the buffalo grazing in PA and my favorite Holsteins grazing in several states.

Our trip of 20 days was 2903 miles.  We "did" things in Delaware and Ohio.  Two states we had not yet explored in the RV. In our rv we have explored parts of 47 states:  traveled through Idaho 3 different years...this year we will make a point to do something.  Alaska and Hawaii the other two we haven't been to in our rv.  Alaska is in the near future.  But good to be home.

Wilmington, DE, Hershey & Harrisburg, PA. 5/2 - 3/2014

On the road again Friday May 2 to Hagley Home and Museum, Centreville, DE. The first owner of the home and land was Hagley so the property still goes by that name. But it is where 5 generations of the du Pont family lived.  The home was interesting as was the learning about the families who there. The du Pont family perfected the manufacturing of gun powder in 1803. Interesting tour of the powder yard and machine shop.  The docent set off one gram of gun powder. The gun powder mill buildings were 3 sided, built with thick stone stone and the fourth side open to the Brandywine Creek.  When an accident occurred the explosion was directed toward the water  and away from the other building.

The museum showcased the many inventions of the du Pont chemists:  cellophane, Lycra, Nylon, Teflon, Stainmaster carpet, Kevlar, Tyvek, Corian and so many more products.

We stayed at Walmart in Lebanon, PA.  We traveled through Amish and Mennonite country. We saw several horse and buggies along the road. Saw one man mowing the lawn around his farm house using a horse to pull the mower.  Another incredible day.

On the road again Saturday May 3 to Hershey, PA. The city where Hershey kisses are the city's street lights. We took the animated tour of the candy production. They explained the origin of chocolate and especially focused that they use milk chocolate.

We took a tour of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. The building is called "priceless" because of so many special stained glass windows, mosaics, tiles and marble. It was so impressive.

We toured the State Museum. The industrial revolution was enlightening.

We drove to the Flight 93 National Historic Site near Storyville, PA.  Very touching to listen to the audio tour.

We stayed at Flying J, Belle Vernon, PA.

Location:Wilmington, DE, Hershey & Harrisburg, PA

Philadelphia, PA 4/30 - 5/1/2014

On the road again Wednesday April 30. Happy birthday to our dear neighbor, Dave.

We walked about 7 minutes to the bus top....in the rain. To the Lansdale train station for the 55 minute ride into Philadelphia. Walking to the National Park Visitors Center it continued to rain. As we went near one corner the wind was so strong we put the umbrella that broke away, folded our other one and donned our rain ponchos.  At the visitor center we watched a video. Then went to Independence Hall, in the rain. Stood in line in the rain. Watched another video. Then to Congress Hall. In and out of these historic buildings. The RAIN was bothersome but the history is so deep....long, long ago and still very important for us. Then to the building with the Liberty Bell but lots of information to read before arriving at the Bell.

Then we looked for a place to eat. We chose Campos for cheesesteak sandwiches. Very good. Onto Christ Church where George Washington and Ben Franklin worshipped. Photos later of Phil sitting in their pews. Then to Betsy Ross's home and the Federal Reserve Bank, through 14 interactive stations we learned how the Federal Reserve works. Then the Mint but it was soon closing time so we were rushed through the building. We walked to the train station, caught a train right away. But at the Lansdale station we had to wait almost an hour for our bus. Brrrrr. It was still rainy and cold too and the station was closed.  Back at the RV we took off our wet clothes and shoes and turned up the furnace. Exhausted we ate some supper and off to bed.

On the road again Thursday May 1 and it was SUNNY. To the bus stop again. At the train station we learned there was a gas leak further up the rail so our train was delayed. We are tourist so we just said, ok. There were many workers and Temple college students needing to get on the way in a timely way.

When we got to Philadelphia it was a delight to walk in the sunshine. We went to Carpenters Hall, Old St. Joseph's Catholic Church, the old City Tavern.  A visit to the cemetery at Christ Church and the Meeting House, (Quaker church) and interesting lesson in their faith and Philadelphia history. Also visited Elfreth's Alley, old town Philadelphia and some interesting shops in the area. We headed to the train station and again caught a train right away. It was good to sit for that hour ride. (we chose public transportation cuz didn't want to be driving into the city. Even if we did we couldn't go in parking garages because our vehicle is 9'6". Don't want to take off our air conditioner.)

Location:Philadelphia, PA