I was lucky enough to have the chance to visit a few places back East last week. I was able to mix business w/ pleasure so that I didn't have to pay for plane fare or any hotel and I got a great deal on a rental car!! How did it happen? I was able to work for a bead dealer at a big show in Baltimore, Maryland. He paid for round trip plane fare, hotel, rental car, and for my help for the 3 days of the show and then I paid for rental car for 3 days. Pretty sweet deal if I do say so myself!
After the show, I went to Delaware to visit one of my oldest (and I don't mean age-wise!! LOL) and dearest friends who (or is it whom? I never know!) I've known since seventh grade! It was great to be able to visit with her and we crammed some sight seeing in too! Since it was my first trip back East (and I didn't really ahve much time there), we did the 'history' thing and visited the sights in downtown Philadelphia. Independence Hall, where they signed the Declaration of Independence, and most recently of the movie National Treasure fame, the Liberty Bell where they have a whole building of exhibits about the history of the bell, Betsy Ross' House where I learned that Betsy never actually owned a house, she was renter just like James and I are now, the Quaker meeting house where I learned or re-learned (I vaguely remember learning about him in elementary school) about William Penn and how instrumental the Quakers were in establishing that area, Benjamin Franklin's grave where everyone throws pennies apparently in homage to his saying, "A penny saved, is a penny earned.'. We also tried to visit the US Mint, but they had a rule that if you had a camera, you couldn't go inside the building! You couldn't just put it away...it couldn't be in your possession at all. So we took a pic outside and that had to do.
We also saw some lesser known historic sites in Wilmington, DE. Grace Church, which is marked on tourist maps, was by far the most beautiful church I had ever seen! It was a large building with tall spires, many intricate stained glass windows and doors that were a muted shade of red that I absolutely love! The building was built of some sort of stone brick that had a very light green or celadon cast to them. The whole effect was very striking and I had my friend take a pic of me in front of the church! We also visited Old Swedes Church, actually called Holy Trinity Church, the oldest church in the US with continuous services. It was built in 1698 by Swedes who settled near the Christiana river (named after the Queen of the time). A few years ago, when stripping paint off the church doors, they came across something which I think proves that human nature hasn't really changed that much over the past 300 years...graffiti! Yes...graffiti! People had carved names and years, the oldest being 1711, into the church doors and also into stones surrounding the entrance. Amazing!
Lest you think all we did was soak up history, we mixed it up by visiting two contemporary art venues! One was for local Philadelphia industrial design companies and individuals, and the other was exhibits for local Delaware artists as well as nationally known artists, The Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts. It was quite interesting.
One other happening of note during my visit to Delaware...I got to watch my friend 'break board' at her Tae Kwon Do class. It was exciting because it brought her one step away from earning her Black Belt!!! I am happy to say, the day after I left, she 'broke board' again, was presented with her black belt and is now a fully empowered, kick-ass, black belt baddie!!! I am soooo proud of her! Don't mess with her!! You can read about my buddy and her 'black belt' journey at: www.womanwarrior007.blogspot.com
All in all, it was a great trip, even though there were a few things I would have changed. It was nice to earn enough play money to visit my friend since most things were paid for through the job. I can't wait to make a return trip and get to Washington DC and more of Baltimore and who knows what else?
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You have Total Recall, for sure, my friend! Goodness, I even forgot about some of the places we visited until I read your post!%-0 Is that from visiting the historical places for the 3rd time? Shame on me, the history buff!
I really enjoyed and appreciated your visit and support in coming to class with me. We'll have better planning next time!;-D
p.s. I think it was William Penn, rather than Joseph (?) Penn...!
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