September 16-17, 2023

September 16-17, 2023

We woke to cool weather this morning in North Carolina. That is our signal summer is over and it is time to go home. Unfortunately, we have been driving continually south for the last ten days and we now have a long drive back to Baltimore, MD. It is an easy drive on the interstate through North Carolina and southern Virginia. We pass the city of Halifax, NC where North Carolinians voted for Independence. To stretch our legs, we make a stop to visit the Chimborazo Medical Museum, another unit of Richmond National Battlefield Park. It is housed inside the old Confederate Hospital.

Medicine was very rudimentary during the Civil War. Training was meager, and bacteria were yet to be discovered. Three times more troops died from diseases like Cholera and Dysentery than gunfire. If you did receive a wound in battle, you would hope it wasn’t in the torso. They were usually mortal. A wound in the leg or arm required immediate amputation. With sanitation unknown, infection was almost guaranteed, but survival was good although very painful. The surgeon’s toolkit looked more like that of a carpenter. Your best hope was to die quickly on the battlefield.

For some strange reason the small hill where the hospital sits is named after the Chimborazo Volcano in Ecuador. This 20,000-foot mountain can claim to be the highest peak in the world because it lies on the equator where the earth bulges slightly.

After this quick visit, we were back on the road. The traffic near Washington DC was a nightmare despite it being Saturday. We clearly have too many people working for the Federal government. We almost got killed by a wild driver who careened from the right shoulder across our front hopscotching through traffic dangling part of his bumper. Maybe a stolen car. I surely don’t miss my work commute.

Hoping to let traffic die down, we made another stop in Fort Belvoir, VA, just south of DC, at the National Museum of the US Army. It is very large, and we don’t have time to do it justice. We watch the introductory film and then breeze through the many sections. One set covers the long history of American wars from Independence to the War on Terror. There are many interesting artifacts from a plywood Landing Craft from D-Day to one of General Grant’s early caps.

Another series of exhibit halls cover the many jobs and operations in the Army. Since the Air Force was initially part of the Army, they have also have a Wright Flyer on display. This is our third time this trip! They have a special art exhibit on Working Dogs. I think that was Aimee's favorite part.

Like its Marine counterpart, the museum is pretty good, but because the Army has such a long history and so many disparate functions it is by necessity very brief on some subjects and in other cases has to concentrate on a few chosen topics. We will have to come back.

We checked-in at our Baltimore airport hotel and then had dinner at a nearby seafood restaurant. Blue crabs weren’t on the menu. We settled for Clam Chowder and salad instead. Afterwards we returned the rental car.

Not wanting to drive anymore, we got up before dawn and caught two flights that quickly returned us to Arizona. Thank You Wilbur and Orville Wright. This was a successful cleanup tour of East Coast National Parks. We are now up to 390 out of 423. This list doesn't include 15 NPS affiliates and 24 National Monuments administered by other branches.

It was a lot more driving than I expected. I didn’t realize that the pockmarked east coast was so difficult to drive. No wonder the Civil War battles in Virginia always seemed to be centered around crucial bridges and rivers.

September 15, 2023

September 15, 2023

From the North Carolina colonial capital of New Bern, we drove southeast along the Neuse River and then cut across Croatan National Forest to reach Harkers Island and the southernmost part of the Outer Banks. There we took the first ferry across to Cape Lookout National Seashore. The Outer Banks is a treacherous stretch of water. It has the nickname of Graveyard of the Atlantic because more than 5000 shipwrecks lay off the coast. Cape Lookout was particularly dangerous because it has a sandbar that stretches far off into the ocean, beyond the range of the earliest lighthouse.

Our first stop is the Cape Lookout Lighthouse that contains a museum in the lightkeeper's House. To make sailing the Outer Banks safer a string of dozens of lighthouses were built along the North Carolina coast. Each lighthouse is painted in a different pattern so seamen could tell where they were during the day.

We then walk across the dunes to the shore. The wind is fierce today, a remnant of Hurricane Lee. There we learn about the Sea Oat plant that stabilizes the sand dunes and whose stalks turn a golden color in late summer.

Back on the mainland we run through the park Visitor Center before starting our drive west.

Outside the massive Marine Corps base of Camp Lejeune we stop for a quick burger. We finish our drive north of Wilmington at Moores Creek National Battlefield.

This is a Revolutionary War Battle site that turns out to be more interesting than I would have thought. It was fought in 1776 between a group of Patriots against citizens loyal to the English Crown. The Patriot victory ensured that North Carolina would vote for Independence. They were the first, giving North Carolina the motto of First in Freedom. I always thought the South came late to the Revolution, but North Carolina was highly motivated because the colonial governor, William Tryon, was unduly tyrannical. He imposed high taxes to build himself an English Royal style palace in New Bern.

The Patriot commanders were unusually clever and tricked the Loyalists into charging toward dug-in soldiers manning a small cannon. The battle was over in mere minutes. It didn’t help that many of the Loyalists were recent Scottish immigrants armed only with a sword. This battle has the infamous reputation as the last broadsword charge by Scottish Highlanders.

Aimee and I walked the historical trail that takes us out to the recreated Moores Creek Bridge where the action took place. Incredibly we met a fellow traveler also born in my hometown. It sounded like his family might have owned the farmland where my childhood home was built.

The park also has a trail through the Longleaf Pines. Locals used to tap these trees for resin used to seal naval ships giving rise to the Tar Heel nickname.

We finished the day driving north a short distance to a hotel in Warsaw, NC. Since this is our last day in the South, we have another traditional dish at a local diner, this time Blackened Catfish. Not only was it delicious but the entire meal was half the price of a typical meal at home.

September 14, 2023

September 14, 2023

We left the Norfolk, VA area in rush hour traffic, heading southeast for the Atlantic coast. Once there we take a bridge to Bodie Island and the Outer Banks. Driving south along this barrier island, we pass a continuous line of beach houses. Just south of the town of Kitty Hawk we stop at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. 120 years ago, in December 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made history with four successful manned airplane flights.

We start in the Visitor Center with its replica of the Wright Flyer and the story of how they came here over the course of several years. The first years were learning to fly and control a glider and achieving enough lift to carry a human. Only in 1903 did they add a motor and propellers. We take flight for granted today, but at the turn of the last century, there had been a long history of failed attempts.

Outside, there is a stone monument marking the spot where the flight occurred. They picked this location because of its seclusion, constant winds, and soft sandy terrain. It is still very windy, but today, it is crowded with avid tourists, and grass has been planted to stabilize the sand dunes.

In the distance is a large sand dune with a huge white Memorial on it. This would have been where they launched their glider flights. The sand hill has probably shifted from its location 120 years ago. We hike up to the dune top for a better look.

On the far side of the sand dune is a bronze statue of the Wright Flyer and all the people who witnessed the event including the amateur photographer. Even though the longest flight that day was only 59 seconds, it must have seemed like a miracle.

Leaving the Memorial we drive ten miles south to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, stopping at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Visitor Center. In olden days it took a team of people to lug oil up the staircase to keep the fire lit throughout the night.

We drove across Bodie Island to the beach and hiked along the sand dunes. They are quite scenic. If I needed convincing they are ephemeral I just had to look at the park sign almost completely buried in a shifting dune.

We then drove across Albemarle Sound to the small island of Roanoke to visit Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. Long before Jamestown, Sir Walter Raleigh and the English tried to establish a colony in North America. They wanted to use it as a base for raiding the treasure ships of the Spanish. In 1587, 115 men, women and children landed here. Not only were they unprepared, they didn’t foster good relations with the local Indians. Their resupply ship was delayed with the war against the Spanish Armada. When the English finally returned three years later, the Roanoke Colony was nowhere to be seen. To this day, their fate is a complete mystery.

After going through the Visitor Center displays, we listened to a ranger talk on the site's later Civil War history. In 1862, the Union invaded the island. They used it as a base to enforce the blockade of North Carolina ports.

Before leaving we walked out to see the 1896 monument dedicated to Virginia Dare. She is famous as the first child born to English parents on American soil.

From Roanoke Island we crossed another bridge to the mainland to follow the Outer Banks southward. Since the East Coast is pockmarked with deep inlets, we have to veer far inland, passing swamps, tobacco fields and pine forests. We end the day in New Bern, NC. New Bern was settled by Swiss immigrants and was the colonial capital of North Carolina. It is also the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola. Since we are in the Deep South, I have a delicious dinner of Country Fried Steak. Even Aimee thinks it is tasty too.

September 13, 2023

September 13, 2023

With all the wide bays and deep-cut peninsulas, travel along the East Coast is difficult and filled with tunnels and bridges most of which are tolled. To get off the Delmarva peninsula from Exmore, VA we drive south down the long tip till we reach the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. This technical marvel spans the 17.5 mile gap across the mouth of the bay to Norfolk, VA. Most of it is a low bridge similar to the Key West Highway in Florida. To allow ship traffic, in two places the road plunges into a mile-long tunnel under the bay. I wonder how they keep sea water from filling it during storm surges.

Once past the Chesapeake, we cross north over the mouth of the James River on another, albeit much shorter, Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Then across a bridge to Fort Monroe National Monument. Once on the fort’s island we cross a moat and a very skinny gate to the interior of the fort. It is huge and contains a small village inside. We later learn this is the largest fort in the US and could easily hold two or three other forts inside.

We are early so we climb atop the ramparts and then around the perimeter. The exterior is almost an idyllic seashore community filled with elegant homes, a beautiful seashore and lots of walkers and joggers. Hard to believe the first African slaves landed here in 1619. On our return walk, we ran across a pine tree with unusual pinecones. We later learn from a ranger that it is a Cedar of Lebanon.

Once the Visitor Center opens we discover this fort was only decommissioned twelve years ago and most of the homes are now leased to the public. This fort was one of many coastal defense fortifications built after the British invaded during the War of 1812. During the Civil War, this fort stayed in Union hands and was known as the Gibraltar of Chesapeake Bay. Sited at the mouth of the James River, it provided the North with a critical base for operations to blockade and attack the Confederate capital of Richmond. Since it was in the South, many slaves escaped to freedom here. The local Union commander reasoned these runaway slaves were ‘contraband’ of war. This became the official policy of the US providing the Union with extra labor and soldiers.

From the Visitor Center we returned to the fort and toured the Casement Museum. It is contained under the walls of the fort and provides a more detailed history. The history is surprisingly long. Robert E. Lee finished the construction of the complex. Soldiers here witnessed the epic Civil War naval duel 'Battle of the Ironclads' between the CSS Virginia and USS Monitor. Abe Lincoln visited during the Peninsula Campaign. Even Edgar Allan Poe served here for a short period. At the end of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis was imprisoned within these walls.

Back in the car we drove to Richmond for a quick visit to Maggie Walker National Historic Site. I was prepared to be disappointed since her claim to fame is merely being the first black woman bank president. The site is in her former home downtown. After watching the park film on her life, Aimee and I were both impressed. I put her on the same level as Booker T. Washington. To paraphrase her philosophy, she would have said: ‘quit whining about your problems and do something about it’. She was a lady of action. She led a community effort to combine the savings of residents and use the money to build black businesses. It is a value system that people of all colors need to relearn.

Afterwards we gave ourselves a quick tour of downtown Richmond. Most strikingly we drove down Monument Avenue. This wide boulevard used to be filled notoriously with traffic circles containing giant Confederate Memorials to famous Rebel Generals. In the last few years every single one has been removed leaving tall grass and a few flowers. Lining Monument Avenue are some very impressive antebellum mansions.

Outside the city we stopped at the Cold Harbor Visitor Center. It is another section of the large Richmond National Battlefield Park. Cold Harbor was the site of two devastating Union defeats. First in 1862 with Lee vs McClellan at the climax of the Peninsular Campaign. And again in 1864 with Lee vs Grant during the Overland Campaign. After horrendous casualties McClellan retreated but Grant moved forward to the next battle at Petersburg. We drove both battlefield tours.

We returned to Norfolk, VA to find our next hotel. It took much longer because of heavy rush-hour traffic trying to get through a choke-point at the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel. There are only fourteen of these bridge-tunnels in the world and this town has three!

September 12, 2023

September 12, 2023

The Appalachian Mountains and the East Coast are very old. After hundreds of millions of years of erosion, the Eastern shoreline has been deeply cut with long and wide bays leaving extended peninsulas of land. One of these is the Delmarva Peninsula, so called because it is shared by Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Our goal is to explore it today.

South of Dover, we quickly discover the majority of Delmarva is flat farmland that could easily be mistaken for the Midwest. Surprising for a region so close to the Washington-Philadelphia population corridor. In antebellum times, it was filled with slave plantations. Our first stop is on Maryland's eastern shore of the Chesapeake at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.

Harriet was born a slave here. After seeing her sisters sold ‘down the river’ to Southern plantations, she became determined to escape north. Fortunately Pennsylvania and freedom was only a hundred miles north. In Philadelphia she was homesick so she returned repeatedly here to guide all her relatives north. As a small woman she found it easy to travel without raising suspicion.

The museum mostly covers Harriet Tubman's life. While it is fascinating, I was disappointed that there was not more information on other Underground Railroad routes and all the other people that were essential to successfully conduct thousands of escaped slaves north. Tubman could not have done it without significant help along the way. There is already another Harriet Tubman National Historic Site in New York devoted to her life.

From the west side we drove across the Delmarva to Assateague Island National Seashore. At the Visitor Center we watched the park film to learn about its history. Ocean City just to the north was long a popular beach destination. Development was set to expand here but a hurricane convinced the government this strip of sand needed to be set aside in 1965. Without these seashore reserves, the East Coast would likely be one long line of private beach houses.

It is fascinating to learn how ephemeral these coastal barrier islands are. A man-made jetty protecting Ocean City has altered sand movements causing Assateague Island to move wholesale several miles to the west.

We drove across the bridge to the island and down the length a few miles. It is still filled with holiday campers even though school has started. I guess lots of people like the extended summer everyone is experiencing. Aimee and I walked the beach a little ways. Assateague Island is also famous for its wild horses. While we saw several of them; their droppings were everywhere.

From Assateague Island we drove south toward its southern end stopping at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center. NASA has a launch site on Wallops Island. It is NASA’s oldest space center. I was a little surprised to learn how many facilities NASA has. Next door is a large number of radio telescopes for NOAA, the National Oceanic and Administration Administration.

We drove another hour south on the Delmarva stopping in Exmore, VA for the night.

September 11, 2023

September 11, 2023

We checked out of our Philadelphia hotel and drove across the Delaware River into New Jersey. After an hour we reached Atlantic County Park. This is one site of the Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River. Great Egg is a lazy river that drains the wetlands that cover a huge portion of southern New Jersey. Oddly this park unit overlaps the Pinelands National Reserve, the first designated reserve in the US. It was known as the Pine Barrens because the acidic, sandy soil made farming difficult. Instead early settlers used the abundant sand for the nation's first glassworks. The Mason Jar was invented here. Another resource, Bog Iron, fed smelters.

To learn more about the area we walked two miles along a boardwalk trail that winds through this forested wetland. Great Egg Harbor was named after the many waterfowl eggs found here and is supposed to be a great birding area. We only saw one bird.

Back on the road, we stopped at a gas station and learned that New Jersey is the last state requiring an attendant to pump gas. Apparently it is safer for this young kid to fill my tank than me. We then stopped at a grocery store to buy granola for me and wine for Aimee. We learn that in New Jersey, wine and beer can only be purchased in liquor stores. Why is it that everyone who gets elected to government is driven to make rules to impose their will on the public.

Aimee mentioned that many of the rangers we met on this trip have talked about vacationing ‘at the shore’. That is the Jersey Shore I presume. We are pretty close so we follow the Great Egg River to its mouth just south of Atlantic City.

Driving north along the shore we followed Ventnor and Atlantic Avenues, passing the cute neighborhood of Marven Gardens. We found Free Parking streetside right next to the Jail. We walked the Boardwalk for about a mile. Aimee suggested that life is like a board game. I am beginning to see her point.

Today is 9/11 and we stumbled upon a ceremony commemorating that horrific event. The local firemen draped a huge flag between two Ladder Fire Trucks in the stage background.

We are hungry so we popped in the Tropicana Casino, bet (and quickly lost) two dollars and then had a much needed Caesar Salad lunch.

We spend the rest of the afternoon driving across New Jersey crossing back over the Delaware River and then south to the Delaware capital of Dover. There we check into our nicest hotel yet, a casino hotel. Strangely our room overlooks the Dover Motor Speedway. This would probably be a cool place to stay when a Nascar event is happening.

September 10, 2023

September 10, 2023

We returned to downtown Philadelphia, PA again this morning in rainy weather. We parked and dashed inside Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site to learn about this famous American author. Poe’s passion was poetry, but found he had to write short stories to make a living. He practically invented the detective novel with stories like 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'.

The rain has stopped so we drove across town to the Franklin Institute, the local science museum. In the lobby is Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Here sits an enormous 20-foot statue of this famous printer, scientist, and Founding Father.

We then drove to the Independence Hall area to explore more of this National Historic Park. Our first stop is The President's House Site. This was the Presidential Mansion for Washington and Adams. It was torn down long ago, but archeological excavations uncovered the foundation. Now it is an outdoor museum with displays on the fight for freedom.

We then crossed the street to watch the park movie. Afterwards we walked the area visiting Carpenters Hall where the First Continental Congress met. We also toured the Second Bank of the US which contains a Portrait Gallery of the famous from the Revolutionary Era. Most were painted by Charles Wilson Peale, who made them for his exhibition inside Independence Hall. It was the first public museum in America. At a time before photography it was probably the only way ordinary people might see what these famous men and women looked like.

We were getting hungry so we went to the same pizza restaurant in Society Hill as yesterday. It is looking like rain again so we punted and drove to the suburbs to watch the new movie, Oppenheimer. In the spirit of staying with our national park tour theme, I am considering it an essential part of Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

September 9, 2023

September 9, 2023

From Philadelphia, PA we drove an hour and a half northwest along the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area through the forests of Eastern Pennsylvania to Reading, PA to visit a Fabric store that Aimee buys from online. All sewers want to touch fabric.

After waiting patiently, we then drove a half hour back towards Philly and stopped at the very rural Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site.The signage leading to the park is confusing. The Visitor Center said they are aware of it and are working on improved signage. I have to be patient as this park is only 85 years old. Government?!?!

This part of Pennsylvania was an early iron-making region because of the abundance of wood and iron ore. Making iron in the old days was very labor intensive and needed a town to support, feed, supply, and house them. Hopewell was one of the largest and was reconstructed by the CCC during the Depression. One of the specialties of this iron mill was the casting of iron stoves. Since Hopewell was far from civilization, low-cost transportation, and the coal needed for new steel-making technology, Hopewell closed in 1883.

Since it is Saturday, there are a bunch of volunteers manning demonstrations. One is the making of Apple Butter. Unfortunately we would need to stick around for another six hours to see the end result.

We walk around the hilly property passing the owners mansion and several barns, to the old iron smelting furnace with its waterwheel-driven air bellows. Before leaving Aimee tries her hand at picking a few apples for the road. She is a city girl and this stuff is new to her.

We make our way back to Philadelphia and next stop at the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial. This Polish military engineer helped us win the American Revolution. He was unsuccessful trying to do the same for his homeland. Wounded trying to free Poland from Russian occupation, he came back to this house in Philly to recuperate. We watched the mediocre park film and then looked through the exhibits.

The Kosciuszko house is in an area called Society Hill. It is a posh reconstructed colonial neighborhood. Hungry we find a nice pizza restaurant around the corner to have an early dinner.

Because of Aimee’s heritage, she wanted to visit the Gloria Dei Church National Historic Site. This NPS affiliate has the nickname of Old Swedes Church because it was established by this immigrant group. It is the oldest church in Philadelphia.

Our next stop was Elfreth’s Alley, a small street of well-preserved houses from the colonial era. We found street parking just outside the home of Samuel Hopkins. He was awarded the first US patent in 1790. I was happy to read it was for a new chemical process.

We started walking to the Benjamin Franklin Museum but got waylaid by a sudden downpour. We hid out under an overhang but finally decided to make a run for it. Unfortunately the National Park hid the museum inside an alley and we got drenched before we found it.

Ben was a man I could really admire. He had very similar interests and priorities as I do. After saving his money from his printing business, he retired at the age of 42. In retirement, he helped draft the Declaration of Independence and was instrumental in getting France to support our war effort financially and materially.

We drove back to our airport hotel in the rain splashing through many puddles.

September 8, 2023

September 8, 2023

From Baltimore, MD we made our way around the city northeast and then east towards Delaware. The route took longer than it should because we are trying to avoid tolls. Since Covid most states have eliminated cash boxes and gone all-electronic. This plays havoc with rental car companies who want extortion rates to use their transponders.

The vertical Delaware-Maryland border we just crossed is part of the Mason Dixon line. Most people think of it only as the horizontal border separating Maryland and Pennsylvania, North and South, slave state and free. But it was a survey line to settle a long-standing border dispute between Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, so it includes the Delaware vertical border.

In Delaware, we stopped at the New Castle Courthouse Museum, the main site of the First State National Historical Park. Obama proclaimed this as a new park in 2013, because Delaware was the only state not to have a National Park unit. Despite this ignoble birth, I found it interesting learning about colonial history that isn't widely known.

 

The arc-shaped northern border of Delaware was drawn to be a 12 mile radius from this courthouse. Amusingly I learned there were really only 12 original colonies, not thirteen as we all learned in school. Delaware was part of Pennsylvania. In 1776, these three lower counties ‘on the Delaware River’ declared their independence at this courthouse, not only from Britain but from the Quakers who ran the rest of the Pennsylvania colony. Apparently the Quakers were happy to see them leave. In 1787 this new colony was the first to ratify the US Constitution earning their 'First State' status.

After our guided tour of the courthouse, Aimee and I walked to the Delaware River dock and then around this cute colonial era town. It looks like a smaller version of Annapolis.

From New Castle, DE we followed the Delaware River north into Pennsylvania skirting the metropolis of Philadelphia to visit Washington Crossing Historic Park at the southern terminus of the Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic River. Our GPS first guided us to the spot where George camped. There is little here. We backtracked to the main site where Pennsylvania has constructed a modern Visitor Center. We watch the last minute of their film before walking down to the crossing site.

Like George we also crossed the Delaware, albeit over a very narrow bridge. On the New Jersey side is Washington Crossing State Park. After a brief visit to their Visitor Center, we drove down to the Johnson Ferry House, where we listened to a guide tell us about the event. After barely escaping defeat in New York in late 1776, George retreated west of the Delaware River. He confiscated all the ferries, so the British couldn't pursue him. Desperate for a victory, on a cold, snowy Christmas Day night, he crossed back to New Jersey with 2400 men and a dozen cannon and then marched the nine miles to Trenton. With the cannons and the element of surprise, the troops defeated the mercenary German Hessian troops in ninety minutes. The victory was a much-needed morale boost.

From the Crossing, we followed Washington’s march to Trenton and the Old Barracks Museum site where the Hessians were sleeping. It is surprisingly in the downtown area of this small capital city.

We had planned on an early dinner in Trenton but unlike Annapolis and New Castle, there is no cute historic area and it looks very seedy. Instead we head back south and find a seafood restaurant off the highway. I am thwarted again in my search for Maryland Blue Crabs. They are the only menu item not in stock. The waitress said this was a bad year for them. After our meal, we finished the day checking into our hotel outside the Philly airport.

September 6-7, 2023

September 6-7, 2023

This morning we made the ninety-minute drive to Phoenix to catch our noon flight to the East Coast. It took most of the day to reach Baltimore. We arrived at our hotel just after midnight. Fortunately we found a good Brewpub restaurant to have dinner during our Minneapolis layover.

The next morning we returned to the airport to pick up a rental car. The whole process took more than two hours giving us a late start on our day. We drove thirty miles southeast to Annapolis, the capital of Maryland. It is an historic seaport and home of the US Naval Academy. We signed up for a noon tour of this military school. It was excellent. Our docent gave us a humorous look into the life of these midshipmen and their full-time training schedule.

Along the way we got a big dose of history. This institution was started in 1845 but has grown considerably since then. They now graduate around 1100 Navy and Marine officers every year. The campus also has grown physically with landfill into Annapolis harbor. Physical development and sports is a big part of the training so we started with tours of the athletic facilities. Not surprisingly the swimming pool is massive. The sports rivalry with Army came up repeatedly.

Our next stop was “Captains Row” with its street of historic mansions, that are the homes of the academy bigwigs. Annapolis is hot and humid, so Aimee and I are happy that the tour pops in and out of well air-conditioned buildings. One stop inside the historic Armory has a replica of the 1911 Wright Brothers B-1 Navy plane hanging from its rafters.

We moved on to the huge, impressive dorm building. We got to see a sample room. It doesn't look much different than my old dorm room minus a lot of military uniforms.

Our last stop was the domed Chapel. Below it is a large crypt containing an enormous granite sarcophagus of John Paul Jones. He is considered the father of the US Navy. Interestingly his body had to be recovered from under a modern apartment building in Paris more than a hundred years after he died.

After this almost three-hour walking tour, I am tired and hungry, so we don't wander too far before finding a good lunch spot at an historic tavern. I washed down a Fish and Chips with a Natty Bo, supposedly the unofficial state beer of Maryland. A meal of Maryland Blue Crabs will have to wait till another trip.

Since it is getting late we do a quick walking tour of this historic seaport and capital. We walk by the old City Dock with its Memorial to Alex Haley, Roots, and his forefather Kunta Kinte who arrived here around 1822 on a slave ship.

We followed Main Street uphill window shopping along the way. At the hilltop we visit the Maryland State House, the oldest capitol in continual use. It has some interesting displays. It was temporarily also the home of the US Congress. The Treaty of Paris was ratified here officially ending the Revolutionary War. George Washington gave his famous resignation speech here. At the time most Europeans were astonished with this peaceful transfer of power. They expected that Washington would turn his war victory into a kingship.

We drove back to Baltimore in heavy traffic. That is something we don’t miss living in Tucson. The thousands of cars is another reminder that fossil fuel use will not end without radical change.