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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Off We Go to Another State Capitol and to Philadelphia PA. . .the City of Love or Something Like That


Trenton has the honor of being the Capitol of New Jersey. . .
so off we went to see the State House. . .
New Jersey State House
this is by far the most difficult State House
we have EVER tried to photograph. . .
there is nowhere you can stand to get it all in. . .

The pediment across the front blocks the view of the dome. . .
Dome of the New Jersey State House
so we went around to the side to get a shot of it. . .
just beautiful. . .but not original to the building. . .
Original Portion of the New Jersey State House
in fact the BACK of the building. . .seen here. . .
is the original State House. . .
the Dome forward is all an addition. . .
the docent explained all this to us. . .
and said that is why the building is so close to the street in the front. . .
Rotunda - New Jersey State House
we almost didn’t get to see this beautiful rotunda area. . .
I guess because New Jersey has such a high profile governor. . .
the security is very, very tight. . .
we’ve gone through metal detectors in other State Houses. . .
but these NJ guys wanted to see ID’s and the works. . .
AND
you are not allowed to roam around and explore. . .
you MUST be with a tour guide at all times. . .

Since we had not arrived at a time of a scheduled tour
one of the security folks were kind enough to escort
us in to photograph the rotunda only. . .
and then escort us back out. . .
but hey. . .they gave us pencils with
Governor Christie’s name on them. . .
I was gonna show you a picture. . .
but I can’t find them. . .I’m sure they are in a very safe place. . .oops!
Philadelphia PA Skyline
Philadelphia. . .which was sort of on our way
back to the RV park in Hershey was our next destination. . .

We just wanted to hit the highlights,
and have a Philly Cheesesteak so that’s what
I’m gonna show you. . .just the highlights. . .
The streets in this area of Philly are claustrophobic. . .can you imagine with snow piled on both sides?
driving in the neighborhood where the cheese steak shops were
was quite the experience. . .can you imagine this
with eight feet of snow piled up. . .aii yaiii yaiii. . .
how do these folks cope? ? ?
Pat's and Geno's Philly Cheese SteaksPat's and Geno's Philly Cheese Steaks
and here they are. . .
the illustrious Geno’s and Pat’s Cheese Steak Sandwich Shops. . .
Dave went to Pat’s. . .I went to Geno’s. . .
I brought my sandwich back over. . .
and we split them so we could compare. . .
now on this particular day. . .I must say that Pat’s had the better sandwich. . .
Geno’s could have definitely used some seasoning. . .very bland. . .

Okay. . .that’s done. . .what’s the next tourist stop?
Penn Building
a beautiful view of the Penn Building. . .
Penn Building
and a close up
LOVE Park
LOVE Park. . .lovely!
Liberty Bell
let’s go stand in line to see the Liberty Bell. . .
it moved really quick!
Liberty Bell
and there it is. . .
Independence Hall
Independence Hall. . .definitely want to explore it further next trip. . .
United States Mint
and the United States Mint. . .no samples today. . .we always miss free sample day. . .

It was a whirlwind of a day. . .
we SHALL return to Philadelphia to explore further. . .
and next time. . .I believe
we may go on the weekend when all the working folk are not down there. . .
it was packed. . .parking was pricey. . .and I’m sad to say
it really was not that enjoyable of an experience. . .

but. . .I do want to see it all in a more leisurely fashion,
so we shall return at a later date. . .not sure when. . .but later. . .

‘til next time,
Janice and Dave




8 comments:

  1. We toured Philadelphia many many years ago. I remember that I really liked it. Of course I love to explore any town that has that much history.

    I can't remember visiting the state capital. Why can't you roam around...they afraid you will steal something? Really?

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  2. Glad you shared all those photographs ... now I don't have to return - ever! Our first year we had to take our 40' trailer, pulled by the Freightliner DOWN some of those built-for-horse-drawn carriages streets (I call them alleyways). Our stress level was sky-high. In more than 1 turn Terry had to back up and inch around the 90-degree turn 3 times before we could clear the fire hydrant on 1 corner, light pole on the opposite corner and dodge the cars parked along the sidewalks! Needless to say, after we voiced our opinion more than once, now our unit (dubbed The Titanic) does NOT have to work in PA anymore! YEA :) Someday, in the RV and with a toad, I'd like to get to Hershey - if only for the factory tours, not necessarily the RV show. THAT would be fun, otherwise, we'll stay west, thank you. But I DO greatly appreciate YOUR pictures of the Liberty Bell and other VIP things to see in Philly. Thanks :)

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    1. oh dear. . .oh dear. . .I would have an absolute "drama queen" moment if we got down in there in anything bigger than our jeep. . .and yes. . .you are absolutely correct. . .alleyway describes it perfectly!

      Hershey is so great. . .highly recommend the Chocolate Town Experience. . .we don't do amusement parks, so can't speak to the fun of that. . .but well worth the time to experience it!

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  3. Hi Janice...We just toured the State Capitol at Baton Rouge, La. That one is the tallest at 450 feet.

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  4. Oops, I almost forgot...the State House in Baton Rouge will be our next blog.

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    1. well good. . .I love to see other folks pics and comments on an area before I make it there. . .helps tremendously with the planning.

      I have your blog in my blogs I follow list so I will get your update as soon as you write it. . .we are hoping to see the Baton Rouge Capitol ourselves on the way home. . .so I would like to post a link to your blog about it when I write mine. . .

      I like to do that because it gives everyone another place to check out info from another perspective. . .I tend to gloss over details in my blog writing. . .other folks sometimes include lots more info. . .some like. ..some don't. . .something for everyone. . .can't wait to read it!

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  5. I haven't been to Philadelphia in years but I want to get there soon. My dad's great-great-great grandfather owned a house there in 1776 and it' still there and is on the National Register. I HAVE to see it!

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    1. oh, well you absolutely MUST go and see that. . .what a treasure!

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