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Sunday, September 30, 2018

Driving Southwest to Charles Town, West Virginia





Eric & I start our drive
on Interstate 95 South,
heading for Philadelphia.





Please Do Not Litter
Sponsor-A-Highway

is sponsoring this
section of roadside
cleanup.




Philadelphia lies
before us.




 home of the Philadelphia




Next door is Citizens Bank
Park, the home of the
Philadelphia Phillies
Baseball Team.








Yard Water Tower















Looking north along the
Schuylkill River.





We continue our drive south,
toward Wilmington.





Welcome to Delaware
Endless Discoveries




This Service Area located
on the median of I 95.




Maryland Welcomes You
We're Open For Business















We stop for Diesel at a







Eric takes a picture of his
feet while I drive.




We continue straight, to




This section of Interstate 70
is the Korean War Veterans
Memorial Highway.




Exit 52 takes us toward




US Route Signs 15 South
& 340 West are mounted
on wooden posts.




Charles Town & our
overnight spot is
15 miles away.





This is farm country.




We parallel the Shenandoah





Welcome to Virginia.







We follow a few bends in the road....






... into West Virginia....





... & drive by Harpers Ferry
National Historical Park.






Harpers Ferry is on our Bucket List. 






Split Rail Fences, like the ones






I think of the Confederate troops mowed down by Union fire as they clamored over this type of fence during Pickett's Charge





We arrive at Hollywood
Casino in Charles Town.





RV parking is allowed overnight
in the bus parking lot.







Eric chooses a quiet spot along the edge.  It's time to unwind, eat some dinner and check the weather for tomorrow's drive to Roanoke, Virginia.

Touring the New Jersey State House in Trenton, New Jersey





This sign helped Eric & me
find the State House Annex,
where the Guided Tours of
begin.











The front portion of the
State House is closed
for renovation.

The estimated completion
date is 2021.





Trenton was chosen as the New Jersey's Capital City because of its central location in the state.  State House construction began in 1792.  It is the second oldest State Capitol in use in the country.

The state government grew along with New Jersey's population, making additions to the Capitol necessary. 




This skylight represents
important places &
events in New Jersey




















The marble seen throughout the State House is not real.  Artisans using the scagliola process created these beautiful, faux marble walls.





The New Jersey General
Assembly Chamber







Eighty Assemblymen and women serve two year terms. 





is on display above the
Assembly Speaker's dais.






The three plows on the shield represent New Jersey's agricultural traditions.  The gold helmet represents the state as a sovereign state.  The horse above the helmet is a horse's head (also the state's animal.)  Liberty, on the left carries a liberty cap on her staff.  Ceres (Roman Goddess of the grain), on the right, holds a cornucopia of harvested produce.The state motto, Liberty and Prosperity is the base of Coat of Arms.





Thomas Edison's Electric
Light Company installed
this chandelier in 1891.

LED bulbs replaced its
incandescent bulbs.








The blue carpet evokes the pattern of a previous, hundred year old pattern with New Jersey's state symbols: the Purple Violets, the Gold Finch, the Honey Bee and the Red Oak Tree.





The former Supreme Court
Room is now the Majority
Party's Conference Room.











The hollowed out section in the upper wall is an acoustical feature, situated above the judge's bench.  Designed before the invention of microphones, the hollowed space was specifically placed to allow everyone in the room to hear the judge, who was speaking at a moderate level.





This 36 foot long table was
built specifically for this
room.












Forty Senators are elected for four year terms, except for the first two years of a decade.  The 2-4-4 year terms allows reapportionment as quickly as possible following each 10 year census.





Greek and Roman Goddesses
representing knowledge,
agriculture, industry, etc.
decorate the chamber.












This photo shows the gallery
where the public sits
during Senate sessions.




Looking down on the
hallway in the State
House Annex.
Eric and I thanked Carol for the tour.  We learned a lot about New Jersey's history, its State House and its state governance.  I look forward to visiting after 2021 to see the Governor's Office and the Rotunda.

Saturday, September 29, 2018

A Short Drive Southwest to Levittown, Pennsylvania

Murals in Jersey City, New Jersey....





A look into the future OR
welcoming intergalactic
neighbors...










A giant wave surges toward




The Joseph Dixon Crucible, Inc.
building takes up an entire
city block.





Which land do we take?

Both lead to...






... Interstate 78 West & the
New Jersey Turnpike.











This is the kind of information
drivers need.









Eric thinks that the middle of
this Railroad Bridge lifts up
to allow boat traffic.










toward Newark.




















aircraft




South to Trenton on
Interstate 95






Exit 7A takes us toward
Trenton on Interstate 195
We pass by Trenton on our way to Levittown, Pennsylvania.






US Route 13 South takes us to...














We unhitch our Jeep from the back of our motorhome and retrace our steps northeast to Trenton, New Jersey and the New Jersey Statehouse.