Walkabout With Wheels Blog: September 2018

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

Mom's Organic Market

is sponsoring this

section of roadside

cleanup.

Philadelphia lies
before us.

Lincoln Financial Field is the

home of the Philadelphia

Eagles Football Team.

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

The Philadelphia Navy

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

Flying J Travel Plaza,

Eric takes a picture of his
feet while I drive.

We continue straight, to

Interstate 70 West &

Frederick.

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

Exit 52 takes us toward

Charles Town, West

Virginia.

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

River.

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

at Gettysburg.

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

New Jersey's State House

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

history...

The Atlantic City Skyline, the Continental Army crossing the Delaware River, the Delaware Water Gap, the Hindenburg, Sandy Hook Lighthouse, to name a few...

This beautiful Boehm porcelain centerpiece

features New Jersey's State Symbols:

Purple Violets, Eastern Goldfinches,

Honey Bees & Northern Red Oak

Tree Leaves

Portraits of former governors

decorate the walls.

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.

New Jersey's Coat of Arms

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.

The New Jersey Senate

Chamber

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.