Big Sister Arrives

My sister arrived and the past two weeks have been busy doing the tourist thing. She has spent four weeks in Canada and Alaska and was glad to have a home base for the next stage of her holiday. The first week saw us touring the memorials, the Capitol Building, Library of Congress, Arlington Cemetary and The American History Museum. The weather was perfect as the horrible humidity has now passed. She has been overwhelmed by everything and this is just the beginning.

I also completed a half marathon (The Parks Half) on the first weekend so Deb and my sister were up very early to drop me off at the start, meet me half way for a drink swap and then collect me at the finish. It was absolutely perfect weather for the run and I was very pleased with my time. I was working hard and while one of my legs was stiffening in the last 5k, I managed to push forward and finish strong. The last time I ran a half was 26 years ago so it’s been a long time between drinks, so to speak.  I got home and grabbed an hour sleep before getting my Nats gear on and taking my sister to the baseball. She had the full experience, got a photo with the racing Presidents, had crackerjack and a hotdog. She loved the game and I was glad to sit for a few hours after the run that morning. The Nats won thankfully but it was a low scoring and average game….now that I’m an expert and all !!

After a rest day, we packed our bags and got the bus to Philadelphia. I’ve been before but I wanted to show her one of the key places in American history. We toured Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution was agreed and announced. I was super happy to see the actual document as I missed this when Deb and I visited earlier this year. The actual signed document is in the The Archives in DC and I will be seeing that in a few weeks. We saw the Liberty Bell which is always an inspiring icon and a trip to Philly is not complete without a visit to see Rocky. We also went up the One Liberty Observation Deck which I had not done before and it was a fantastic view. Philly is Benjamin Franklin town and he is everywhere. What a great man.

 

A highlight for me was crossing the bridge over the Delaware River to New Jersey and touring the famous battleship New Jersey BB-62 or Big J.  Thanks to wiki....

New Jersey earned more battle stars or combat actions than the other three completed Iowa-class battleships, and was the only US battleship providing gunfire support during the Vietnam War. During WWII New Jersey shelled targets on Guam and Okinawa and screened aircraft carriers conducting raids in the Marshall Islands. During the Korean War, she was involved in raids up and down the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned. She was briefly reactivated in 1968 and sent to Vietnam to support US troops before returning to the mothball fleet in 1969. Reactivated once more in the 1980s as part of the 600 Navy ship program, New Jersey was modernized to carry missiles and recommissioned for service. In 1983, she participated in US operations during the Lebanese Civil War. She was finally decommissioned in 1991 and became a museum ship in 2001.

Those 16 inch guns were pretty impressive to see and she's a grand old ship that deserves much respect.We did a self guided tour with audio headsets and it was excellent. She’s a huge ship that is the most decorated battleship in US history. It was not very busy so we enjoyed dawdling around reading all the exhibits. I totally loved this and look forward to seeing the USS Intrepid in New York in a few weeks.

We came home from Philly to wash and pack again for the road trip north to Niagara and Canada. There is no rest for the wicked they say!!