3 Days, 3 Beaches in 3 States...
Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey

We took this ferry from Lewes Delaware to Cape May New Jersey to spend the day with the Crawfords.



A refurbished Oyster Schooner sitting at the dock, it was open for tours.



At the Lobster House doing what we do best with the Crawfords- eating oysters and drinking beer not just ordinary beer it must be Yuengling (affectionately known as vitamin Y)- we had a wonderful afternoon!!!



Delaware State Beach Campground we spent 3 nights here enjoying the beaches of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.

Ocean City Maryland

The boardwalk in Ocean City is about 3 miles in one direction we walked two thirds and took the tram back.

This is one of the shops along the boardwalk I found to be interesting... to say the least


The Beach at Ocean City

Out n About in DC

We took a double deck bus tour of DC- we picked an absolute fabulous day, the weather was just perfect, since a few days before the humidity was very sticky.

Remember you can click on any picture to enlarge it.

The White House

Our Capitol

The Washington Monument

Georgetown

Georgetown is a charming little town with tons of upscale shops and nice outdoor eateries. As you can see below we found a tavern to have a nice break from the noise of DC. Ice Cold Beer and the best crabcake sandwich I have had yet, and believe me I am checking them all out!!!

Main street in Georgetown

The Assassination of President Lincoln

April 14, 1865, President Lincoln went to see the play Our American Cousin at the Fords Theater.



At 10:15 pm President Lincoln was shot in the presidential box (below) by John Wilkes Booth.
Booth jumped from the box onto the stage and had gotten tangled in the flag and broke his ankle but was able to hobble to his horse in the back of the theater. Boothe was later found hiding in a barn in Fort Royal, VA by union soldiers the barn was set on fire and Booth was shot while in the burning barn.




This was the bed in the back bedroom of the Peterson's house that President Lincoln died in the next day. Because Lincoln was so tall he had to be laid across the bed.

What happened to Mary Todd Lincoln- In her life three of her four sons died, her husband was shot as he sat next to her. In 1875 she was judged as insane and admitted to a sanitarium for several months. She died in her sisters home in Springfield IL on July 16, 1882.

Washington National Cathedral

This Cathedral is so massive outside as well as inside. All faiths are welcome in this church, however, it is Protestant Episcopal. It took 83 years to build this Cathedral; 1893 Congress gave charter creating the Protestant Episcopal foundation, foundation stone was laid in 1907 in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt and the Cathedral was completed in 1990 in the presence of President George W Bush. The Cathedral is built mostly from Indiana limestone and this Cathedral is the sixth largest in the world.


This is the ceiling of the Cathedral. Notice all the state flags, each week the congregation prays for each state and its people. Since there are 52 weeks and only 50 states one week is for DC and the other is for the US Territories. While we were there they were praying for South Carolina.


This is the High Alter.



Below is an example of the magnificent and numerous stained glass windows.
Just below this window lies President Woodrow Wilson he is the only President that is buried in the Cathedral.

The Bloodiest Day of the Civil War

Battle of Antietam

September 17, 1862 more men were killed or wounded at Antietam than any other single day of the Civil War. Federal losses were 12, 410, Confederate losses were 10,700. Neither side gained victory.


This monument is for Clara Barton a Civil War Nurse who tended to the wounded during and after the battle. Notice the Red Cross emblem- Clara is the founder of the American Red Cross. She started the Red Cross in 1881 and was the director until her death in 1912


At Sunken Road (aka Bloody Lane) for nearly 4 hours Union and Confederate Soldiers fought in this spot there were over 5,000 casualties - thus the name Bloody Lane

Great Falls in Maryland

We took a little nature walk today to Great Falls these are not Niagara Falls, but none the less they are very nice and we needed to hear bird sounds rather than honking horns and sirens.





Turtle family enjoying the beautiful sunny day

Arlington Cemetery

Pictures of the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknowns.
The changing of the guards ceremony is done every 30 minutes and last about 15 minutes.

Fort McHenry- The Birth of the Star Spangled Banner.

The Battle of Baltimore-
In 1814 the British Navy tried to take Baltimore and was not successful as the British Navy retreated the next morning thru all the smoke from the cannons our flag was still there and this
inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem which later became the Star Spangled Banner. Then became our Nation Anthem in 1931. The original Flag is still hanging in the Smithsonian and was made out of wool and measured 42 x 30 feet. Maj George Armistead wanted Fort McHenry's flag to be large enough that the "British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance".

Fort Mc Henry never again came under enemy fire, although it continued as an active military post for the next 100 years. During the Civil War it was a temporary prison for confederate soldiers. From 1917-1923 it was an army hospital for WWI Veterans. In 1925 Congress made the Fort a National Park, then, 14 years later it was redesignated a National Monument and Historic Shrine.


Below are some pictures of the Fort and the guardhouse and officers quarters.
The fort primarily used Cannons 18, 24, and 36 lbs solid iron cannonballs which was mostly found on ships the range was about 1 1/4 miles and not very accurate.