Next state--Delaware

We visited another state yesterday.  Delaware, known as the "First State".  It's a new state for us on this trip and the first time we visited Delaware ever. 

Delaware is know as the First State because it was the first state to declare itself free of England.  We visited the town of New Castle, which is where William Penn landed in 1682.  It is a town rich in history including the courthouse where the leaders of Delaware were the first to ratify the Constitution. 
It is a beautiful town with many historic homes.  There are tours of the courthouse and several homes and churches. 

Courthouse built in 1732.

The marketplace.

Sheriff's house.

First dwelling, the Dutch house.  The Dutch house is the small red building,
many of the houses here share a common wall with another structure.

Spring has sprung in this part of the country, there are flowering trees everywhere.

Baltimore, MD

We visited Fort McHenry in Baltimore, MD.  During the war of 1812, the British ships bombarded Fort McHenry in an effort to get through to Baltimore.  The battle raged on all night.  In the early morning, Francis Scott Key looked out and saw that the American flag was still flying over the fort.  The swell of pride and relief that the fort did not fall into enemy hands was the inspiration for Key who penned the words that eventually became the U. S. national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. 

They have a lovely presentation film at the visitor's center that tells the story of the battle and the writing of the song.  At the end of the film, the screen rolls up as the Star Spangled Banner plays.  Once the screen is removed, the view of the fort and the flag flying over the fort if revealed.  It is quite a moving experience.

During our visit to Baltimore, we also had the opportunity to tour some ships that were anchored in the habor.  The first one was a wooden frigate from 1797, known as the U.S.S. Constellation.  This ship had 38 cannons.  The ship has been restored and is open for tours.  The ceilings were so low that we had to stoop over a little, and they got lower each deck that you went down. 

Cannons at the ready. 

Captain's bathtub, drained out into the sea

Captain's quarters

Hammocks hanging from the upped deck, rows and rows of them.

Bottom of the ship, ballast, supplies and the brig.

We also toured a Cost Guard ship, the U.S.C. G.C. Taney.  It was the last survivor of Pearl Harbor.  This was kind of cool for us because Dave's dad served in the Coast Guard in the 1950s. 

C & O Canal, Maryland

The C & O canal was a 184.5 mile canal that ran alongside the Potomac River.  Mules were used to pull the boats along the canal and a series of locks were built to raise or lower the boats to make up the change of elevation.  The canal was used to bring supplies into the Washington DC area.  One of the most needed supplies was coal, but the barges also brought food supplies.  The canal was in operation for almost 100 years, but a combination of a flood in 1924 that damaged the canal in many places and the growing availability of the railroads caused the need for the canal to come to an end.  Since the canal was filled with water that was diverted from the Potomac, much of the canal is dry now.  We were able to explore the canal in 3 different areas.  Much of the length of the canal is now available for recreational use, walking and biking.

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia

So most of us have heard of Harper's Ferry, but I, for one, didn't really know what happened there.  Here is what we found.  Harper's Ferry a town located at the convergence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.  There is a town there that represents what things would have looked like in the early 1900s.  The C & O Canal runs next to the river. It was here that John Brown, an abolitionist, took over the armory with the plan to give the guns to the slaves to help them fight for their freedom.  The Appalachian Train runs through this area.  Lewis and Clark spent some time here gathering supplies, guns, and having special boats constructed before heading out on their famous exploration trip into the western U.S.  Lots to see and do, very easy to spend an entire day there.

Machines used for making rifles.

walking across this bridge, you were traveling on the Appalachian trail

Part of the C & O Canal, used to bring supplies from inland to Washington DC