Hello from the Garden State!

Jun 7 - 11.…It cost us $21 in tolls to go across 2 bridges but we made it to NJ on Tue. This areas is pretty proud of it’s roads & bridges as there are tolls on most all of them! On Thursday we drove down the coast of NJ to Cape May, the southern most point of NJ (more tolls). We climbed the 200 stairs to the top of the Cape May Lighthouse where we had a great view of the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay. Then we drove up the shore to Ocean City (a popular resort area) where we walked on the boardwalk which appears to go on for a few miles. This area is very picturesque! A whole other side of NJ as compared to Newark where we have spent so much time with work!. Just a short drive up the shore is Atlantic City where we saw the tallest Lighthouse in NJ- Absecon Lighthouse. Atlantic City is full of Casinos & is quite old. It wasn’t nearly as nice as Ocean City (at least in the daytime).
Saturday we drove to Philadelphia (more tolls) where we saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Carpenters Hall, Franklin Court, & the City Tavern. On our tour of Independence Hall we saw the Assembly Room where the Declaration of Independence & the Constitution were signed and George Washington accepted the role of commander in chief of the Colonial Armies. Also in this room is the chair Washington occupied during the drafting of the Constitution. Across the hall is the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which was the first Supreme Court. Both rooms have been restored to look as they did when used by our founding fathers in 1775-87. Did you know that the Declaration of Independence was ‘signed’ on Aug 2nd 1776? The 4th of July was the date that they agreed on the contents!! Carpenters Halls was where the first Continental Congress was held in 1774. While at Franklin Court we went to the B. Free Franklin Post Office which commemorates Franklins 1775 appointment as the first postmaster general. It is still a functional PO & the postmark is the ‘Franklin signature’. Last stop was the City Tavern which is a faithful reconstruction that Adams deemed the ‘most genteel’ tavern in America. It was the site of business transactions, patriot gatherings, & musical performances. While there we tried the beer sampler - beers from Washington, Jefferson, Franklin & Phily Ale. Of course while in Phily we had to have a famous Phily Cheese Steak for lunch. Today we are resting up for our drive tomorrow which will take us somewhere in CT.