Biking on Heritage Rail Trail

Saturday, Nov. 5th-A chilly morning but enjoyed getting to watch Annelise and Arthur play soccer.  We had a nice picnic lunch and then rode on this amazing trail in York, PA.  Absolutely beautiful!!!  It got nice and warm as the day wore on and the scenary was awesome.  Could really live on one of these farms.  The tunnel is the oldest train tunnel still in use in the US.  Was built around 1820.

We have had so much fun with cousins and Aunt Karen and Uncle Jonathan.  It will be hard to say goodbye because it's always so long until we meet again.

How I wish I could ride in this coral

All 8 of us

The burning bushes were on fire in the parking lot

Harrisburg Civil War Museum

Friday, Nov. 4th-We spent the afternoon today at the Civil War Museum in preparation for going to Gettysburg in a couple days.  What made this museum interesting was how itersonalized the war into true stories about diffent individuals on both sides.  In each room as the museum progressed in time, there would be a movie updating the lives of these people.  It really helped put it into perspective and what some of the overriding issues were at the time.  Some of the stories:
l.  A slave ran away from his young family to the North to work and try and buy his families freedom.  However, after years and years, he couldn't buy their freedom.  He joined the Union Army and fought making less money than he had been.  After the war, he reunited with him family but he had missed all of his boys' growing up years.
2.  A southern farmer who had a small farm and just two slaves.  He treated them like family and he himself didn't like the huge, money hungry plantations.  One of his sons joined the Confederacy and was killed.
3.  One young man from KY was one of three boys.  One of his brothers fought for the North, the other the south.  He didn't want any part of it so he fled to the west in search of gold.  His concience got the best of him and he came back.  One brother died in battle, the other in a prisoner of war camp.  He was shunned by his town and his brothers' families as being a coward.  He felt he had no home.
4.   A woman in the south who turned her home into a hospital.  Her countenance changed greatly from the beginning to end when she saw so many young men die, and her own son was killed and her other son who was also in the army talked to her as if she were a child.

At the end of the museum, they had Abraham Lincoln (actor behind a prerecorded screen) where the children could select numerous questions from his childhood-presidency and he would answer them.  Could interview Mary Todd Lincoln and some others as well.

We hadn't realized that Grant made Lee and the Confederates do a formal  surrendering ceremony.  Also that Mary Todd Lincoln had brothers fighting in the South.  Also learned that the Quakers were the first denomination to directly oppose slavery.  In 1780, Pa abolished slavery through legislation.

Hershey, Pa

Thursday, Nov. 4th-After school today, we went to Chocolate World in Hershey.  It was an absolute blast.  So much so, we did the tour twice.  We loved the milk cows.  It was very educational too.  It was interesting to learn about the cacoe (pronounced cacow) trees and their fruit.  They look like gourds and when opened up the 20-24 seeds are white in a milky substance.  These will become cocoe beans as we know it through drying out and processing.  Milton Hershey has left quite a legacy and it was inspirational to read his story and see first hand the legacy he left in the town.

 

Pennsylvania State Capital and Lancaster County

Wednesday, Nov. 2nd-We ventured off on a family field trip.  We started off at the state capital and we were blown away.  It was absolutely the most impressive building we've ever been in.  As stated in their booklet:

Pennsylvania's Capitol is, first and foremost, a public building belonging to the citizens of the Commonwealth.  It is also a priceless architectural and artistic treasure, a majestic symbol of history and power, and an icon of democracy and freedom.  When President Theodore Roosevelt  attended the dedication of the building on Octobere 4, 1906, he said, "This is the handsomest building I ever saw."
Mark and I couldn't agree more.  The Capitol was designed in the American Renaissance style with the goal of being a "Palace of Art." Built and furnished at a cost of $13 million, the Capitol features paintings, stained glass and furnishings by some of the best artisans of the day.

We were struck immediately by the beauty in the rotunda and loved the quote by William Penn which
 wraps around the Rotunda's interior, just below the main cornice, as a reminder for legislators and citizens:  "There may be room there for such a holy experiment, for the nations want a precedent.  And my God will make it the seed of a nation.  That an example may be set up to the nations. That we may do the thing that is truly wise and just."

We were amazed by the beauty of the artwork and the numerous biblical references throughout. We got to go in the governor's office, the Senate, House and Supreme Court. The children loved that the chandeliers weighed as much as an elephant and Stefan wanted to know how they secured them to the ceiling.  The neighbor middle school boy next to Sondra must have overheard, because he raised his hand and asked the question.  We learned why Pa is the keystone state:  because they were keystone politically in the colonies.

The house happened to be in session today and we were thrilled to watch part of it.  They opened with an incredible prayer from a minister from TN who talked about PA being the cradle of democracy, prayed for the troops and their families and for the leaders and their decisions.  After the pledge of allegiance, the hustle and bustle of the room started.  A marine vet presented awareness that there were many black Marines in WWII who were not given fair and equal treatment and yet perservered in their service.  After his solo rendition of the marine hymn, a representative stood and further endorsed this sentiment.  A representative came into the balcony and welcomed us.  He is retired from the military and wanted to serve in the House since he was 12.  He stated that one of the issues they were working on was making PA child labor laws stricter as Hollywood has come in and exploited many children in PA (ie. Gossners being one).  Interesting, California has very strict laws that PA is trying to emmulate.

We loved the green mosaic tile roof and the Vermont granite exterior.

William Penn's words in the rotunda

The window over the rotunda

The Senate

It was a warm, sunny November day (lower 60's) and we drove to Lancaster County for  lunch. () A special memory was when we were driving, Stefan out of the blue said "I love you mama" from the back seat.)  Mark said, "one of the priceless benefits of homeschooling." Pulling off the highway, we immediately felt the pull to a different time.  Buggies were everywhere and the farmland so beautiful.  We weren't sure where to go for lunch but Sondra approached an Amishman who was parked with his buggie and asked for his recommendation.  We took it and eventually found Dienner's.  We knew we were in the right place when there was a 20 minute wait on a Wednesday afternoon.  It truly was some of the best food we have ever had.  We all loved it.  It was buffet style which we associate with average food but this was the best homecooked food.  Everything was delicious especially the mashed potatoes and beef/gravey.  Highly recommend this restaurant and hope we can go back sometime.  The waitress was a former homeschool mom and she was fun to talk too.  Another fond memory was trying Shoofly pie at the business  next door while we were waiting for our table.  It's very good but bad for you.  Only sugar and molasses and butter.  They also were giving out free gourdes and pumpkins.  Since it was late in the afternoon when we were driving around, we saw many groups of children walking and riding bikes with no pedals.  So many awesome photo opps but due to respect to them plus we were driving, they will  have to remain mental pictures.
We did stop at a dairy to purchase milk and try their ice cream.  Delicious!!!!

A boy no bigger than Stefan leading a draft horse

This was so sweet at the dairy

My son the kitty whisperer

We loved the ingenious pullies that were used for the clothes lines

Noreastener and cousin time

Oct. 28-31-Well, providentially, we couldn't have gotten here at a better time.  Snow started falling over the weekend and it was bitter cold.  So thankful to be in a warm house and not driving or being in Miss Jim B.  Several inches accumulated and it was a little crazy driving around on Saturday to take the girls to a birthday party out in the country for a young refugee girl from Iraq.  The cousins didn't mind and are having a ball playing together.  Many things got closed and cancelled and Sunday morning, the church had no heat or electricity. We had a very special worship time by candelight in the chapel.  It was really initimate and the high school boys played duo guitars for much of the service.  Really enjoyed the blues they played for communion.  The snow was pretty much melted by Sunday afternoon so we enjoyed a beautiful hike at Gifford Pinchot State Park.  Monday, the 31st-It's been fun to do school with our cousins and start playing piano again. Aunt Karen treated us to a trail ride in the afternoon at the stables where she and Annelise take lessons.  It was an absolute blast and so beautiful.  We even got to do a little jumping, cantering up the hill and wading in a beautiful stream.  Tuesday, we stayed put and did schooling and playing at home all day.

Our own American Girls

The dynamite duo-Lookout

Bedtime with Aunt Karen

Never running out of things to talk about

Friends for life

Buddies for life

Catch me if you can

I'll catch you

The girls out riding

Aunt Karen's

Thursday, October 27th-Today is Trick-Or-Treating in PA and Janae and Stefan can not wait to see their cousins.  It rained all day today as we left New York and drove to Harrisburg, PA.  We made it just in time for dinner and trick-or-treating.  Great cousin fun.

West Point Museum, Washington's Headquarters, FDR National Park

A big educational day for all.  Today was our last day and wanted to see the things we hadn't gotten to yet.  We started off at the West Point Museum.  Stefan loved it but we didn't want of focus too much on guns.  Stefan selected a nice book of Washington's quotes that he wanted to have for his library.  On the way to FDR's home, we stopped at Washington's last headquarters where he was for the last 16 months of the war. It was a Dutch style home right on the Hudson river.  This Dutch style home had an open fireplace which the stone wall would heat the room, open painted  beams and date plate at door.  We learned Washington's favorite snack was Walnuts and he slept as was cutomary of the time, sitting up because they thought not good for health to sleep close to floor-beds short-ate biggest dinner at 3:00 p.m.., ink came in packets and put  in water, called pocketing.  Most interesting was seeing the original desk where he wrote his ideas about what he thought this country needed and where he designed the military merit badge which later became the purple heart, an incentive for moral since they couldn't pay more money.  He personally gave it to three people.  One was a man who was sent out to spy, got shot, pretended to become British so could get medical treatment and then escaped and came back a year later with report.

Washington's Headquarters

A memorial to the troops of the revolutionary war, and view from back of headquarters

We finally made it to FDR's  home and it was extremely interesting and informative.  Mark and I are learning so much.  We either didn't listen well in school or they didn't teach much but neither one of us knew much about FDR and Eleanor.  The movie was a good overview on his life.  He was a very self-confidant man, a mama's boy, went to Harvard and passed the bar without graduating.  In 1932 became the 32nd president.  His inaugural speech "Only thing we have to fear, is fear itself".  Gave this country hope, elected 4 times, more than any other president, Was President during depression and World War II.  Springdale was his boyhood home in Hyde Park on the Hudson where he went back to live with his widowed mother, Sara and his bride Eleanor.  They had 5 children.  After he got polio he would push himself to walk everyday down the lane in his braces.  Never made it to the end but shows his determination.  Learned also about Eleanor and her background, how she supported him and rose in leadership herself .  She became the first lady of Civil Rights and the Ku Klux Klan reportedly wanted to get rid of her.  Eleanor was quoted as saying "Courage Can Be Exilerating." FDR and Eleanor were the people's friends but it is sad that they struggled so in their personal lives and marriage. FDR collected many things:  stamps, birds, trees.  He said that trees were the lungs of the nation and called himself a tree farmer.  He inspired the  nation to send in dimes for polio research and started March of Dimes.  Good books that were recommended were No Ordinary Time (book about the Roosevelts) and Eleanor: A Scrapbook by Candace Fleming.

Springdale, home of FDR

FDR and Eleanor's grave

Stefan and Janae completing their Jr. Ranger booklet with Eleanor and FDR