Poconos, Philly, DC September 24 - October 7, 2013

At the beginning of the trip, we spent a great week in the Poconos, staying at a condo with my sister Rosemary and her husband Ralph. Because they live in Pittsburgh, for the last few years we've tried to meet at fun places that we all would enjoy. The weather was perfect for seeing the fantastic sights in the area. The best thing, though, was sitting in the evening and talking to my sister.  
Things we did with Rosie and Ralph:

We hiked at lovely Bushkill Falls, which really was a series of
different falls connected with trails and boardwalks.

The area reminded me of Watkin's Glen in NY.

We took a tour of the Martin guitar factory in Nazareth, PA. 

It was fascinating to see how much of the guitar was hand made.

Ralph, Rosie, and I at the Franklin Hill Vineyard wine tasting room

This vineyard was fun.  We got to tour the grounds with the owners.

Rosie and I at Mountain View Vineyard

The first pressing of the grapes

Alan got to test a shot of vodka taken from the coil of the still
at the distillery part of the vineyard.

Alan and I did some things on our own while we were in the Poconos.  The best was a canoe trip on the Delaware River down to the Delaware Water Gap.  The views were spectacular.  We saw a young bald eagle, as well as an osprey diving to catch fish.

  

We pulled up on the shore on an island to eat our lunch.

Delaware Gap and reflections from Alan's vantage point in back of canoe

The closest fancy coffee place was the Shawnee Inn,
where we relaxed on the porch after the canoe trip.

We hiked to the top of Mt. Tamani, on the NJ side of the Delaware River.
The trail down was rocky and challenging for me, but the views at the top were lovely.

After we left the Poconos, Alan and I went on to Philadelphia, where we had planned to see lots of historic places.  Of course, it was the first day of the government shutdown, so we encountered closed doors at Valley Forge, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, etc.  We were very disappointed and angry to have our long-made plans thwarted by the House of Representatives. However, we still found wonderful things to do--after we called our local congressman's office to let him know how we felt about his vote.

Our "tour" of Valley Forge the first day of the gov't shutdown

We saw the outside of Independence Hall.

The only close-up view of the Liberty Bell was through a small plexiglass window
that was covered with the fingerprints of the people trying to get a closer look.

The bell was visible from a distance and lit up nicely at night.

 The people of Philadelphia were very friendly and helpful.  An employee at the Philadelphia city museum, for example,  looked up on the internet and printed out all the things that were open, putting stars next to those she thought were good.  We took her advice and saw wonderful things.

The Constitution Center was open.  It is an outstanding museum telling
about the evolution of the constitution and the historical events
that caused all the amendments.  We spent an entire afternoon there.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art was incredible.
We spent an entire day there and didn't see all we wanted to see.
The collection is so massive, it is impossible to describe the experience.
If you go to Philadelphia, it is a must-see experience.

Inside the museum, they had entire buildings taken from various places.
This is a Japanese ceremonial teahouse.

Alan's favorite painter:  Kandinsky

After Phildelphia, we went to Winterthur, Henry Frances du Pont's country home in Wilmington, Delaware.  The house has 175 period room displays, showing his huge collection of American furniture, dishes, paintings, etc. (When he "retired" and the main house became a museum, he built a 60 room "cottage" on the grounds to live in.)  The grounds are lovely gardens.  Not being antique people, we enjoyed the gardens and a special exhibit of early American maps the most.
If you don't know about Winterthur, you can get more info here:
The-Story-of-Winterthur

One section of the house.

Alan enjoys a frog fountain in the Enchanted Woods garden

Autumn Crocus in bloom

Rhoda on a bench near a massive oak tree at Winterthur
Alan said this may be his new favorite picture of me.

 After Winterthur, we went to DC, where we visited with nephew Paul and family, nephew Andrew, and dear friend Sue.  Everything in DC was closed, of course, but we mostly wanted to visit with people, anyway. It was a wonderful end to a fantastic trip.

Paul took Alan to a place to stock up on good coffee.

Sue took us to a wonderful Indian restaurant.
 It was a delight to be able to spend time with Sue, who has been my friend for over 40 years.