Where we've been...

Travelling lately...

St. Augustine

Sanibel

Savannah

A Trip to New Castle

I can't resist writing more about this little city because it was such a great place to visit. As I mentioned in my previous post, it's located on the Delaware River south of Wilmington.

The city was first known as Fort Casimir when the Dutch who founded the town in 1651. It was subsequently conquered by the Swedes and then the British. When William Penn came to America in 1682, it was his first point of landing.

New Castle really is as if it has been frozen in time. Its historic architecture and cobblestone streets reminded me of other early cities, like Alexandria, VA, but on a smaller scale.

Like a lot of early American towns, it has a village green. The Green was laid out in 1655 by the Dutch Governor, Peter Stuyvesant and was the location of the market, the jail, and the gallows.

Just off the green is this little house, the Dutch House, built in the late 17th century.

The Town Hall and Market House, built in 1823, is typical of the late 18th/early 19th century form of the building. Like it's British precedents, it features a large open area at the street level with municipal functions housed above.

The Old Court House, built in 1732, was Delaware's Capitol until 1777. The building's spire is the compass point for the arc that forms the northern edge of the state.

The oldest church is Immanuel Episcopal, which is located on the Green. It was founded in 1689, and the original structure was built in 1703. However, it burned in 1980 when cinders from a marsh fire ignited the steeple. It has been reconstructed to its historic appearance, incorporating the remaining foundations and walls.

There is a receiving vault - something I had never heard of - in the church yard. Apparently the receiving vault could serve to hold a body if interment was in dispute or could be used to hold bodies through the winter for spring burial.

Between the church and the market house is this monument, made from railway sleepers and honoring the New Castle and Frenchtown railway, built in 1832 and one of the country's first railroads.

Nearby, there is also a statue of William Penn holding "the key to the fort, one turf with a twig upon it, a porringer with river water and sovle." The gifts symbolized his proprietorship of Pennsylvania which at that time included the three lower counties that became the state of Delaware.

From the riverside Battery Park, you can see the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the longest twin suspension bridge in the world.

It was freezing while we were there, but the trip was well worth it!

What I Did Over Winter Vacation

We've had a busy week. We went to the Comcast Center - the tallest building in Philadelphia. In fact, the tallest "green" building in the country.

They have installed a form of public art - a 2,100 square foot LED screen with resolution 5 times that of HD tv - in the lobby. They show films there year-round for the public to see, and they have a holiday show. Chloe and I went to the regular show back in August, and we went with Philip and his mom to see the holiday show. It's pretty impressive.

Then we went downstairs to the foodcourt and had Belgian frites from di Bruno brothers.

On Tuesday we went to New Castle, Delaware, just south of Wilmington. It's a gorgeous little town on the river and was the point of William Penn's first landing. Here is a photo from the village green.

On Wednesday, we decorated a gingerbread house and then Chloe and I went with her best friend and her friend's mom to Oliver at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia - the oldest operating theater in the US. The show was good, but I had never seen Oliver and thought the end was a bit grim for 8-year olds (although I think it kind of went over their heads).

Yesterday I played mah jongg and then we celebrated New Year's Eve (and Philip's birthday) with champagne, cupcakes, New Super Mario on the Wii, and darts. We did the Philadelphia area thing and banged pots and pans at midnight outside - very strange.

I will close with a picture of Summer ringing in the new year. Happy 2010!

Back from the Mountain State

I was in West Virginia again for work earlier this week. They weren't kidding when they gave it the nickname, "the Mountain State." Here's a view out the window shortly after leaving Charleston.

Start Spreading the News...

We went to New York on Thursday and came back Friday. It was Chloe's first trip there. We had a great time!

We went to the Empire State Building (#1 on Chloe's list of things to do) where we had to wait in the most enormous queue. Finally, after 2-1/2 hours we were at the top. It was spectacular, as always, although I must say that we won't be doing that again any time too soon!

We went to Central Park next, and then Times Square in the evening. Chloe had read books featuring both the Guggenheim and Central Park, so those were also on the list.

On Friday we walked from our hotel in the Bryant Park area (Chloe and Philip spent the morning saying "Thank you, Mood.") Then went to the Public Library, Rockefeller Center, and, of course, FAO Schwartz. Couldn't leave the toy store empty-handed, so now Chloe has a new stuffed dog, named, creatively enough, Fluffy.

Then on to Central Park again - this time to climb rocks and go to the zoo. Chloe was disappointed that there are no lions, giraffes, zebras, or hippos. Madagascar truly qualifies as fiction.

Now home for a quiet Saturday. Baking an apple cake and beginning a new book, Drood.