Ghosts Prison Pumps Oysters Academy and the Poorhouse

Having had a great dinner with my sister last night, we are up bright and early for Day 2 of our road trip. The schedule has us leaving at 7:30, however if we travel at night it is not a big deal anymore. Not that a deer strike can’t be damaging in a car, I tend to forget this fact. Our choice was to head to Cape May and take the ferry over to Delaware, but our last 2 trips south this is what we did. Instead we headed due west toward Philadelphia. Pictures are clickable and will enlarge.

First stop is the Burlington County Prison in Mt Holly, NJ, a NHL. It was the oldest operating prison in the US, when it closed in 1965. Built in 1811 and was designed with prisoner rehabilitation in mind. I think the In Mind part is still true today. As an added attraction it is also haunted by a legless, floating spirit that moves from the entrance to the yard. I did not see it, but it was mid-morning so they were probably resting.

I have said this before, southern Jersey is a boring place to ride on a bike, being in a car doesn’t improve the roads, they are pretty straight. We passed into National Park and head for the Delaware River to visit the Red Bank Battlefield. There is not a lot to see here other than the monuments erected for the Revolutionary War battle. There is a ditch which surrounded some earthworks, which are gone. However it was another destination off the list. It is also a NHL.

 We crossed the Delaware River and headed south to New Castle for the County Court House. New Castle was originally settled by the Dutch in 1651 by Peter Stuyvesant. It was named Fort Casimir but changed to Fort Trinity and then New Amstel. The town was conveyed to the English in 1680, with William Penn taking over. It was the first capital of Delaware and very quaint town to walk around.

This is the New Castle Post Office built by the WPA folks.

New Castle County Courthouse, an occasional court held there serves to keep alive the claim that this building is the oldest continuously used chamber of justice in the United States.

Doorways to the town.

Ghosts on the side of the buildings

I got talking to the guy that is sitting. As you can see he is all humped over and he really has some tales to be told about New Castle. He has lived here all his life. He pointed to the tree across the street and told me that he watched that tree grow up as a boy. They are going to have to take the tree down because it is all rotted inside and is going to eventually fall. Other than that the tree has no significance historically to the world, but it means everything to him. My guess he comes down here everyday to simply sit and watch the bay.

We also visited Stonum, a NHL, that belonged to George Read, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. To me the place looked pretty run down. Being private property I did not invade their space and took pictures for further than I wanted. When I think about it I cut thru some back yards of houses without any thought of their privacy. 

Next was the Old Pump House for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. This is also desiginated as a NHL. The pump house was built in 1837. Since there were no large rivers feeding the canal directly, water had to be pumped uphill to fill the upper canal and locks. In the 20^th century the canal was deepened, eliminating the need for the pumps. The wheel inside the house could pump 20,000 gallons per minute. 

Pump House

The Pump (one of them)

The Wheel pushing 20,000 gallons per minute

The Canal

As we crossed the Sassafras River in Georgetown we stopped in the local marina looking for the Nellie Crockett. The NC was an oyster buy-boat built for Andrew Crockett. It was built specifically to operate at a boat that bought the oysters from the skipjacks and brought the harvest back to docks for sales. This enabled the skipjacks to continue harvesting oysters on the beds. We had to grab this picture from the bridge that crossed the Sassafras, since the boat is on private property and not readily accessible. 

We continued south on US 301 and crossed over into Annapolis for a bunch of targets. We have passed thru here a couple times but never really spent any time so to speak. First up was the Maryland Statehouse, which is the oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, dating back to 1772.  It has the distinction of being topped by the largest wooden dome constructed without nails in the US. I wonder how I find the largest one constructed with nails.

We grabbed 4 houses that are National Historic Landmarks, while we were here. 

The Brice House which was occupied by James Brice who was the Mayor of Annapolis and acting Governor of Maryland in 1792.

The Paca House was owned by William Paca a signer of the Declaration of Independence the Governor of Maryland. The house was built between 1763 and 1765.

The Chase-Lloyd House dates back to 1769-1774. It was started for Stuart Chase, who was a signed of the DOI and sold it unfinished to Edward Lloyd.

Right across the street is the Hammond-Harwood House, also a NHL’r. It is premier colonial houses in the US form the British colonial period. It was designed by William Buckland, a noted architect of the day. It was designed and built for a wealthy farmer and modeled after the Villa Pisani in Italy.

It was time for a visit to the US Naval Academy. We entered thru one of the gates close to the chapel. As soon as we rounded the bend, there was a flash and a really really loud clap. It made both of us jump. We tried to get into the Chapel but the doors were locked. More thunder, we decided to head back to the car. No sooner than we got into the Mini, the clouds were ripped open and bigger than buckets of rain fell. It was raining so hard, it was hard to see where we were driving. This was one of those moments I turned to MeAsWe and said I am sure glad we are not on the bike.

We got out of Annapolis and headed further south on Rt 2, heading for the London Town Publik House. It was still pouring, but figured we were so close that we might as well try to grab the place.  We got there and it was still raining but the sky had the brightening look to it, so we sat in the Mini and waited and watch the sky clear up. Our patience was rewarded and we were able to grab some pictures.

This place was the home of William Brown and a Colonial era tavern. It was built between 1758 and 1764. Sometime after it was built, William found himself a bit overextended and had to let it go to James Dick, who was holding paper on the joint.  It was operated as a county poor house from 1828 to 1965. It is a museum now.

 We attempted one more place Tulip Hill, which is a plantation and had no luck finding it. On the list was about 5 more places to grab, however most of them were in the Fredericksburg area and we could grab them since we were going to be there for 4 days. We called it a day and headed for our hotel. 

We pulled in right around 7:30. I had booked the Best Western before we left thru Priceline and got a good price. At the desk I said reservations for Bill Collins and the manager said I don’t see anything under that name. I went out to the car and got my reservation slip and was reading as I was walking in. It is 9/12 and the reservations were bought and paid for 9/19.  What an idiot I was. Now what. The manager found the reservations and simply moved the dates back one week. He didn’t have to do that and I was grateful that he did. It would have sucked if I had to pay for 4 days that I was never going to use.

To view the photos as a slide show CLICK HERE

Todays travels.

 

Elephants Pumpkins Sailors and Horns

MeAsWe and I did another road trip with one big change. This time we went via Mini CooperS versus the FJR. MeAsWe has been having problems mounting the pillion and my desire to ride has waned this year. After the completion of my last IBA National Park Tour, it seems, at least for now, I have accomplished all that I dreamed of, on the bike. With well over 150,000 miles since 2005, it was time for a change. With that said some things changed and some things remained the same. Gone was the contest chasing like Smoke Chasing and GLMC annual grand tour. Still intact is the routing via mini destinations, like National Historic Landmarks, staying off the interstates and using the back roads to see stuff and stopping on a dime and turning around to go back for some obscure object.

On Wednesday, 9/11 we took over for a journey with the first overnight at my sister’s house in Toms River. We headed out the Mass Pike, down thru Hartford on I84 and then to Somers NY for the Elephant Hotel, a NHL (National Historic Landmark). Halchaliah Bailey bought an African Elephant, named “Old Bet”, which he planned to use for farm work.  This oddity attracted a lot of attention, so instead of farming, Bailey went on the road showing off “Old Bet”. During the 1830’s the old style circus and Bailey’s attractions formed the modern day circus. Somers is known as the “Cradle of the American Circus”. Old Bet died while on tour and was buried in front of the building.

Now that you know the story, the place I stopped at, as pictured is NOT the Elephant Hotel in Somers, just some other mansion that I thought was the Elephant Hotel. I figured this out when I got home. (Note: pictures are clickable and will enlarge)

Next site was the Van Cortlandt Manor in Corton-On-Hudson, NY. Designated as a NHL in 1961, the house was built on the foundation of an old fort pre-1700’s. It served as a stopover place during the Revolution for Rochambeau, Lafayette, von Steugen and Washington. Initially I had trouble locating the house, because where I had it waypointed (where NPS put it) was not there. A quick question to a local coming out of the package store yielded no results, so I turned to a local citizen coming out of the Post Office and quickly got an answer. She asked me if I was going down there to carve pumpkins, to which I shrugged my shoulders in bewilderment, much like the first person I asked. Grabbed the first picture, walked around the corner and grabbed another one and headed up the driveway. Folks were banging in stakes, hanging pumpkins and getting ready for some kind of festival. Now I understood the pumpkin comment. As I lifted my camera two folks approached me and told me I was not permitted to take any pictures. I explained I was an amateur photographer and history chaser and he answered those are the orders from above. I complied, sort of and headed back to the Mini.

Passing thru Ossining was a bear with its traffic. Headed over the Tappan Zee Bridge and down the Garden State Parkway.  We are headed for Staten Island for some sites. The last time I was on Staten Island, I was 17, lifeguarding at St Cloud Swim Club and headed for Ohio University at the end of the summer. Me and a couple friends headed over to SI in my father’s 1963 Pontiac Bonneville to purchase beer. The trunk in this car was huge and we filled it with cases of Schlitz. We were having a party at my friends John’s house whose mother was recently divorced and allowed us to drink in the basement. He had a custom 1949 to 1951 Mercury, black with flames on the front fenders and hood. It was so cool.

Well the Garmin routed us right thru Jersey City into Bayonne and crossed the Bayonne Bridge to Staten Island. The traffic was atrocious for next 3 miles or so and probably took us 45 minutes. I turned to MeAsWe and said I am sure glad we are not on the bike. Getting out of the traffic and crossed the Kill Van Kull (the body of water underneath the bridge) we got to pay 13.00 for our aggravation.

The Bayonne Bridge was constructed in 1931 and is the 5^th longest steel arch bridge. In 1931 it was the longest in the world. It is 5780 feet long and clears the water below at 150 feet.

First stop is Sailors’ Snug Harbor, a NHL, was once the home for aged sailors. It opened in 1833 and was the country’s first home for retired merchant seamen. It began with a row of 5 Greek Revival temples like buildings, and is regarded as "the most ambitious moment of the classic revival in the United States".  

The site also includes a pretty neat fountain with Neptune sitting in the middle as he sits on a shell held up by sea monsters.

If you ever find yourself in Staten Island this is worth the stop.

Along the coastline we headed for Elizabeth Alice Austen’s house, a NHL. She was a photographer and struggling was a nice description of her life, declared a pauper and was admitted to the New York City Farm Colony, Staten Island’s poorhouse. In 1950 her works we rediscovered and earned enough money to move into a private nursing home, and died in 1951.  The house was built in the 1690’s. It sits just on the shore of the NY harbor on the section called the Narrows. One can see the Verrazano Narrows suspension bridge from the property and watch the huge tankers leave for the high seas. Even thou it is located in one of the busiest areas there is a sense of peace and tranquility here.

 

 

The Voorlezer’s House is the oldest known schoolhouse in the America, built before 1696. It was designated as a NHL in 1961.  

We headed for the Conference House located on the southern tip of Staten Island. It also in a NHL and was right near the bridge to cross back over to New Jersey. As we approached the next site, which was clearly marked, we noticed there was inordinate amount of 14 wheelers parked on the streets. We drove around the block and all available parking spots were taken up by the trucks. Something was going on. A second pass around the block, I stopped and asked a local, what the heck is going on. He said they have been filming Boardwalk Empire for the last couple of weeks. Well that clinched our next move, there was no way we were gonna even get close to the place and if we did the picture was going to be filled with booms, wires, cameras and movie stars. Who wants a picture like that? So the Conference House will remain of the list of places to go to.  

It is getting later in the afternoon, I had promised my sister we would arrive at her house by 5:30pm and we have 3 more stops. Either we are gonna have to turn back the clocks in the world to give us more time or cut out some spots. I opted for cutting some locations but only 2. I have been chasing the Holmdel Horn Antennae for 4 years and have ridden to the area at least 2 times, never finding it. This time I used Google maps, with the satellite view to precisely locate it.

We arrived at Alcatel-Lucent property which states we need to stop into the building before proceeding. I see the sign for the antennae that goes up a hill. I start to head for the hill and MeAsWe reminds me about stopping in the office, with a sigh, I do. I told the security person what I wanted and he said ok, but you must go up there and come right back down. I walked out the building and there was one of the researchers entering the building and we got into a conversation. He started with a bunch of tech stuff and I said I just wanted a picture because it is a Landmark. The security guy comes out and then confirms with the researcher if it would be ok if I went up there and the researcher said, by all means.  

Researchers got me thinking, what they do all day at work. Sit around and talk theory, test a little of this and think, write stuff on the chalk board, in lab books and stare up at the ceiling. Then one day they have an epiphany where it all comes together, just like Fermi pulling out the carbon block at the Columbia University at Pupin Hall and said Ah Ha I knew it would work.

After 4 years I finally captured this baby. It is really quite kewl. It is a radio telescope used in the 1960’s by Bell Laboratories. It was designated as a NHL in 1988 because of its association with Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, astronomers, who discovered microwave background radiation. It was one of the most important discoveries in cosmology, providing evidence in the “Big Bang” theory for the creation of the universe. How this did that and what microwave radiation is I don’t have a clue, but there was the Holmdel Horn Antennae right in front of me.

The security guy had followed us up there, left and came back. He then said in Jersey sarcasm, what are you rebuilding the thing. If I wasn’t from Jersey, I might have gotten offended. Instead we got into a discussion about what we do, traveling all over the place. He then disclosed after 42 years of marriage, his wife had left him for the boyfriend she was going out with when she started dating him way back when. Go figa. I suggested a motorcycle, which he said he was considering a Sportster. We talked about some other stuff, like his anger at the guy and I said he really has nothing to do with it and if he was going to be angry it should be directed at her. The boyfriend was just an innocent bystander. I am not sure I convinced him of this. Getting late, we thanked him and headed for Toms River.

To see a slideshow of the pictures CLICK HERE

 

Peeps, Cars and Rides

The other night we headed over to Imperial's Annual Car Show.

Slide Show Here



Roping in the Lil Guys

Jugglin Life

Then there were some cars

Folks having some fun

Spin Me Like a Top

Conversation to be made and had

Lots of Peeps showed up

Some music

More Cars

This car brings back some memories. I used to play around with TR3's in my earlier days. I still have some parts lying around in places for these cars.

Some very tall celebrities

And finally some wise em guys