Oh! The Humanity

Long before I knew the weather forecast, I identified last Saturday to emerge from my winter torpor. Having spent the long winter hunkered down in Philadelphia with but a short trip to Key West in January to stretch my legs, I was anxious to get out of town for a day. I originally planned to rent a car the first weekend in March--which had ideal weather for a daytrip. Learning of an opportunity to tour the site where the Hindenburg crashed in Lakehurst, New Jersey on a tour only offered the second Saturday of the month, I adapted my plans to participate.

I woke up Saturday to predicted wet weather. I intended to take the underground trolley to the car rental agency at the train station, but for whatever reason the line was not active. Having walked 3 blocks already, I chose to continue on foot the remaining 10 even though my 2-for-$10 umbrella was little help against the rain in the gusty winds.

After leaving the car rental counter, my first thought was "uh-oh" when I saw a Toyota Prius in the assigned space number. Without any sudden acceleration episodes, it turned out to be a fun car to try, though interior layout was a little too goofy for my liking. It did save me about $6 in gas versus a tradition 30 MPG rental.

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The pleasant drive to the tour rendezvous point in a church parking lot took about an hour and half. I arrived just before the appointed time (9:30 AM) and joined a few other cars to wait for the volunteer tour guides (both Navy veterans) who arrived shortly thereafter. However, we did not actually begin the caravan to the active Navy base until 10:00 AM.

We drove directly to the crash site. They didn't offer any narrative, but I that suspect had the weather been friendlier, we would have received an introduction. A small plaque, dirigible-shaped wind-vane, and yellow chain mark the site, while the massive hangar built to house the US military airship program dominated the background.

Hindenburg Crash Site

A small display room in that hangar was the next stop on the tour. Inside one guide talked about the Hindenburg disaster before passing the baton to another who went in to a lot of detail on the base and the US Navy's airship program. From the display room, we entered the main bay of the 800-ft long hangar, the most impressive site of the day with a ceiling towering far over head, forceful winds lashing against the building and rain dripping and pooling around us. The tour continued for another hour, touching on interesting military topics not related to airships before ending in another display room filled with scores of model planes among other artifacts. I left a little before noon.

Inside Hangar No. 1

The weather, an annoyance at the first stop, utterly ruined the second, Monmouth Battlefield. Somewhat surprised to find the door even unlocked, I started in the visitor center. The building, showing its age (ca. 1960) and the displays, informative but also dated, testify to New Jersey's fiscal plight. But I was glad to have somewhere to browse and the full-length windows provided a good view of the central part of the battlefield. In the first major battle after the Valley Forge winter, American earned its first open-field victory against British regulars in the war. Monmouth was also the last major battle fought in the northern states.

Monmouth Battlefield

I tried to brave to elements and get a closer look at the battlefield but didn't get off the main patio. Had I stayed out in such an unfavorable combination of wind, clod, and rain, I assuredly would have brought back a special souvenir, one of the medical variety. It is a true shame, because the battlefield is well preserved and quite scenic. The park brochure showed multiple trails with wayside signs scattered about, all I am sure I would have found interesting.

I spent the last part of the day at Sandy Hook, the corner of New Jersey opposite Long Island. Here the weather, coming right off the Atlantic, really blew with force. I stopped at the main visitor center, only the fourth person to enter all day, but didn't stay long. The lighthouse and history museum both further in the park, closed at five, if not sooner on account of the weather. I did venture out on to the beach, walking backward to shield my face from the slashing, sand-filled winds. There I got a good view of the rough ocean surf and the historic life-saving station that is now the visitor center.

Sandy Hook Life Saving Station

Sandy Hook lighthouse is the oldest extant lighthouse in the country and the only one to predate the Revolutionary War. I wasn't even sure it was open, but a knock on the lighthouse keepers house main door summoned a young, enthusiastic ranger. He was happy to take me up in the lighthouse, the first and most likely only visitor to do so the entire day. Clouds obscured all but the peninsula immediately surrounding the beacon. On a clear day, Manhattan is clearly visible.

Sandy Hook Lighthouse

The ranger recommended I next stop at a coastal battery, where volunteers were working on restoration work. When I arrived another ranger discouraged me from bothering them so I continued on to the history house, which turned out to be a restored officer's house on the former army base, Fort Hancock. The park service modeled to house to represent the typical quarters of a WWII-era officer. Again as the only visitor of the day, I got a personal tour. Normally, they leave people to wander about and read the signs. Like the guy at the lighthouse, the college-age ranger was quite enthusiastic. One room, the sewing room, had an old Simplicity pattern, a company based in Niles, on display.

History House on Officers Row

Before leaving the park, I walked around the abandoned buildings of Fort Hancock for short while. Though still miserable, the weather here permitted at least a short perambulation without great risk to my health. I returned to the car with my jeans, socks, and shoes complete soaked.

Fort Hancock Parade Grounds

On the way back to Philadelphia, I stopped at Cherry Hill Mall, my company's flagship property, to inspect the recently completed renovation. It was my first visit to the mall since the grand reopening. I had dinner in the food court and dodged the throngs of teenagers, a demographic not well-represented in downtown Philadelphia.

After dropping the car at 30th Street station, I enjoyed a nice walk home under conditions much nicer and more sedate that at the day's beginning.

Eastern State Penitentiary

I took advantage of the day off (President's Day) to visit Eastern State Penitentiary, a historic prison located about 1.5 miles northwest of my apartment building. Housing its first inmate in 1829, Eastern State pioneered the concept of attempting to reform inmates rather than just separate them from society. Its roots encased in Quaker philosophies, the "separate" or Pennsylvania system put each inmate in extreme, frankly cruel, isolation to foster repentance. The tour guide explained the practice didn't live up to the ideals of the founders and the officials abandoned it in the early 1900s. Tough the prison continued to operate under a the congregant philosophy (what we recognize today) until 1971.

I learned a lot on the tour, much more than expected. All around it was a great way for me to spend the morning.

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The prison was originally built on a hill beyond the edge of Philadelphia. As the town grew, it surrounded the prison. The guardhouse, the only way in or out, fronts on Fairmount Avenue. There's an elementary school off the northwest corner (not visible) of the building.

The hallway for Cell Block #1, the first constructed. They reconstructed this section to represent the original design. Prisoners took their food through the windows and entered the cell from a door the outside wall.

At the time when the White House still had to use chamber pots, the designers installed indoor plumbing in the prison. Not to be nice, but to facilitate the solitude required by the "separate" system.

Eevnutually expanded to 15 cell blocks, the prison has been out of use for nearly four decades, years that have not been kind to the old buildings. The non-profit operating the penitentiary today is raising money for a new roof, but in the main wants to keep the structures in their current appearance, while preventing decay and opening more sections to the public.

Al Capone and Willie Sutton are the two most famous inmates in the facilities history. Al Capone served eight months on a concealed weapons charge. Willie Sutton was involved in an elaborate tunnel escape that, but for 3 hours on the streets, was unsuccessful.

Extra Miler Club

While still an undergraduate at Michigan, I read a newspaper article about a group called the Extra Miler Club. For the most part, the club's members share the same goal, visit once in their lifetime each county in the United States. In the summer of 2000, with my first real solo excursion, a daytrip from Niles, Michigan to Turkey Run State Park in Parke County, Indiana, I started to keep track of the counties I entered and, in 2004, joined the club. Since that initial trip, I have tallied 689 counties, in 35 states, against a goal of 3,141. I could add at least 202 more counties to my total by including ones visited prior to 2000, but for now, I've left as my goal to re-enter each. With the exception of counties passed through on a cross-country train trip in 1992 and a few counties in upstate New York, I do believe I've identified every eligible county.

[Click on map for full-size pdf of the country. 1MB]

I do not recognize an airport layover, as sufficient to record a county, which only deprives me of a few counties. Any guesses on which ones? Though I'm only about fifth of the way to completion, I have obtained one of the universally-recognized most-difficult counties, Kalawao in Hawaii. Situated on the north shore of Molokai, it is the legal jurisdiction for the famous Kalaupapa leprosy settlement. Today, it is accessible to the public only by mule or plane. I utilized the former transport mode.

So far, I've finished five states—Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania—with designs to complete New Jersey and Maryland this year.

Snowy Day II:Invasion of the Snowmen

Normally a perambulation across the street, around the park, and back inside, all in less than twenty minutes wouldn't justify a blog post, but the fiercest blizzard in generations extenuate such an inclusion. Today, during the third major winter storm of the season, Philadelphia surpassed its all-time record for snow accumulation (65.5 inches) for Winter.

Transportation so precarious, our office, along with many in the city, closed for the day. With a slippery, four-block walk, I joined about a half-dozen other stalwarts at the office anyway. Despite contrary reports, I believe this is the first time in my six winters with PREIT, they closed the office. Already, they decided to cancel the workday tomorrow as well, certainly a first time occurrence. After I left for the day, I walked around Rittenhouse Square until I was too cold and wet to bear any more.

One benefit to receiving a lot of snow, is a surplus of material to construct snowmen. While I was working in my office, other Philadelpihans were busy crafting snowmen in the park. Here are a few pictures.

Artists Practicing their craft.

This guy was about 8 feet tall.

This head reminds me of something my brother Jon would do.
I was told rubbing his nose guarantees a male child.

This kid picked the wrong time to get a time-out.

And in a nod to diversity, a snowwomen. (All the others I saw were white males)

And a few more pictures of the park at its snowiest.

A good overview.

Looking East outside the park down Locust Street.

If today is a great day for football, it proves any day is a good day for football.

Snowy Day

We got a little bit of snow in Philadelphia today. My paper didn't come. Restaurants stayed closed. The gym shut down early. All interrupting my normal Saturday routine and giving me a chance to hole up inside for the day. Just to make sure I would appreciate the value of being huddled up in a what being huddled in warm apartment, I did venture out briefly around Noon to survey the blizzard's effect on the city. Here are a few pictures from my walk.

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