Thursday, May 5, 2011

Day 29 My Old New York Home

The temperature never got much higher than the mid 40s today. When I left a month ago the temperature was 27F and when I arrived home at 11:25 AM the temperature was 42F. I am thinking I had no affect on the weather whatsoever.
Since I arranged to pay for the gasoline up front, I purchased no gasoline on the return trip from New Jersey.
I left New Jersey at 8:20 AM after the grandchildren had boarded the bus for school and met with rain just about all the way home. This concludes the first leg of my vacation trip this year with the second leg heading to the North Country to Maine and possibly Canada.
So I will be signing off now but hope to see everyone again in September. I also plan to summarize this trip in about a month when all the bills are in. So until then,
Thanks everyone!

The Traveller

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Day 28 - Another Jersey Day

The temperature warmed up a bit today as it topped out at 79F. It felt even warmer when I walked the Monmouth Battlefield State Park tour in the open fields.
No gasoline purchased today, thank goodness!
I spent a great deal of time taking the walking tour of the Monmouth Battlefield State Park. It was quite a jaunt as the path has not been mowed as yet, only from where it was the past season. The Battle that took place here on June 28, 1778 was one of the largest Battles of the American Revolutionary War. The two combatants were basically George Washington and Charles Lee. It is estimated that there were over 1100 British and 500 American casualties. I also spent a bit of time in Freehold and Caldwell, New Jersey visiting the birthplaces of Bruce and Grover Cleveland.
My trip is coming to a close as I am heading for home tomorrow. I am doubtful that anything will catch my eye as I have traveled this many times before but I will be on an extra lookout.
So I am saying goodnight to all!

The Traveller

Bruce Birthplace


This picture shows where Bruce lived during his early years in Freehold, New Jersey. It is basically the same house on the outside with the exception of new siding.

D'Annae: A French, Swedish-Style-4-Pounder


This replica of the D'Annae is shown at Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Manalapan, New Jersey. In 1777, the Continental Army was in desperate need of more field artillery. The French obliged the Colonists by sending 31 of these D'Annae to them. Eventually some of these 31 came to Monmouth Battlefield.
These D'Annae cannons require a large gun crew to move, load, point, and fire the gun, supply ammunition, and hold the horses. One of the gun crew was a female by the name of Molly Hays who carried the ammunition from the crew who filled haversacks with cartridges from the ammunition horses to the crew member who loads the cartridges. From this actual event came a 'Molly Pitcher' myth about a woman who was a water-carrier who took over firing canons after her husband had been killed.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Day 27 Morristown Revolutionary Day

Temperature remained in the 60s today with a high of 68F. Hopefully warmer weather is ahead.
I Purchased gasoline today at $3.799/gallon. I am really keeping a keen eye on the gas pumps these days.
I spent this afternoon in Morristown, New Jersey visiting Morristown National Historic Park. It consists of three sites, the Ford Mansion, Fort Nonsense, and Jockey Hollow that were important during the American Revolutionary War which began in 1775 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
I am thinking that Monmouth Battlefield State Park might be on my agenda tomorrow.
Goodnight folks!

The Traveller

Ford Mansion


Located in Morristown, New Jersey, the Ford Mansion was used as George Washington's headquarters during December 1789 to June of 1790 to Map out Military Strategy in the Northern and Southern Theaters with the French. While this was happening, 10,000 of Washington's troops were gathering in Jockey Hollow to build huts and shelters. Dogged by hunger and biting cold, the soldiers spent most of their free time huddled around the fireplace. This Battle turned out to be one for the Environment.

Fort Nonsense Location


Although no records exist from historical times to tell us what the fortifications here looked like, archaeological evidence revealed the location of walls and ditches at this site. The stone markings in this picture show this outline of the walls and ditches that make up the redoubt or Fort Nonsense. George ordered the construction of this small fortification on the hill overlooking Morristown, New Jersey to protect his Army and supplies from a British attack. George was one who always looked for the high ground. As it turned out, the British never came and the fortification was never called on to defend the town.