The Brandywine River Valley

There is so much to see in this area! I had a very difficult time deciding which direction we should head on our last day in the Philadelphia vicinity. Longwood Gardens or Chanticleer? Historic Kennett Square or Chadd's Ford and the N.C. Wyeth studios? Winterthur or even a fun looking giant playhouse? My boys really wanted to see the rest of the Brandywine battlefield but I wasn't sure we could spend a whole day there, so instead of heading north out of the hotel parking lot, I made an impulsive right and went south to the Hagley Museum. And I was glad I did.

We could have spent a full day at this idyllic riverside mill which was founded by the duPont family in the early 19th century. The duPont family came to the United States in 1800 to escape the ravages of the French Revolution. After several failed business ventures, they settled on the banks of the Brandywine River in Delaware and started a mill to produce better quality black powder. Their story is told at the Hagley Museum. I found it fascinating. My boys liked the gunpowder explosion demo and all the old stone structures in the powder yard available for climbing. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

We picnicked on the property and then rushed over to the Brandywine Battlefield, determined to squeeze it in before picking Casey up at 3:00. Due to a sleeping four year old, we only had time to drive through the park and visit the grand, 300+ year old sycamore tree. The tree was the highlight. It witnessed the defeat of the Continental army on September 11, 1777. We made sure to gather plenty of sticks to bring home; inexpensive, precious souvenirs.

A couple of the many stone structures that house the black powder roll mills. They were all open to the river so if (when) there was an explosion, the force of the blast was directed across the river.

The canal which runs between the powder yard and the rest of the community.

In the machine shop. All the tools were original, from the mid-1800s, and powered by a turbine on the banks of the river. This demo was about an hour long and very interesting! It even kept my boys' attention (mostly). I kept wishing my dad was with us; he'd have loved it.

He's going to space! Mama needs a break. :)

BT looking for just the right stick under the old sycamore.

Riding home. He slept like this for almost two hours. Finding the perfect stick is hard work.

Philadelphia adventures

A long weekend trip with Casey to the city of brotherly love. Here are a few pictures of our first two days, which included a walking tour downtown with Katy, my mom's cousin, and a visit to Valley Forge with great-uncle Brook and his sweet wife, Bambi. Every day spent with Uncle Brook is memorable! I wanted my boys to meet him.

Bereket thoroughly impressed my cousin by walking into this room, pointing at this picture and asking, "Isn't that Willliam Penn?" Sure is.

A huge city map at the Philadelphia History Museum. We also got to see George Washingtons' desk, John Brown's gun, and the beaded belt given to Wm. Penn by the Lanapai indians along with the land that would come to be Pennsylvania.

Visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington Square.

Know why we say "upper case" and "lower case" for letter differentiation? Comes from the cases that the letters were kept in in the print shop. "Big letters" were kept in the upper case, and "little letters" in the lower case and each has its own place (similar to the keyboard) so the typist could easily find the letter they were needing.

A highlight for my boys. Drilling like a real soldier in the Continental Army at Valley Forge. What do you think they've been doing every day since?

Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge.

A field where part of the Battle of Brandywine was fought.

Another battle field that has been reclaimed by millions of grape hyacinths. Lovely!