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R. dropped me at the Enterprise a fraction of a mile from the Honda dealership. I picked up a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (I had asked for a midsize, which was described as a Toyota Corolla or similar). It’s fine. R. stayed and the grinding noise was something stuck between the caliper and the pad that wiped out the pad completely. So that was another $600 but nice to know we will be able to safely drive home and not have to hear that horrible noise anymore.
I drove A. and I down to Valley Forge Visitor Center. R. drove himself and his bike down in the now fixed van. My sister came down with her group. We walked around the visitor center. My sister’s family did the movie in the Theater, but my group skipped it. Back in Doylestown, T. rode his bike to see a movie.
There were some really great exhibits at the Visitor Center. I learned that a “housewife” (small object made of horn) is a minimalist sewing kit. I learned that 35% of the Revolutionary army at Valley Forge did not speak English as a first langue. I learned that when the encampment was at Valley Forge, it was the 4th largest city in the States. !!!
Also, there was a world map with a selection of _other_ British Empire engagements overlapping our Revolutionary War. It wasn’t just about the French! There were engagements with the Spanish, the Dutch, the Maratha, another group on the subcontinent. Also, John Paul Jones made it all the way to Whitehaven where he planned to kidnap the Earl of Selkirk but had to settle for stealing the silver! That truly was a World War, and of course A. is like but why don’t they teach it that way. And I’m like, people teach history based on the materials available to them. And clearly this wasn’t, because _I_ didn’t know it from this lens. We talked a bit about internal conflicts that draw in other people to help win and how that just never goes particularly well for the initial participants.
We drove the short route over to the Train Station, which was fun to get a look at. My sister’s group went down to Washington’s Headquarters, which my group skipped. We all went over to City Works in King of Prussia for lunch, so I got to have the cauliflower. Yum!
R. went back to the Train Station / Washington’s HQ parking lot to park and ride his bike.
A. and I went for a swim in the hotel pool. My sister and K. joined us for a bit, then K. went back up to the room and eventually A. and I got out too. I also did laundry. I forgot to put soap in, and honestly, that was fine. Which is always a weird observation to make. I did remember to put soap in for T.’s laundry as he was doing his laundry at the same time. The machines took credit/debit payment cards, which is awesome. It seems like up to $2, they leave it at quarters, but when they go to payment cards, it goes to $2.50 or more, and I am _so_ okay with that just to not have to deal with quarters. Altho I did _bring_ some quarters.
We weren’t really sure what to do about dinner. I wound up making A. a grilled cheese. My nieces didn’t want to leave the hotel again. B., R. and I went over to The Cage and had cocktails and small plates; I had noticed a sign for it by the side of the road when I was narrating the drive back to entertain A. and thought, hey, that might be good. I looked it up online and was impressed. I was even more impressed experiencing it. I had the bao and a salad at The Cage.
I drove A. and I down to Valley Forge Visitor Center. R. drove himself and his bike down in the now fixed van. My sister came down with her group. We walked around the visitor center. My sister’s family did the movie in the Theater, but my group skipped it. Back in Doylestown, T. rode his bike to see a movie.
There were some really great exhibits at the Visitor Center. I learned that a “housewife” (small object made of horn) is a minimalist sewing kit. I learned that 35% of the Revolutionary army at Valley Forge did not speak English as a first langue. I learned that when the encampment was at Valley Forge, it was the 4th largest city in the States. !!!
Also, there was a world map with a selection of _other_ British Empire engagements overlapping our Revolutionary War. It wasn’t just about the French! There were engagements with the Spanish, the Dutch, the Maratha, another group on the subcontinent. Also, John Paul Jones made it all the way to Whitehaven where he planned to kidnap the Earl of Selkirk but had to settle for stealing the silver! That truly was a World War, and of course A. is like but why don’t they teach it that way. And I’m like, people teach history based on the materials available to them. And clearly this wasn’t, because _I_ didn’t know it from this lens. We talked a bit about internal conflicts that draw in other people to help win and how that just never goes particularly well for the initial participants.
We drove the short route over to the Train Station, which was fun to get a look at. My sister’s group went down to Washington’s Headquarters, which my group skipped. We all went over to City Works in King of Prussia for lunch, so I got to have the cauliflower. Yum!
R. went back to the Train Station / Washington’s HQ parking lot to park and ride his bike.
A. and I went for a swim in the hotel pool. My sister and K. joined us for a bit, then K. went back up to the room and eventually A. and I got out too. I also did laundry. I forgot to put soap in, and honestly, that was fine. Which is always a weird observation to make. I did remember to put soap in for T.’s laundry as he was doing his laundry at the same time. The machines took credit/debit payment cards, which is awesome. It seems like up to $2, they leave it at quarters, but when they go to payment cards, it goes to $2.50 or more, and I am _so_ okay with that just to not have to deal with quarters. Altho I did _bring_ some quarters.
We weren’t really sure what to do about dinner. I wound up making A. a grilled cheese. My nieces didn’t want to leave the hotel again. B., R. and I went over to The Cage and had cocktails and small plates; I had noticed a sign for it by the side of the road when I was narrating the drive back to entertain A. and thought, hey, that might be good. I looked it up online and was impressed. I was even more impressed experiencing it. I had the bao and a salad at The Cage.