Bird Life makes spotting debris easier
September 26th/27th - In order to catch some of the tide heading north we had to time our departure for 6:30 am. This became interesting because the current at the dock ran over 3 knots. One of the local transients volunteered to help us with our lines early in the morning. This was one time we were very happy to have an extra set of hands. Once the Summer Wind was set loose, she motored up the tiny passageway rather quickly. Hmmmm this could be a good thing! However this morning not only did we have fog, but it was pea soup, dark grey fog. Oh, well the captain said we had only 30 miles until Philadelphia so it shouldn't be too bad. Well, the further north on the Delaware River, the narrower the river becomes. With the tide pushing us up at 9 knots and running 1200 rpm, you know we were moving. At times the captain had to throttle back to idle because there was so much debris in the water. On the radar we spotted several tug boats anchored. Thank goodness they leave their deck lights on because that made spotting them easier. Over the radio we heard tugs saying, "I'm not going any further until this fog lifts." We heard another voice saying, "I can see something on the radar moving very slow heading north." That was us! We called the marina to let them know we were coming but trying to move at a very slow pace. They reassured us that the fog was clearing up and we'd see daylight soon! Sure enough just before the Walt Whitman bridge the fog had lifted. We had a clear shot of where the marina entrance would be and so glad to finally dock the Summer Wind. We docked at the Piers City marina which are docks that used to be shipping piers. The warehouses have been converted into luxurious multimillion dollar condos.
John F. Kennedy Air Craft Carrier
Philadelphia Skyline
We spent two great days in Philadelphia exploring the city and reliving alot of the history. There is a new Visitors center that have theaters with short movies and guide information. We toured Independence hall, Congress Hall and visited the new Liberty Bell museum. We had walked the Carpenters Hall and visited Benjamin Franklin's home ( or where it would have been) and museum. Our friends Ted and Nancy had loaned us their John Adams story which are 6CDs which explains the history how the leaders of the 13 colonies established what is now the United States of America. Great leading men working for the good of the country, not just for themselves!
Independence Hall
Franklin Fountain
Liberty Bell Museum
Our afternoon was topped off with homemade ice cream from the Franklin Fountain. We enjoyed rich creamy ice cream in glass sundae dishes, served by soda jerks dressed in little white hats and bow ties and extremely polite and friendly. The fountain shop itself has mosaic floors, tin roof and an authentic soda fountain that you think has been in business for 60 or more years. However the shop itself is less then 10 years old but the atmosphere is one of going back in history.
Our second day we walked around a bit, not as vigorously , but just enjoyed the shops in Old Downtown. In the evening we enjoyed dinner with Denny and Sue who drove over from New Jersey.We had a wonderful meal and great company, Thanks Denny and Sue.
The view from our marina of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge
Sue & Denny
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