I’ve been waiting all day for the second light in the belfry but am sure there’s a reasonable explanation for the delay.
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My plans this coming (expanded) weekend
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
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Seriously, Neshaminy has a rabid fanbase, a lot of grads stick around the area.
that's how I would have described their students, back in the day, with the accent on rabid.
I’ll have you know that I was a very nice boy.that's how I would have described their students, back in the day, with the accent on rabid.
Ah, so the door is open for a brief period, should I try........
Ah, so the door is open for a brief period, should I try........
you're a week late, as my trip was last Thursday thru Sunday (11/13-11/16).
I caught a bunch of the Ken Burns documentary on PBS last night. My wife and I absolutely loved it. Both of our families were in the Philadelphia area before the revolution and had family members fight in it and sign the Declaration of Independence.you're a week late, as my trip was last Thursday thru Sunday (11/13-11/16).
I'm a bit behind on a show/series/documentary that you'd think I wouldn't want to miss.
My flight on Sunday didn't get home until after Episode 1 started, and I wasn't going to miss the Birds' game. Then on Tuesday, I had to attend a group I'm a member of that is focused on the American Revolution (it had the lightest attendance I can recall since we resumed in-person meetings after the pandemic; I wonder why). At this point, I've only watched episodes 1 & 2.
So far, there have been a few, small things I'd quibble with, but overall, what was depicted in the aforementioned episodes has been, for the most part, excellent. I know, and converse with on a periodic basis, about 2/3 of the authors and historians shown in the aforementioned episodes, and Burns got some top-notch experts to talk about various aspects of the American Revolution. I was kind of shocked to see Bernard Bailyn interviewed, as he died in 2020. I thought, perhaps, that Burns had repackaged interviews with Bailyn that he'd made for his series on Franklin. But it turns out that Burns has been working on The American Revolution since 2015. (Bailyn was THE giant in the field of research on the American Revolution for a great part of his academic career, and many of the historians on the subject -- many of whom themselves have reached reached retirement age in the past decade -- studied under him. As such, his impact on the field can not be overstated.)
I look forward to watching the rest of the series; just a lot of things I have to get done before Thanksgiving.
We have loved it so far. I am lucky my wife's family owned the home of Andalusia in Philadelphia on the delaware river if you are familiar with it. Her family member edited the Lewis and Clark Journals. We get some pretty cool tours there when they have family reunions there.
In the early 70's, just a greenhorn 21-yr old in the bridge field, I was invited by a team of 5 experienced engineers in our Harrisburg office to work on various projects in the Michael Baker Jr. Jacksonville office. We were in Mississippi most of the summer and had Sundays to travel the state and its adjoining states. On one of our sightseeing missions, we landed at the Vicksburg Military National Park on high ground overlooking the great Mississippi river. Great time that day, the Park also shot a cannon ball (concrete) at a target several hundred yards distance. Quit a view of the 'River' and the town of Vicksburg, unfortunately, Mississippi was still racist at the time we were there (55 yrs ago) and witnessed a few altercations.you're a week late, as my trip was last Thursday thru Sunday (11/13-11/16).
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I didn't get much time to explore Camden. The Rev War Center was quite nice, and has a good museum. Other than that, most of my experience in Camden was either brief stops at places, seeing things as I drove past them, staying at a hotel, or going to a couple of restaurants.
As for the battlefields, they were excellent. I temper that with the acknowledgement that I was with a couple of folks that live in SC and were experts on the battlefields, and that the others with me were all Rev War fanatics, so there wasn't a need to spend time going over basics. For the Camden battlefield, I was really glad I was with the experts. One of them had done a substantial amount of archaeological digs in the park to establish where the many facets of the battle took place. Plus, if I recall correctly, it's land that was saved by the American Battlefield Trust, and there isn't a visitors center or a great deal of signage. Hanging Rock battlefield was also a place I was glad to have experts with us. I believe South Carolina has purchased land and established a park for that battlefield. However, it's located near, but not where most of the battle actually took place. The same expert that had done archaeological research at the battle of Camden had also established the location of most of the conflict, which is located on lands that are privately owned, but the two experts we were with have a good relationship with the owners, and we had permission to walk on their property.
We also checked out a few other minor skirmish locations, but most of those we didn't get off the bus for (combination of lack of time, and there wasn't a lot to see).
I could spend two weeks (or more) in South Carolina going to Rev War battlefields. I would have liked to have gotten to 96, but that's too far west. Similarly, I would have liked to have gotten to Charleston, and a few folks I was with did go there either before of after our events. But it was too far east, and my flight home was in Charlotte, NC, so I needed to head north. I had enough time to check out Kings Mountain on my drive to Charlotte. It's a National Park (or National Historical Park), so there is good signage, it has a nice visitors center, and rangers that were there to answer a few questions I had. I wasn't with my group for that, but the info available there was excellent, and Kings Mountain is a key battle for the Patriot forces. (Camden was a disaster for the Patriots, and Hanging Rock was good for the Patriots.)