2/17/99 - Day 9 - Here's an updated map of my current progress:

Quick Note:  They just mentioned the snowman on the local news.  It's now over 80 feet tall and they've made a huge scarf and hat for the snowman.  It already looks like it's significantly taller than it was a few days ago when I was there.

Yesterday I made my way into Philadelphia.   After seeing the more interesting 'lock your doors' part of Philadelphia as well as having an interesting conversation with an old woman asking for money, I made it to the historic part of town.  There is a lot to see in Philadelphia.  Unlike Boston, the historic attractions are spread throughout the city.  I chose one portion - Independence Historic Park - and saw the attractions surrounding the area.  Once I got to my destination, I walked around looking for Independence Historic Park.  My map seemed to be inaccurate.  Nevertheless, I stumbled upon the Park's visitor center.  I asked the gum-chewing-New Yorker-looking lady the best historic places to see considering my hour and a half time limit (that's what I had on the parking meter).   She pointed out some important places.  I was on my way to get a quick tour of Philadelphia.  My first stop was Independence Hall.  You'll see two pictures of the inside, as well one of the outside.  The pictures of the inside is the sight where the Declaration of Independence was signed.  I didn't take a picture, but on the opposite side of the hall was where the first Supreme Court was located while Philadelphia was the country's capital.  I strolled across the street to see the most famous bell in the world.  I've heard that you used to be able to touch the Liberty Bell.  Nowadays you can only take photos (although, the guide kept touching it - I guess he's special).  The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia was my next stop.   The mint was very interesting but unfortunately, you are not permitted to take any photos.  Too bad, I considered it to be a very interesting exhibit.  You are led on a self-guided tour which tells the of history of minting currency and medals.  On the second portion of the tour, you can look down upon the area where the coins are actually made.  It's a very interesting process.  I guess you'll have to see it in person.  I saw a few more buildings from the outside.  Some of the smaller exhibits like Carpenter's Hall were closed for the day.  The rest of the sites took a considerable amount of time to see.  My timing was impeccable.  I returned to the car with 15 minutes left on the meter - enough time to find my next destination.   After driving again through the 'door-locking district', I headed out on the main highway.  It was yet another sunny day and the temperature reached a sizzling 63 degrees.  Time to open the windows and sing baby!

Dover, Delaware was my next stop.  I looked at Wilmington which was closer, but it seemed to be just another place in the seemingly endless string of congestion and city that plagued New England.  On my drive down to Delaware, and after passing Wilmington, the scenery changed dramatically.  It felt more like something out of rural Indiana.  The terrain was flat and the houses were spread out.  Gone were the tall buildings, huge interstates, and people rushing around.  I was especially surprised when I entered the Dover city limit.  Dover is the smallest, most pleasant state capital I have ever visited.  From the pictures below, you'll see there are no tall buildings or people rushing around.  In fact there was almost no one around when I took the photos.  One notable fact:  Dover was the country's first state capital.

I turned in early for the day.  There was a Sheraton down the road and I chose it as my home for the evening.  It was really nice to stop early in the day.  You have more time to wind down and relax.  I went to the hotel sports bar, had some dinner, then came back up around 7:30.  Interesting fact:  While I was visiting the parents in Hawaii over the Christmas holidays, Wheel of Fortune was being taped at the Hilton Hotel.  Well, I flipped on the tube and there was Wheel of Fortune - the one they were taping while I was there.  It's interesting to see the places you walk on national television.  I believe they are doing a full week, so those of you who are reading this as it's current should flip on Wheel of Fortune and check out the other place I live.

I want to visit a friend in Virginia, but unfortunately I neither know where he lives or what his number is.  I tried a few unsuccessful numbers before I had to check out of the hotel.  I'll see what I can find tonight and tomorrow.  My today consisted of less planning.  I plugged in Virginia Beach as my destination.  I headed South after pulling out of the Sheraton.   I had a big craving for some donuts, so I found me a Dunkin' Donuts.  I purchased a dozen donuts which served as my lunch and dinner for the day.  I drove along while munching my donuts and saw the sign for Dover Air Force Base.  I drove in and looked around.  I also saw a sign for the Air Mobility Command Museum.   It sounded interesting so I decided I would take a look.  The place was practically empty, which is understandable considering the weekday and time of year.   I walked in and looked around for a couple of moments.  A man named Sid walked up said, "Oh, I didn't hear you come in.  Are you here to see the museum?"   I told him I was.  He said there weren't many people here today and he was going to give me a personal tour.  It was nice having a personal guide to show you every exhibit.  The museum houses mainly memorabilia about the AMC, but there were some other artifacts relating to W.W.II.  He showed me some very interesting exhibits.  One was a painted P-51 named "Bunnie".  It was painted just like the airplane of a brave Tuskegee airman - I wish I could remember the whole story.   He also told me of the Candy Bombers (I think that's what they were called).   A military man in Germany noticed the starving children and their need.   Basically, he tied candy bars to hand made parachutes and dropped them from cargo planes as they flew over.  Another little known fact about W.W.II was the WASP.   WASP stands for Women Air Force Service Pilots.  These women were the people who would fly the planes from the factories to the coast for the Air Force pilots to take them off to war in Europe.  By having these women fly the planes, they freed the military men to fly in wartime.  They were unique in many ways.  First, they were able to fly many different types of aircraft, unlike most Air Force pilots, who were specialized in only one plane.  Second, they were managed by the Air Force, but they weren't actually in the Air Force.  These civilian pilots were paid low wages and would not hold nearly the same recognition should they die while flying.  Sid showed me quite a bit and would go into great detail when explaining.  The museum wasn't enormous, but the exhibits held a lot of information and history.  There were quite a few unique facts that I did not know about.  I would recommend taking a visit to Air Mobility Command Museum if you're visiting Dover.  The museum is open to the public 9am to 4pm Monday through Saturday.

I continued my trek south after the museum.   The drive was mostly uneventful.  I came upon my town as I was driving.   I figured it would be a good idea to take a drive through Salisbury, Maryland.   In fact, you'll find a photo of my car dealership below.  Ok, not really.   While I was at the Ford dealer, I took a look at the new Ford Mustang.  I like the redesign of the Mustang.  It has a newer, meaner look to it.  I've put the Mustang on my list of cars.  Those of you who know me are aware that I was looking to purchase a new vehicle.  I was looking at the SVT Mustang Cobra as one of a few possible alternatives to my more expensive first choice, the Lexus GS 400.  At around $30,000, the Cobra is significantly less expensive than the Lexus, yet it's a specialty car not everybody will have.  Unfortunately, the dealer didn't have a Cobra to look at.  They did have a regular Mustang GT.  It was my first up-close look at the new design.  Not a bad car.  I chatted with the saleswoman for a while.   She seemed amazed that I was travelling around the country.  I had told her I planned to call it quits around 8:00 pm.  My timing was right on.  At exactly 8:00 pm I passed by a new looking Best Western in a small town while driving through the Virginia peninsula.  The place is new and their rates were reasonable.

So here I am, in a no-name town.  Can't say what plans for tomorrow will be.  I know it will be very short notice if I can contact my friend and he does work almost full-time.  But I would like to be able to at least get some lunch or dinner while I'm in his area.  I will probably buy some time and visit Virginia Beach.  I'm sure you all know it's quite a tourist spot in the summer.  I'll see what it has to offer...

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