Valley Forge and Philadelphia

Following on yesterday's post, we eventually made our way to the Visitor's Center, saw a short film, then drove around the park, stopping to see the little house that was George Washington's headquarters during the winter encampment (1777-78).

After a late lunch with Rachel, we dropped her off at her nanny house so that she could get ready for a regional church dance she would be attending that night in New York City. We went back to the King of Prussia Mall to check out a pen store there, then back to the hotel for some down time. (All these places were within a few miles of each other.)

Saturday evening, we went into Philadelphia to meet Tom (whom we had met on our Corsican cycling trip) and Michael for drinks at (what used to be) the Bellevue Hotel near Walnut and Broad. It wasn't until later during our conversation that Tom pointed out that this was the place where Legionnaires' Disease broke out in the late 70's. The hotel was forced to close because no one would stay there. So far as I'm aware, however, we made it through the next hour or so without contracting anything (except, perhaps, for a slight case of inebriation).

From the Bellevue, we walked to Tinto, a Basque restaurant, where we had a great meal and even better conversation. It was a fun, fun evening.

I'll write about yesterday in my next post. We're now in Washington and are getting ready to go out for breakfast. Today's agenda: Mt. Vernon, Monuments and Memorials.