With more than 1,000 pictures shot over nine days, it wasn’t easy whittling it down to 10 photos. I went only with shots I hadn’t posted previously.

I hope you enjoy.

The first shot is a monument for the discovery of ether in Boston.

The second is a memorial for the U.S.S. Maine in Bangor, Maine. It includes actual relics recovered from the doomed battleship.

The third is a monument for the Double Eagle II, the first successful transatlantic balloon fight, in Presque Isle, Maine.

The fourth is for the Minuteman statue on Lexington Green in Mass.

The fifth is for the Orchard House, the home Louisa May Alcott, in Concord, Mass.

The sixth, in Princeton, NJ, is for the radio broadcast of War of the Worlds.

The seventh is for the first professional basketball game in Trenton, NJ.

The eighth is for Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The ninth is for the U.S.S. Olympia, permanently berthed at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia.

The tenth is a state marker for Mother’s Day in Philadelphia.

Before we made the 5 ½ hour trip back to Raleigh, we spent the morning and early afternoon in and around the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore. As a Yankee fan, I was definitely into getting a picture of Babe Ruth’s birthplace, which is now a museum.

We then made our way to the water to tour three ships, all of whom are national landmarks.

The U.S.S. Constellation, completed in 1854, is the last pure sailing ship built by the U.S. Navy. The U.S.C.G. Taney was the last surviving ship from the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Overall, it was a great trip. If you count the new marker we unexpectedly ran into on U.S. 1 in North Carolina as we headed back today, we picked up snarfs in seven states and one Canadian province. We logged 2,343 miles in the rental.

To simplify things, I’m going to post here at the end some of the pictures we shot today

The first shot is of a statue of Babe Ruth at Camden Yards.
The second shot is of a Maryland state marker about wrestling.
The third shot is of the U.S.S. Constellation.
The fourth shot is of the U.S.C.G. Taney.
The final shot is of the Phoenix Shot Tower, which was the tallest structure in the U.S. between 1828-1846.

   

   

We started the day by backtracking to Princeton Junction, NJ, to look for a plaque commemorating the 60th anniversary of the “War of the World” radio broadcast. Aired in 1938, more than 1 million people believed the planet was under a real attack by Martians. Orson Welles helped make it more meaningful to folks by inserting real places, including having a Martian craft land in Grover’s Mill, which is near Princeton Junction.

We next headed to Trenton, the state capitol of New Jersey. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let us do a self-guided tour of the State Capitol building. Citing 9/11 security rules, they said we had to wait for the afternoon guided tours. We didn’t want to lose any additional time in Philadelphia so we split.

A good chunk of the afternoon was spent around the downtown Philadelphia area. We hit the usual suspects such as Independence Hall. But we also came across places tourists might not see as often, such as the state marker showing how Mother’s Day started and the home of Dr. Physick, the father of American surgery. As an added bonus, we stopped for lunch on South Street, which allowed me to have a much-craved cheeesteak.

We’ll wrap things up by snarfing around Baltimore before ending the trip on Sunday back in Raleigh.

I need to get some sleep now so I’ll post photos on Sunday as part of a final post.

But we’re now we’re in Philadelphia as part of an effort to blitz the City of Brotherly Love on Saturday.

We started the day by backtracking from Mystic, Ct., to Newport, RI. Newport is full of homes on the National Register and is stepped in the nation’s maritime history. Monuments depict legendary naval figures such as Oliver Hazzard Perry. We picked up a few more snarfs along the way.

The Northeast rain storm and the traffic backup on I-95 shut us out for the rest of the day.

We’re now in Mystic Seaport, Ct., after starting at the beginning of U.S. 1 on the Canadian border. We’ve spent the past couple of days traveling U.S. 1 as it runs along the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire before heading further inland in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. We’re back on the coast for the Connecticut run.

The start of any U.S. 1 trip has to be the marker located in Fort Kent, Maine, just over the border with Canada.

Along the way as we moved down U.S. 1, we learned more about the Acadians, who are the forefathers of the Cajuns. We also fought off black flies, an annoying Maine curse. It’s not easy trying to take photos when a half dozen flies are all around you. We stopped for the night at the Maine Idyll Court, a delightful old-style motor court in Freeport.

Thursday’s trek can be divided into two distinct parts. We did a U.S. 1 run and a Revolutionary War trek. Out first big snarfing venture was in Portland, Maine, where our finds included the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and a statue of John Ford. A visit to Portsmouth, NH, included a snarf of the home of John Paul Jones. We stayed on U.S. 1 through to Newberry, Mass.

The latter part of our day was spent traveling the Lexington-Concord route in Massachusetts. While it wasn’t on U.S. 1, how could you resist? We saw where the first shots were fired in the American Revolution on Lexington Greens. We traveled to Concord, where we saw the famous Minuteman statue symbolizing the intense fighting by citizen-soldiers against the British troops. Traveling the route and visiting Minuteman National Historic Park are a must for American history buffs.

We started the morning in Bangor, Maine. Appropriately enough, we saw a memorial for the U.S.S. Maine. It includes the wrought iron scroll and shield that was recovered from the ill-fated battleship. We also saw a 31-ft. high statue of Paul Bunyan that, regrettably, can’t be called a snarf.

(Photos aren’t uploading now so I’ll do them later.)

Most of the morning was spent in Augusta for an American Volkssport Association 10K walk. What made it an interesting walk was the sheer variety of things to see. We saw the State Capitol, war memorials, historic homes, waterfront scenery and an arboretum. One of the most visually distinctive things was the Lithgow Public Library, which opened in 1896 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately, voters rejected a bond issue last year that would have fixed up and expanded the library.

We then made the dash over the border into New Brunswick, Canada. We snarfed in Woodstock and Perth Andover. It was a little odd getting used to converting things from kilometers to miles. We saw another nifty library while in Woodstock. This one was completed in 1914 and is on the Canadian equivalent of the National Register.

Our return trip to the U.S. was an odd one. While the entry into Canada had been smooth, we were grilled by the U.S. Border Police. They pulled our vehicle over for an inspection of our luggage. I suspect it was due to the fact that I’m a naturalized citizen, albeit one who came over as a baby. They eventually let us go so we drove to St. Agatha to spend the night at a youth hostel, which we had reserved earlier. The hostel was closed when we arrived so we had to drive back to Canada to find a hotel room. The Canadian border patrol officer was sympathetic and suggested the hotel in Edmundston where we’re now staying.

In the process, we toured the state capitol buildings of Massachusetts and Maine and saw plenty of other things as well.

We got up early to finish off the 11K walk of the Freedom Trail in Boston. The highlight was the tour of the State Capitol, which opened in 1798. It’s arguably one of the most impressive of the nation’s state capitols. We had hoped to go inside Sunday, but that’s the one day of the week the grounds are closed to the public.

Several hours and hundreds of miles later, we found ourselves in Augusta, Maine. We made it just in time to tour the capitol building, which was competed in 1832.

While there, we met a woman from Pittsburgh, Pa., who was in Augusta to visit her 46th state capitol. She planned to travel to Concord, N.H., to add the next one to her list. You never know whom you will run into while snarfing.

Here’s one thing we saw today in Boston that shows how history can take a beating when money is involved. We ran across a plaque on the ground that was placed in 1960 by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. It touted how they had preserved “for all future generations” the view of the North Church, from where Paul Revere left to make his famous ride. After 48 years, you can get a nice view of buildings blocking the view.

Off to a 10K walk in Augusta tomorrow and a sprint into Canada.

Wandering Raleighite and I spent most of the day on a 11K walk of the Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is a 3-mile route, marked by a red line painted on the ground, that takes tourists past 16 national historic sites in Boston that played a pivotal role in shaping the country.

We did the trek because we’re members of the American Volkssport Association, a walking club that has chapters all across the nation. Over the past few years, we’ve done walks in places such as Oklahoma City, Washington D.C., Las Vegas and St. Louis.

Today’s walk took us off the Freedom Trail at points, allowing us to see things such as the New England Holocaust Memorial. While on the trail, stops included Paul Revere’s home and the Old North Church, the spot where Revere made his famous dash from to warn the Continentals that the British were coming.

But two snarfs stood out above the rest.

We joined the throng at the Bunker Hill Monument, the 221-ft. high granite obelisk erected to mark the first major battle of the American Revolution.

At this battle, which actually took place on Breed’s Hill, the Continentals showed the British that they were going to have a hard fight on their hands. What’s especially impressive is that they completed the monument in 1843, when the equipment wasn’t nearly as advanced. There are 294 steps to the top, which we exhaustingly finally completed. But the view from the top is worth the work to get there.

We also won’t soon forget our visit to the U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy. Completed in 1797, “Old Ironsides” bested the British time and again during the War of 1812. It helped cause the Brits to come to accept that it made more sense to be friendly with America as opposed to fighting its former colonies. Saved from the scrap heap and neglect time and time again, the Constitution represents America’s will to fight. It’s a sweet-looking ship as well.

We spent so long at Bunker Hill and the Constitution that we ran out of time to complete the walk during daylight hours. We’ll finish the walk in the morning before heading to Maine to officially begin the U.S. 1 trip.

Most of our trip will be spent along U.S. 1 from Pennsylvania to the Canadian border. Time permitting, we’ll also stop in Baltimore before returning to Raleigh.

We’re now in Boston. Our plans had to be adjusted because our U.S. Air flight into Manchester, N.H., was delayed. By the time we got on the free shuttle to Boston, we were more than two hours behind schedule. BTW, Wandering Raleighite says he will never take U.S. Air again.

We made the best of the abbreviated amount of daylight to walk through the Theater District, the outskirts of Boston Commons and the Copley Square area. It was basically a trip around part of Boston’s downtown area.

Many of Boston’s historic theaters opened at the turn of the 20th Century. The Shubert Theatre opened in 1910. Over the years, legendary performers such as Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Henry Fonda have performed there.

We then walked along Boston Commons, home to some of the most important events that culminated in the American Revolution. We saw a monument dedicated to the discovery of ether in Boston in 1846. We also encountered monuments to other greats of American history, including George Washington and Wendell Phillips.

At nearby Commonwealth Mall, we ran into monuments for modern heroes, including one for nine firefighters who were killed responding to a blaze in 1972.

As the daylight dimmed, we ran across historic treasures such as Old South Church, Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library.

Come back tomorrow to hear what happens we walk the Freedom Trail and visit the U.S.S. Constitution.

Here are thirteen of my favorite logged landmarks from April. It was really hard to choose! To view more details and a picture or pictures, click on the link. :)

1. Garrison Cemetery Garrison, New York

   I love the image of the gravestones sticking up out of the snow. The American flag is a flash of color and the cannon adds a hint of the past. (Logged by ember39.)

2. Whitesitt-Shirk historic District
   Pittsburg, Kansas

   Every time I see flingo98’s pink flamingo, I smile. This picture is particularly cute.

3. Simon Bolivar Statue
   San Francisco, California

   I’m a sucker for old-fashioned statues with a rearing horse. This one’s by WanderingRaleighite, who at 3000+ finds has left the rest of us in the dust. ;)

4. First Presbyterian and Congregational Church
   Buffalo, New York

   This beautiful, traditional church was captured by DoryTheExplorer. The layers of architecture all seem to build on one another and are fascinating.

5. Life Memorial Park
   Buffalo, New York

   Again by DoryTheExplorer, this is a moving tribute to those who died of AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses. Not the way the path has been formed into a looped ribbon.

6. Pennsylvania Canal System
   New Brighton, Pennsylvania

   This is one of BikeSnarfer’s finds, and I love the way her biker bear peeks into the shot. BikeSnarfer is frequently one of the top riders (for mileage) in my women’s motorcycle club, and Markeroni is one of the reasons why!

   Beaver County seems to have its own private system of landmarks, as shown here, but we haven’t found a definitive list of them anywhere.

7. Biltmore Estate
   Asheville, North Carolina

   Department of “Oh my gosh”–this spectacular complex was logged by The2Cruisers. It looks like it belongs in Olde England, but is actually in North Carolina.

8. Dixboro United Methodist Church
   Dixboro, Michigan

   Beautyredefined found this landmark on a bicycle. This white wedding-cake style church has a tall, layered steeple that looks more like a chimney.

9. Geary Theatre
   San Francisco, California

   WanderingRaleighite took this detail of ornate decoration at the theatre. They don’t do art like this any more!

10. California State Capitol
    Sacramento, California

    I do love me a good cupola. The light filtering through is really beautiful.

11. Mast General Store
    Valle Crucis, North Carolina

    What caught my eye here was the Esso sign outside the old store. I like old stores to begin with, but it’s rare to see Esso–with which I grew up–rather than Exxon. This wouldn’t be out of place on Route 66!

12. Hotel St. Benedict Flats
    Chicago, Illinois

    This neat red-brick hotel with its ornate architecture was logged by Scribe. It was originally set up as apartments and designed to look like four separate townhomes.

13. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    Stockton, California

    AmberLee’s cat clings to his shoulder, making a rather austere monument a bit more…human.

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