It's A Grand Old Flag!

Today is Flag Day, son's, Brian, birthday and traveling day. We left our campsite in New Jersey at 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Greenport, NY at 12:30 p.m. Considering that we had to actually drive through New York city to reach our destination, driving went very well. Our weather was clear, which helped. While there was lots of traffic, it was always moving so we never sat anywhere. In fact, around the Newark, NJ area, the New Jersey Turnpike widened to four lanes on each side, with lane separations with two lanes for buses, trucks and RV's and two lanes for autos. That kept everything going easily.

We had to cross at the George Washington Bridge, way north of Manhattan, because we couldn't take the RV with its propane tank through the tunnels. That was okay with us. We didn't want to do the tunnels anyway. I wanted to take pictures, but big signs were posted on the bridges that no photography was allowed-thanks to the terrorists.

The further we drove through Long Island the more the traffic dissipated. Once we got through Riverhead, we were in the beautiful wine country and strawberry fields of North Fork, LI. We are in a small seaport town of Greenport, very picturesque, except I forgot my camera, when we went out for lunch at Claudio's, on the National Historic Register as the oldest (1870)restaurant, continuously owned and operated by the same family. They had great seafood and Mel enjoyed his hamburger (he has yet to expand his food choices).

Then, we drove to Orient, NY at the very tip of the North Fork. We returned to Greenport for homemade ice cream and searched for the Long Island RR Station, which ends at the Railroad Museum. No schedules, so we will have to see if we can get into New York without driving, something that we do not want to do (to keep Mel sane).

The flag, in the photo, is a replica of the original American flag of 1777, designed by Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It hangs in the courtyard of Betsy Ross' house. Here is a photo of Betsy Ross' house. Betsy Ross has been credited with sewing the first American flag as designed by Francis Hopkinson. In the courtyard to the left of the house is her tomb. Also, in the courtyard, there is a melodrama performed with actors portraying British and American interests. Children visiting the area enjoy the actors' shenanigans. We did too.

This is a photo of Elfreth's Alley, a National Historical Landmark, named for blacksmith Jerimiah Elfreth, that has been continuously occupied since 1713. Note that a British flag flies along with the 1777 flag and the current American flag because at the time the street was built, Pennsylvannia was a colony loyal to the King of England.

Finally, this is a photo of the flag that flies in front of Independence Hall. To the extreme left of the photo is a statue of George Washington, the Father of our country. The building with the cupola is the location of the first Supreme Court. Ah, History!