10K - Revolutionary Run

Today I ran my first 10K (6.2 miles), okay "walked my first 10K" would be much more of an accurate description. Hey, I survived and I even came in at the very tail end of my estimated goal of between 1:10 and 1:20. This was based on my best 5K (3.1 miles) time of 35:50 a few months ago, so 1:12 was probably the best I could have expected.

It was more about getting out in race conditions then it was about finishing with my best possible time.

Things in my favor:
1) I have been training a lot since that 5K.
2) I had a good dinner last night (thanks, Carin).
3) I had a good night's sleep.
4) I kept off my feet yesterday.
5) This race was only a 20 minute drive from home, and in familiar turf.
6) I had the best cheering squad (thanks Don and Ashley, and fellow runner Sharon). :)

Things not in my favor:
1) It was HUMID -- not hot, just sticky.
2) I only decided to do the race this morning, hence I kept up with my training schedule full-force last week instead of tapering.
3) I walked my tootsies off in NYC two days before the race.
4) My feet were wet before the race started due to the fog and wet grassy parking lot. I didn't realize how wet they were until I peeled off my socks when I came home and noted I had webbed feet.
5) The blister from Thursday's run hurt with each step.
6) I walked well over half of it.

All things considering, I'm pleased with my time. I was even more pleased with how I felt afterwards -- I could still walk. I ate right away. It wasn't until I sat down (a.k.a. the drive home) that my muscles ached. I was happy. I had the energy for that final push at the finish line and for smiling any time the paparazzi (Don) was nearby.

62 more days until the DisneyLand Half Marathon -- 13.1 miles, or more than twice today's run. If I double today's run, and add a bit for that extra mile, I'm around the 3 hour mark, which allows me and Joanie 30 minutes of leeway. We can do it!

Brooklyn Bridge

After touring the Roebling Museum in Roebling, NJ a trip across the Brooklyn Bridge was in order.

We were not alone in our crossing. The bridge was packed with people walking, running, cycling and photographing that day. It was a beautiful day to be in the City.

Anticipating how much walking we would be doing the rest of the day, we only walked part way. It was far enough to show Ashely how Roebling wire supports such a massive structure.

Tenement Museum - NYC

This weekend's adventures took us to the Tenement Museum in New York City.

Katie, a recent immigrant herself, led us on a tour of three tenement apartments and taught us about life of immigrants during the early 20th century. We learned how the struggles of the immigrants from then are similar to those today -- specifically how the mothers struggle to keep the traditions of the old country alive, while the next generation tries to assimilate into the new country.

The Tenement Museum offers several different tours. We chose the tour called "Piecing It Together" (about to be renamed "Sweatshop Workers") because it focused on the life of Jewish Immigrants who worked in the Garment Industry, and Ashley loves sewing. It was one of the tours labeled for children 8 and up.

Tour group sizes range from 1 to 15, ours was on the large side with 12. Katie brought us up to the third floor of the Tenement Museum. Our first stop was a room that has not changed much since the museum acquired the building in 1980. The layers of wallpaper and flooring were clearly visible. 

What stood out most was the size of the apartment -- a mere 325 square feet, or less than a third of the size of our first home in Trenton.

Our second stop was a similar sized apartment that also served as a sweatshop where Harry Levine ran his garment business with several employees sewing for 10-14 hours a day while his wife, Jenny, and their five children tried to stay out of their way.

The third apartment was just as tiny, yet the Rogarshevsky family lived there with their six children. By then the husband and children were working in factories, and not out of their home. Though that apartment was a smidge smaller, it felt larger.

Being in the tiny apartments -- which to this day do not have air conditioning -- and hearing their stories bring their histories to life.

The museum is located a few blocks away from Chinatown, just south of the Williamsburg Bridge.
Unfortunately the museum does not allow photography. However, their website has some nice pictures of the inside of apartments.

http://www.tenement.org/

Smithville Mansion

Last month at the Howell Living History Farm's annual Fashion Show we met a lady who runs Smithville Mansion, Eleanor Dunker. Eleanor told us about Smithville Mansion and invited us to visit sometime. This might have been when the seed was planted for Ashley and I to spend the summer visiting historic sites.

The mansion is open for tours at 1, 2 and 3 PM on Wednesdays and Sundays. While driving around Whitesbog, I realized I had just enough time to make the 3 PM tour, so we hustled. As we parked the car at 2:57, I breathed a sigh of relief and we dashed across the street, only to find no one. Oh we did see a couple of women leaving from the 2 PM tour, and a place to purchase tickets, but no one to take our money or to lead the next tour. 

As we are walking around the place looking for someone, I start complaining in my head. Ashley called me on it. It seems she can tell when I am gathering my arguments, shall we say, based solely on body language. I was impressed that she knows me better than I know myself.

Prior to our visit, I emailed the director to let her know we are coming. I have learned from volunteering at Rockingham that some of these sites work with a small crew and sometimes they have to close to the public -- maybe they have a large tour planned and cannot accommodate more people, or maybe renovations are taking place, or maybe a volunteer calls out sick. No matter the reason, I don't want to drive over 30 minutes only to learn the site is closed for the day.

To make a long story short, we found Eleanor. She could not have been more charming. I was glad she recognized us in our 21st century attire (last time we saw her I was wearing a Colonial dress and Ashley was in her Laura Ingalls Wilder costume). She gave us a fascinating tour of the mansion and side buildings that was filled with lots of personal stories that made the mansion come alive.

H.B. Smith (of Smithville Mansion) was an inventor. He created a lot of tools and equipment out of iron and to work with iron. This Star Bicycle caught my attention. Unlike the popular Highwheelers of the day, the large wheel is in the back instead of in the front. This simple switch made the bicycle much faster -- which was important in races.

Eleanor told us about the history of the HB Smith and his descendants. I'll give you the very short version and entice you to visit to learn the juicy gossip -- HB's son, Elton, contested his father's will. When it was overturned in his favor, he then went into the house and destroyed all the furnishing and everything that was not nailed down the to walls or floor. Learning this before I went into the house I was expecting a bare home. It would not be the first time we went into a gorgeous mansion only to find the inside has only a few pieces of furniture. The William Trent House and Paulsdale come to mind.

I could not have been more wrong.

Eleanor and others have done a wonderful job researching the time and acquiring pieces of furniture and decorations that would have been appropriate to the time period. The most impressive piece in the collection is the bed they are using in HB's bedroom -- it was President James Polk's bed. It is on loan to Smithville.

Ashley loved the shoes and clothing on display. I must admit they are beautiful. The entire mansion is tastefully decorated and includes many details that make it come alive. Ashley was a little spooked out to find out that we were in the room where HB's second wife, Agnes, died.

I liked this wall sconce in the bathroom. It was a souvenir from the Statue of Liberty. Reminded me of our trip earlier this year.

Smithville Mansion is not far from Mount Holly, and should not be mixed up with Smithville that is closer to Atlantic City.

In addition to tours of the house, Smithville Mansion also has a small art gallery, regular croquet tournaments, and a summer concert series on Sundays. Now that we have been there for a tour, I'm hoping to return with Don.

http://www.smithvillemansion.org/ 

Historic Whitesbog

Whitesbog is an old cranberry swamp located near Fort Dix. Though located only an hour from home, it felt like we stepped back into time.  It didn't help that the place felt like a ghost town, or that Ashley and I did not really have enough time to explore the place.

Had we come a couple of days earlier, we would have been there for the blueberry festival and had people there able to tell us more about the cranberry industry and about the amazing wildlife in the area.

On a day without a festival, Whitesbog recommends a driving tour of the area along a one way circular route around the cranberry bogs. It is on a sandy bump between two bodies of water. I wish I had gotten out of the car to take a picture of the route. Fortunately I took Don's CRV that day since we were meeting up with him and his bicycle after our day of sightseeing.

We saw beautiful birds, including thsi one that is cranberry colored. I wish I knew my birds better so I could tell you what he is.

Given our time constraints (more about that in the Smithville Mansion story), we made a u-turn and returned to civilization. I would love to return sometime with someone who could tell me more about what I was seeing, or on a day when we had hours free to walk around and enjoy nature. This wasn't the day.


http://www.whitesbog.org/

Museum of Indian Culture

Also located in Allentown, PA is the Museum of Indian Culture. By pure happenstance, this is located off the same road as the DaVinci Museum.


The Museum of Indian Culture is only open on Fridays - Sundays from noon-4. Each visit includes a guided tour with a local expert.

The focus of the museum is the Lenape (Delaware) tribe, but the museum and docent also relate it to other tribes, such as the Iroquois and the Hopi. Outside is a small Lenape Village. Inside the museum is filled with lots of artifacts that help teach about Lenape daily life.

 

Ashley had heard about mortar and pestles being tied to trees to make it easier to grind corn. She was pleased to see it in action and have a chance to make it work.

The current special exhibit is on Kachinas: Spirit Dolls of the Hopi, featuring the carvings of George Melloy. That alone is worth the trip.

On a side note, there are many "experts" on every subject. They will each tell you with absolute certainty that they are correct because their research shows that what we used to believe was completely wrong. We encountered that situation at this museum.

Whenever possible it is best to use primary sources for your information. However the Lenape had an oral tradition, so it is impossible for us to read their diaries and letters. M.J. Harrington's fictional book called "The Indians of New Jersey: Dickon among the Lenape" is considered an insider's look into the early Lenape culture as seen through the eyes of a white teenage boy. http://www.amazon.com/Indians-New-Jersey-Dickon-Lenapes/dp/0813504252/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309176949&sr=8-1

http://www.lenape.org/index_files/GuidedTours.html

http://www.churchvillenaturecenter.org/

DaVinci Museum

Ashley and I ended the first week of summer vacation with a drive to Allentown, NJ. Learning from earlier mistakes, we packed a lunch and checked directions before leaving home.

Our first stop was the DaVinci Science Museum.

When we left New Jersey it looked like it was going to be a stormy day -- a perfect day to go to a museum. The DaVinci museum has been high on my list ever since I read about it on a home school message board.

We must have timed the experience just right. There were other people in the museum, but not so many that we became impatient waiting for our turn to try the hands on experiences. If I were to do it differently, though, I would bring along a friend for Ashley so the girls could do the activities together.

The museum just opened an exhibit about how things are made. Today Ashley pointed to an object and told me it was made by pouring it into a mold.

Ashley's favorite exhibit involved riding a bicycle to power different types of lightbulbs. She gained a new appreciation for being able to turn on a light without having to pedal first.

My favorite exhibit involved levers and weights. Amazing how this simple technique makes it possible to do what was once thought of as impossible. A good lesson for us to figure out how to make something easier to do before we get hurt doing it the hard way.

It was hard tearing Ashley away from the place. Perhaps we should visit more science museums, but next time go with a friend.


http://www.davinci-center.org/