Swamp Monster

Today I got out the GPS and went in search of what's known in the area as the "swamp monster" Found it about half an hour from where I parked:


Of course, getting there involved travelling through bogs and such, making walking slow








Tried taking a different way home, and found myself bottomed out on something hidden beneath the water

Luckily it wasn't too bad, and the truck kept running. Winched myself out, and found a different route.

Eastern State Penitentiary

Yet another trip to Philadelphia for Janelle and myself! Todays destination was Eastern State Penitentiary, which is a prison that operated from 1829-1971. When the prison was first opened it was a solitary confinement prison, average sentances for stealing were 2-8 of solitary, according to our tour guide. Sometime around the 1900's the official policy was moved away from solitary confinement as it was realized that it wasn't helping reform them. (in a few of the pictures, you'll see bunk beds showing the cells were shared)


The outside of the prison has a very castle-like look.


Also of notable interest, is that Al Capone (gangster) served a year here for a weapons charge he was arrested for in Philly. As you can see from the picture below, his cell is much different from the other prisoners. He was allowed to bring his own furniture, and allowed many things that others in the prison were not. Another notable inmate was Willy Sutton (bank robber)

liberty bell

Janelle and I visited the National Constitution Center, the Liberty Hall, and Independence Hall today.

First we went to Independence Hall, which was built in 1732, and was used as the capital of the US for some time, it's where the constitution and declaration of independence was written. They still have the House and Senate meeting rooms open, and although anything that's not roped off is a replica, they had a good number of original pieces also (George Washington's chair, etc).

Next we visited the Liberty bell. Strangely, they have it roped off, but they "have no official policy against touching" as the guard told me, so I got to touch the liberty bell. It was much more of a plasticy feel than I expected...


We then went to the National Constitution center, and spent a few hours there (no pictures allowed)

Finally, we finished off the day by going to the 2 most famous cheesesteak shops in philly, Pats and Geno's. Tried both, and I think Geno's is better.

philadelphia zoo

Janelle and I went to the Philadelphia Zoo today. It was pretty cold, so some of the animals weren't out (giraffes, elephants, etc) but we still got to see a lot of the tigers, cheetas, monkeys, and of course penguns, polar bears, and a bunch of other cold weather animals. We're planning to go back again to see if we can get a better look at more of the African animals.

Niagara falls

Janelle and I went to Canada for a weekend... mostly to view Niagara Falls, while we were there we also went to an IMAX theater showing Adventure Over The Falls (a documentary about people who have gone over the falls) in the same building they had a museum full of barrels that people have gone over in.

One of the coolest things of the trip was going into a tunnel that went behind the falls, and then goes out right below the falls (but just to the side). You get within 50 feet or so of the falls, and there's a constant roar.

Here's a few pictures, clicking them will show you more.

A view of the Canadian (horseshoe falls)Janelle and I in front of the American falls