Disney World

   It’s been a long time since we visited Florida so off to Disney World for a few days! We were surprised at how much of the park is wheelchair accessible. I could go on 3/4 of the rides and attractions without getting out of the chair. Disney World opened the Magic Kingdom in 1971 and added three other parks , the last one Animal Kingdom in 1998, so it takes awhile to see everything. We had five full days and managed to see most of it but if this had been our first visit it would not have been enough time!
  More pictures here - http://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/DisneyWorld?authkey=Gv1sRgCM68ieLChcPbpwE#

Pittsburgh Zoo

  We had a lot of fun visiting everyone in Pittsburgh and Ohio (thanks guys!) but as usual I forgot to take pictures. However we did spend a day at the zoo where I took a lot of pictures so that’s what I’m posting. This zoo was started in 1898 and has been continuously changing through the years. When we were kids most of the animals were in small concrete floored cages – smelly and sad. Now with large ,more natural enclosures, the animals actual look content. The aquarium is double it’s original size and is filled with all sorts of cool animals. So if it’s been awhile since you visited the zoo this is a good time to go – no crowds and the animals are easy to spot.
  More pictures here - http://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/PittsburghZoo?authkey=Gv1sRgCNG_t7TDz-3oUg#

   I think everyone was surprised at the huge turnout for this rally. The Metro broke ridership records. Streets had to be closed down because people walking to the rally over flowed the sidewalks into the streets.

   The message of the rally was that most of us are in the middle. The politicians , news media and bloggers yelling on both ends of the spectrum don’t really represent us. The middle has no voice. Obviously people are upset about this , judging by the turnout.

   I try to keep this blog non-political so if you want to see pictures of the rally click here-  http://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/RallyToRestoreSanity?authkey=Gv1sRgCKHj-IW-19xH#

   And thousands of pictures by other rally attendees-  http://www.flickr.com/groups/rally4sanity/pool/with/5130707328/

Albany , New York

   We didn’t make it very far into New England but we still saw some beautiful hillsides of fall colors. We stopped in Albany , which is the capitol of New York , so that we could visit the state museum. State museums are always interesting and are a good place to get an overview of the state history and geology. New York’s is exceptional and it’s also completely free!
 More pictures here - http://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/AlbanyNewYork?authkey=Gv1sRgCKav8vikjYr0DQ#

Mystic Seaport , Connecticut

  Both of us get seasick so we can’t even imagine the life of a sailor , whaler or fisherman  out on the open sea for days or months at a time. Until the 1860s an immigrant coming from Europe to the US could be on board a ship for one to three months. When steamships started crossing the Atlantic the trip shortened to a little over one week. This was such an improvement that the old wooden sailing boats were soon scuttled or turned into fire wood. Mystic Seaport’s goal is to save some of these ships and the history that goes along with them. Besides a large collection of ships they’ve also moved and renovated more than 60 historic buildings to make a 19th century seafaring village.

 More pictures here - http://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/MysticSeaport?authkey=Gv1sRgCKb42e3mg-mCmgE#

Edison National Historic Park , N.J.

    This is a piece of elephant skin. Edison didn’t want his researchers to be held up waiting for exotic materials to be delivered so he kept a fully stocked warehouse with everything imaginable on the shelves. The laboratory complex included a physics lab, a chemistry lab, a metallurgy lab, a pattern shop, and chemical storage buildings. Keeping all of this up and running was expensive but right next door were Edison’s factory buildings where many of the townspeople were employed making batteries , phonographs,light bulbs and even furniture.

 More pictures here -http://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/Edison?authkey=Gv1sRgCKmFqJLKg-zVSg#

Scranton, Pa – Coal and Trains

  Scranton is wedged in a long valley of the Appalachian mountain range. The pressure and folding of these mountains created anthracite coal which is harder and cleaner burning than other types of coal. This whole area is honeycombed with underground mines , once the source of great wealth and great misery depending on one’s circumstances. The mine owners owned the railroads  so they controlled not only a very valuable resource but the delivery system too. The miners came from western Europe and later eastern Europe lured by inexpensive steamship fares. Working in the mines was dirty, hard and dangerous. In the worse cases the miner was responsible for supplying all of his tools , dynamite , mule and helpers. He was paid by the weight of the coal that he managed to mine so some days he made nothing and the mine owner didn’t have to shoulder any of the expense. These conditions lead to labor strikes which often turned violent when strikebreakers and police were involved. The mining industry collapsed after WWII when other sources of fuel became more popular.

 More pictures here http://cid-4ce32117b0082fb8.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Scranton%5EJPa%20-%20Coal%20and%20Trains