| Date & Weather | 6/12/02 (Wed), Partly Cloudy | Check Out | 11:00 AM (ET) |
| Milage & Route | 251 Miles (Washington D.C. - Philadelphia) | Check In | 4:30 PM (ET) |
| Motel | Motel 6 | ||
| Maryland, Delaware & Pennsylvania Today, as usual, I visited the welcome center of each three state where I drove through and collect free maps, official travel guides, and some interesting brochures there. As far as I knew before, these states are related to the Independence of America. So, I'd like to review these states while reading my collections.  The first passing state after D.C. was Maryland. The most interesting thing
of this state is that the nation's anthem originates from this state. An
official book of Maryland explains that lawyer Francis Scott Key was moved
on seeing a billowing flag on the top of the Fort McHenry at the dawn after
the severe battle and wrote a poem called "Star-Spangled Banner."
After that, it was musicalized and become the nation's anthem. If I had
had enough time, I would have been to the Maryland Historical Society because
there is his original manuscript.The next state was Delaware. In a brochure, I found out intriguing two words, "Caesar Rodney" and "Delaware's quarter." So, two questions hit me; "Who is Caesar Rodney?"  "Delaware's quarter is what?" In that case, internet is very
useful tool. I quickly got the answer for these questions. As to the first
question, Caesar Rodney was the representative of Delaware, who went horseback
to Philadelphia to firstly vote for Independence in 1776. Therefore, Delaware
was called "the first state." The latter one intrigued me more.
Since 1999 U.S. mint has issued Quarter which has something to honor each
state on its reverse side. According to the website of U.S. Mint, it has
already issued 20 versions for other states in the order of ratification
of the Constitution. So, Delaware is also the first state to issue its
original quarter. Now, I have five these original quarters. During the
trip I hope I can get every 20 quarter.  The final one is Pennsylvania. The receptionist was the old man, who is kind to tell me where to park my car, where to visit at first, and how to get the destination. I'm going to visit at Independence National Historical Park where I can learn more about the Independence of America. So, I'll write about it tomorrow. |
|||