So, stage one of my trip to newport involved
forgetting my black oxford shoes at home... ooops.
and a stop in philadelphia to see USS Olympia (C-6). Olympia was Dewey's flagship at manilla bay in 1898, and might not be a musuem ship much longer if the funding doesnt come through for a major refit...
from afar philadelphia looks like a dilapidated old rustbelt
city... lots of old heavy industry that is gone, or big rusty buildings. alot of
the buildings in downtown have lots of red brick, and that just kinda blends in with the rustbelt appearance because of the red... once you get closer into downtown, the city really is quite lovely. all sorts of architectural epochs are on display from the earliest days of the 18th century to the modern steel and glass skyscrapers... as i walked down chestnut street to Penns Lan
ding, i stopped by independence hall, and right above the liberty bell center was an office building with the DOW diamond. that was cool. so, independence hall is reservations only to tour... so, i didnt go in. i carried on my way to see Olympia. Olympia is being closed to the public in november, so i figured, i really needed to see this piece of history before it closed. they need like 12 million dollars to dry d
ock it for maintenance... i wasnt allowed to go topside, i wasnt sure if that was because of the rainy conditions or the conditions of the deck. it was neat to see the difference between officer's country and the wardroom aboard Olympia and our own aboard NEW YORK... the salon as they called the room where all the officer's staterooms opened up onto was wood paneled and had nicely polished wooden decks... the wardroom had two 6inch guns and a piano... and some leather banquettes to sit on. the junior officers even had their own wardroom to hide in. contrast that with the lives of t
he sailors aboard who slept in hammocks and ate in the same spaces they slept. unfortunately, the engine rooms were closed too. so, i didnt get to go down in the pit and see the ships vertical
reciprocating steam engines... after that, i walked back to the hotel to rest and plan for tommorow...
this was a very brief look at philadelphia. i didnt delve deeply, just a cursory overview, judging the book by its cover... but, its a book, that i'd take home to explore some more. i'll come back to philadelphia.
forgetting my black oxford shoes at home... ooops.
and a stop in philadelphia to see USS Olympia (C-6). Olympia was Dewey's flagship at manilla bay in 1898, and might not be a musuem ship much longer if the funding doesnt come through for a major refit...
from afar philadelphia looks like a dilapidated old rustbelt
city... lots of old heavy industry that is gone, or big rusty buildings. alot of 
the buildings in downtown have lots of red brick, and that just kinda blends in with the rustbelt appearance because of the red... once you get closer into downtown, the city really is quite lovely. all sorts of architectural epochs are on display from the earliest days of the 18th century to the modern steel and glass skyscrapers... as i walked down chestnut street to Penns Lan
ding, i stopped by independence hall, and right above the liberty bell center was an office building with the DOW diamond. that was cool. so, independence hall is reservations only to tour... so, i didnt go in. i carried on my way to see Olympia. Olympia is being closed to the public in november, so i figured, i really needed to see this piece of history before it closed. they need like 12 million dollars to dry d
ock it for maintenance... i wasnt allowed to go topside, i wasnt sure if that was because of the rainy conditions or the conditions of the deck. it was neat to see the difference between officer's country and the wardroom aboard Olympia and our own aboard NEW YORK... the salon as they called the room where all the officer's staterooms opened up onto was wood paneled and had nicely polished wooden decks... the wardroom had two 6inch guns and a piano... and some leather banquettes to sit on. the junior officers even had their own wardroom to hide in. contrast that with the lives of t
he sailors aboard who slept in hammocks and ate in the same spaces they slept. unfortunately, the engine rooms were closed too. so, i didnt get to go down in the pit and see the ships vertical 
reciprocating steam engines... after that, i walked back to the hotel to rest and plan for tommorow...
this was a very brief look at philadelphia. i didnt delve deeply, just a cursory overview, judging the book by its cover... but, its a book, that i'd take home to explore some more. i'll come back to philadelphia.
