A Historic Summer

     As many of you know, Jim and I are American history buffs! He enjoys reading about the French & Indian War and Revolution, whereas I have read quite a few books about the Civil War era.  This summer, we decided to take some short trips to places that we've been reading about for years.

     First, we visited the Saratoga Battlefield, which is really located in present day Schuylerville (about 10 miles east of Saratoga Springs).  Among other things, we  saw the exact spot where Benedict Arnold was shot and toured General Philip Schuyler's house. We also drove to the Saratoga Monument and reached the midway point to the top (about 12 flights of stairs) before we decided that it was WAY too hot that day to continue.

Saratoga Monument

John Neilson Farmhouse

    A couple of weeks later, Jim, Julie, and I headed to the southern end of Lake George to check out Ft. William Henry, which was  built and held by the British until a French siege during the French & Indian War. It is best known for the atrocities that the Indians committed against the surrendered British troops, which is the focus of Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.

Julie and I in the stocks

    In late July, we spent two days in Philadelphia taking in the sights -- Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Congress Hall, Betsy Ross's house and Ben Franklin's grave. We also enjoyed some modern pleasures, such as Philly cheese steaks, the Rocky steps and the best sushi of all time at Haru (thanks to Julie for the recommendation). 

Jim standing in front of Independence Hall

   Originally, our Philly trip was to continue in Gettysburg, but then I experienced car trouble and we had to cut the trip short.  Fortunately, we were able to rebook for late August and tacked an additional day on at the end. There was so much to see and do there! We toured the battlefields with a certified guide, spent a couple of hours inside the national museum, toured the Shriver House Museum, did a wine tasting, took a nighttime ghost tour and ate at a fantastic restaurant called The Dobbin House. We were seated in one of their candelit historic, formal dining rooms. I had the most amazing deep sea scallops sauteed with bacon and herbs and then drowned in chalibis. It may have been my favorite meal of 2010!

View of Devil's Den from Little Roundtop

Dobbin House

     I usually treat Jim to a birthday dinner at a place he's never been, but this year I decided that we should both partake in the adventure of the unknown. I was familiar with the Tory Tavern in Schoharie (about 45 minutes west of Albany) because I used to babysit for a couple that sometimes went there for "date night." This was the site of numerous meetings between the Tories and the Indians during the Revolutionary War. All of the servers were dressed in 1770s garb and the interior was historically accurate.  Our meals and the service were excellent!

George Mann Tory Tavern