Time with Rob

Our oldest grandson, Rob, spent Friday night sleeping in the motorhome, then on Saturday morning we went to Atsion Lake to swim.

After our swim we headed to the Camden waterfront to see the USS NJ, an Iowa class battleship that saw action in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Lebanese Civil War, and the Persian Gulf. She is the most decorated battleship in US history.

It was a thrill to visit this veteran of so many battles and to see how the sailors who spent time here lived.

Rob relaxed in one of the recreation areas. Behind him may be seen the tiny bunks used by the sailors.

The ship is now considered a museum and our self guided tour led us up and down to all the decks.

It was a hot but lovely day to spend time on the water on the Delaware River.

On Sunday we visited a museum I had been wanting to see since we moved to NJ in 1980.

The NJ State Museum in Trenton is a fascinating place to explore, with exhibits on fossils of dinosaurs that lived (including this model of a dinosaur only found in NJ, the Dryptosaurus)...

 ...geology of the area including the oldest rock in NJ, 1.37 BILLION years old...

 ...and beaded clothing made by the Lenape Indians who still live here.

 In the fine art area we enjoyed the works of NJ and New York artists. Here, a painting by Roy Lichtenstein.

Abraham Lincoln spent time visiting NJ and the museum features a statue of him, made by a local woodcarver. The flag on the wall behind Rob and Abe was flown on the Battleship USS NJ, which we visited yesterday.

Here is a beautiful coverlet woven on a Jacquard loom by Nathaniel Young, a traveling weaver in 1884. At a time in history when weaving was primarily done by the women in a household, Young's products were complex and featured decorative patterns, animal motifs, and even the names of the weaver and client.

It was a really nice day, and well worth the trip to this museum.