Hello, I'm Mrs. Barrows. I'll be your Teacher Aboard for this leg of the journey from Philadelphia into Chesapeake Bay.

Saturday, September 18 and the Port of Philadelphia

My instructions were to report to the ship at 8:00 PM on Saturday, September 18. I arrived in Philadelphia in the afternoon. This provided a good opportunity to scout out the territory that we would be exploring for the next week. What better way to get acquainted with Philadelphia than a carriage ride through the historic district?

It's amazing how easy it is to become a part of history in this section of Philadelphia, which has become a part of our National Park System. As a matter of fact, it is the first National Park that was established within a city. As in many cities, buildings had been allowed to fall into disrepair as they aged. Many buildings that we visited are actually reconstructions, as people during the early 1800's didn't realize that one day their houses would become important historic treasures. Yet, here they are for us to see.

It is good idea that our study of Maryland begin with a tour of historic Philadelphia. All of the colonies, as well as all of the states which eventually became part of our country, have a direct relationship with William Penn's religious experiment. Penn's plan was that all people would have freedom to practice the religion of their own choosing. Other colonies were established for religious freedom, but held little tolerance for the practicing of religions other than their own.

It is here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where many of the meetings between the colonies took place that eventually resulted in the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It is here where one of the greatest Americans of all time, Benjamin Franklin, lived and influenced the development of our country. My time in Philadelphia would be well spent exploring the history of our country.

I reported to Pride of Baltimore II at Penn's Landing where Penn himself landed so many years ago. I was shown my cabin and given a general tour of the ship. Even though this was not my first time aboard, I was amazed at the beauty of our state's Ambassador of Good Will. The crew couldn't have been nicer or more accommodating to someone with absolutely no knowledge of life aboard a ship! Some of the terms they used were totally foreign to me, but they happily explained such expressions as "Fire in the hole!" Can you guess what that means? It goes back to the days of cannon fire and means there's plenty of noise about to be made. It's a phrase that's still used today on movie sets while filming special effects.

After sunrise on Sunday, the crew mustered on deck to be given their daily assignment by the First Mate Stephanie. She let everyone know what he or she should be accomplishing up until the time that the Open House began at noon. (An Open House is when everyone is invited to come aboard the ship and look around.) My assignment for the day was to go into the city and take pictures of historic Philadelphia to send back to you, the students of Maryland.

I began my day with a walking tour of the historic section of Philadelphia. This area is called "the most historic mile in America." You can take a virtual tour along with me by clicking on the Historic Philadelphia Web site. It shows many of the places I visited. My first stop was Carpenters' Hall where John Adams, Patrick Henry, George Washington, and other delegates formed the First Continental Congress in 1774.

Then I walked a half block to Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were born. Next to that is Congress Hall where the Senate and House of Representatives first met on the upper and lower floors. That's where we get the terms "upper and lower houses" of Congress. Connected to this is Old City Hall where the Supreme Court met when Philadelphia was the nation's capital from the time of independence until Washington, D.C. was built.

A block down the street is the Liberty Bell. It's amazing all the legends behind this bell! Down the street is the home of Betsy Ross who sewed the first American flag. To learn more about each of these historic places, visit the web sites highlighted. In many cases you can take a virtual tour of the buildings and places themselves.

Back aboard Pride of Baltimore II

Back at the ship there was an Open House and people from all over were admiring our ship. People were constantly commenting on the beauty of Pride II and asking the crew about their experiences on it as well as how they came to be aboard. (Over 300 people visited on this day alone!) I was interested in hearing their stories as there are so many different ways that crew members became involved in this type of sailing. Many apprenticed themselves (worked for little pay to learn the trade) after college on other ships or took coursework where they could spend a semester sailing. That sounds like great fun!

However much fun, there is a lot of work involved. At 5:00 PM, the gangway is closed off and it's dinner for the crew at 6:30 in the ship's main salon. The ship's cook, Erin, makes sure there is a hearty meal. Wow, do they eat well!

Ben Franklin

Monday the crew worked on ship's maintenance. Again my assignment was in historic Philadelphia. My focus today was Mr. Benjamin Franklin. The tale of Philadelphia is closely related to the life of her most famous resident. Ben was born and raised in Boston, the youngest son in a very large family of 17. He was apprenticed to his brother, a printer, but went out on his own at the age of 17. That's when he came to Philadelphia. Franklin became a successful printer. He married a woman who inherited quite a bit of property. Through the newspaper he printed, he had the ear of the people. As a property owner he had additional influence. He became one of the foremost politicians of his day.

Ben Franklin, although largely self-educated, was one of the most well-read and forward-thinking men of his day. He was influential in starting the first public library, the first organized fire department, a successful insurance company, the first post office, the University of Pennsylvania, and the first hospital in the city. He convinced the city to "pave" its streets with cobblestones instead of having the dirt streets of other cities. He was influential in lighting the streets with lamps and posting guards for town safety.

Ben Franklin was never bored. He saw a need and invented some contraption to fill the need. He felt his wife wasted too much energy churning butter so he attached the churn to the back of her rocker so she could do both at the same time. He invented a stove to heat the homes better. He developed the armonica, a beautiful musical instrument based upon rubbing water on the rims of glasses. His chairs served many functions, such as steps to reach high library books. When he had difficulty seeing, he invented bifocals.

You can visit the Franklin Court web site which tells many interesting things about this very interesting man. Franklin Court is the place when Ben lived. It features a print shop, the Ben Franklin post office, a museum of his inventions, the excavated remains of his home, and a "ghost" of where his house would have been. His grave is found behind Old Christ Church where he, Betsy Ross, and George Washington all worshipped while they were in Philadelphia.

With the money that Franklin left the city, the Franklin Institute was established. This is an appropriate tribute to the man who discovered the relationship between lightning and electricity. Franklin had an interest in science from an early age. He often told of how, in his youth, he investigated the properties of heat by placing squares of different colored cloth on the snow on a sunny day. He discovered that darker materials absorbed more heat from the sun and melted their way down through the snow. Lighter colored pieces of cloth reflected the sun's heat and remained on the surface. He concluded that to stay cooler in summer, people should wear light-colored clothing and vice versa. We follow this practice today.

Go to Part 2 of the Sept. 27, 1999 Log