Fabulous day. I drove, picking up Barb H., her sister, Pat, and their friend, Pam. As usual, we left from Wells Mills Park outside Manahawkin and went by van, courtesy of Ocean County. Got to the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia about 10:00 and took a private tour.
What a place! I had never thought much about Swedes in America, but there were a lot of them, notably in Minnesota and--well, Swedesboro, NJ. The museum chronicles their journey from the early seventeenth century onward and is in a beautiful building, mostly marble, built in 1926. There are permanent exhibits, as well as temporary ones, all very interesting and enlightening. I bought some wooden Christmas tree ornaments in the gift shop and took pictures, three of which can be seen above.
We went to IKEA for lunch--the one in Philly is huge--then to another fascinating place: The oldest house, a log cabin, in New Jersey and, it's believed, in the western hemisphere. Fittingly, it's on Swedesboro Road in Gibbstown. We got a tour there, too, by the owner who lives next door, 82-year-old Harry Rink. He has actually taken up floor boards to painstakingly excavate underneath and came up with "buckets" of artifacts.
Got back to the park shortly after 4:00 and home a half hour later. Had a quick bite, then welcomed George and Frank for another rehearsal of If Guys Were Gals. Neither are natural performers, but they're not bad and they get better each time. Hot, hot, hot day, but great excursion.
Must finish an article for The Breeze and send; today is the deadline, very early this month.