A walk through the past

If you've lived in suburban Philadelphia all your life as I have, you tend to take for granted things like Valley Forge Park. A short 15min drive and I'm on the same grounds the as the Continental Army in the late 1700s during the Revolutionary War. Pretty cool.

It was a nice day, so I decided to pay VF a visit. Change it up from my usual park across the street. Lots of people, tons of dogs, and a 5.3mi trail that left me begging for a nap. (After I hit the button on this- off to bed I go! Something I never do). It was about 60 degrees, the sun was shining, and for a moment, looking out upon the hundreds of acres of barren fields, it could have been 1777! Over 200 years ago, a soldier could have been standing in the exact same spot, seeing exactly what I was seeing! Then I looked further from the top of the hill and saw the sole reason that area is a traffic nightmare King of Prussia Mall. I lovvvve that mall, don't get me wrong; every now and then though, the former history buff in me like imagining places the way they were, before the Wal-Marts and Rite Aids started popping up on every corner.

Borders and Barnes & Noble had a really fascinating collection of paperbacks which caught my eye a few years back. They're called "Images of America", which you could easily spot by their sepia-toned cover. They were in the "local" section and had every place from Conshohocken to Bucks County to Center City Philly, giving a short history of the town and lots of photos.  It's full of major intersections we still travel today, and pictures of everyday people... working and living. Well, that "living" thing is a toss up after reading this article: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/32946

But anyway, those books are worth checking out, especially if they have your town! Back to the topic, Valley Forge is quite nice, and I can't wait to get back there once Spring arrives!