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Philly's driving time to Valley Forge certainly varies (traffic isn't always atrocious and not everyone lives in Center City). 30-60 min. is a reasonable range.
I think most would also disagree as to a lack of interest. Its history, lovely countryside vistas, hiking trails, and wildlife are a winning draw.
Yep, the Schuylkill Distressway is a total wild card. I like Valley Forge, and often go for walks there. It can be a very peaceful place, especially off hours. There is a tremendous amount of history in the Region. There is also Brandywine Battlefield which actually had a battle there. The Continentals got their butts kicked unfortunately, and the British occupied Philadelphia.
If you want an even more impressive battlefield drive the two hours to Gettysburg.
Philly's driving time to Valley Forge certainly varies (traffic isn't always atrocious and not everyone lives in Center City). 30-60 min. is a reasonable range.
I think most would also disagree as to a lack of interest. Its history, lovely countryside vistas, hiking trails, and wildlife are a winning draw.
Valley Forge is a beautiful and awesome place... one of the seeming few outer areas that isn't served by some kind of rail line, esp Regional Rail... The Sure-Kill Expressway can be very temperamental when it comes to traffic. You never know when, in an moments notice, when things start to back up.
... As to VF itself, one can find much of the same natural beauty and activity right inside the City in Valley Green which cuts a swath along the Wissahickon Creek (in Fairmount Park) through Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill... Just another one of the zillions of unique assets Philadelphia possesses.
Valley Forge NP isn't that interesting, and is a good hour in traffic from Center City. Philly is a great town, but let's not exaggerate.
More often than not, a park is a park no matter what city or metro you're in. They do have different vibes though, at least to me, which is one reason I tend to favor one over another.
Minuteman national park is literally exactly like that.
I'm a history buff. My girlfriend and I visited Valley Forge and Minuteman in the last few years. Valley Forge was much better. Seemed much larger and more tourist friendly. Tons of colonial buildings and areas of interest.
The most interesting part of Minuteman was the little canal/river next to the statue where some guy was kayaking. The field to walk over was very muddy and seemed like just weeds that were flattened.
I liked Lexington and Concord, but Valley Forge is definitely one of my favorite's.
I'm a history buff. My girlfriend and I visited Valley Forge and Minuteman in the last few years. Valley Forge was much better. Seemed much larger and more tourist friendly. Tons of colonial buildings and areas of interest.
The most interesting part of Minuteman was the little canal/river next to the statue where some guy was kayaking. The field to walk over was very muddy and seemed like just weeds that were flattened.
I liked Lexington and Concord, but Valley Forge is definitely one of my favorite's.
That waterway was the Concord River and you were at the site of the Old North Bridge. It is the site where the first British soldiers in the war for independence were killed by colonists.
It sounds as if you may have just gone to the Lexington Green and Old North Bridge sites. Much of the park and most of the colonial structures are on the Battle Road, a five mile trail with several sites important to the day of the battles and the retreat of the British regulars back to Boston.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Concord Hymn
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare,
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
Side note: Emerson's grandfather's house (the old manse) which was standing at the time of the battle is a few hundred yards from the bridge. The house is also significant for later having been a residence of National Hawthorne. During the early 1800's, the town of Concord was a literary center as it was home to Emerson, the Alcotts, Hawthorne, and Thoreau. All of them are buried at Author's Ridge in the nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
That waterway was the Concord River and you were at the site of the Old North Bridge. It is the site where the first British soldiers in the war for independence were killed by colonists.
It sounds as if you may have just gone to the Lexington Green and Old North Bridge sites. Much of the park and most of the colonial structures are on the Battle Road, a five mile trail with several sites important to the day of the battles and the retreat of the British regulars back to Boston.
No, we did the five mile trail, or what we could of it. Nothing was very well kept or maintained. I just highlighted the "highlight" of the park to us. Town of Lexington had the memorial. Everything just seemed disjointed and it wasn't that impressive.
Here is a better question to ask them. What do Washington and Boston have that Philadelphia doesn't? And then when they list things they supposedly have, you tell them they're wrong and list the same exact things in Philadelphia.
I really can't come up with a single thing any one of those three cities have over the other. It's more or less a matter of vibe and livability.
The positive things they are all about equal. The negative things though like crime and poverty, Philadelphia is probably tops. Population growth also seems to be much higher in DC and Boston. But why? They're both much more expensive to live in. What about job growth. Where does Philadelphia stand compared to the other two? I think in the 80s to the mid 90s DC had the worst reputation of the three.
The positive things they are all about equal. The negative things though like crime and poverty, Philadelphia is probably tops. Population growth also seems to be much higher in DC and Boston. But why? They're both much more expensive to live in. What about job growth. Where does Philadelphia stand compared to the other two? I think in the 80s to the mid 90s DC had the worst reputation of the three.
Philadelphia does have a higher crime rate than Boston, but DC has a higher crime rate than Philadelphia.
You know, you can easily find this information on this very website you use religiously every day.
All I know is that town was too gangsta for young Will Smith, he was sent cross country to live at uncle Phil's.
He only got in one little fight-and his mom just got scared.
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