New Jersey and Center City, Philadelphia

Today was Thomas' last day of class - he finished at around 3:00pm and then we were on our own for the next three days. So while Thomas was in class today I made my way to visit my fourth Capitol of this visit.

New Jersey Capitol

We had to check out of the hotel before Thomas started his class today. So I went and got the car from the parking garage and we got all the luggage into the trunk. Thomas then went to class and I headed to Trenton. It was a quick trip and in about 35 minutes I arrived at the Capitol. I walked around and took some pictures of the building and of a War Memorial across the street. I then went into the building to do a self guided tour. When I entered there were four security guards and I had to enter a small room with the x-ray machine and the metal detector. One of the guards asked me why I was there. I told him to view the building. He told me that they only did guided tours and they didn't start for an hour and a half. This is the only Capitol so far that I have visited that doesn't let you walk around on your own - just a touch of paranoia. Well I decided it wasn't that important to wait that long so I decided to move on with my day.
I had a clue for a letterbox at a park in Hamilton just 10 minutes from where I was so I headed there.

Dinosaurs

I arrived at Veterans Park and followed the clues to the box. The park was pretty quiet so I didn't have to worry about anyone seeing me and I quickly found You Want Me to do What? letterbox. I found a nice bench to stamp in on and then replaced the box. There really wasn't anything in this area I wanted to see so I decided to head south to the Camden area. Now I was watching the clock as well because I needed to pick Thomas up around 3:00pm. It was still early so I went in search of more letterboxes. I first stopped in Mt. Laurel. The boxes (a series of two) I looked for first were at Mt. Laurel Library. One was inside hidden in a hollow book in the reference section. I found Steve's Balalaika and took it to a table to stamp in. After I returned the box to the shelf I went outside to the garden and found The Domra. There was a bench nearby and I sat there to stamp in. Now that I was done at the library I headed over to Laurel Acres Park and found Duck, Duck, Fish! letterbox. It was a magnetic box hidden under a bench that was next to a pond. There was also a walking path around the pond. It was a busy place and I had to wait a little while to pull the box. I then stamped in and when I was ready to replace the box it was easier because no one was around the bench where I was sitting. The funny thing about the name of the box was that I didn't see any ducks or fish, there were only geese all around. Anyway, it was time to move on. I next headed to Hadrosaurus Park in Haddonfield. I was looking for Haddonfield Hadrosaurus letterbox. There was a note at the end of the clue stating that a geocacher moved the box and so I looked for it in the new spot but didn't find it.

Walt Whitman

I looked all around the area and still didn't find it so I decided to follow the original clues. I found the bottom of a tupperware container filled with water. When I dumped the water I found a toy and a ziplock bag. In the ziplock bag was a film canister with a small stamp and a logbook. Luckily the contents in the ziplock bag were dry, so I stamped in. I decided to get rid of the baggie, the toy and the tupperware bottom. I put the film canister and the logbook into a new ziplock and found a good hiding spot. I then wrote the clues down so I could email the placer when I got into the hotel tonight. I also found another stamp in the log in box for the park. So I am counting that as a find as well. Time was getting away from me but I wanted to find one more box. This one is called Rev 5: Lion & Lamb and is hidden near Walt Whitman's tomb. I made my way to the Veterans Cemetery in Camden. I stopped at the office and got a map of the cemetery. I quickly found the masoleum and I took a couple of pictures then looked for the box. It was a quick and easy find and I stamped in on a large rock under a tree. After I replaced the box and returned to the car I straightened things up and set the Garmin for The Steinberg Conference Center to go and pick up Thomas. It only took me 10 minutes to get from Camden to the Center and it cost me $5 to cross the Ben Franklin Bridge.
Thomas still hadn't called to let me know he was done so I found a nearby park and read until he called. I then picked him up and we headed over to Center City to check in to our new hotel. We decided we would walk around the city and so we had the car parked by the valet. After getting settled in the room we headed out to explore a little.

Robert Indiana's 'Love'

We are staying at the Hampton Inn on Race St. right across from the Convention Center. We headed east on Race St. to 10th St. (which is Chinatown). We walked through Chinatown going in and out of stores and then continued down 10th St. to Market. We then headed west to City Hall. We stopped at the Visitor Center there and got some info and then walked around the building a little before continuing on our way. We headed north out of City Hall and crossed the street to a building with all these statues of game pieces all over. We took pictures and then continued on over to Love Park. There is a Love statue by Robert Indiana there. So more pictures and a little people watching before continuing on. We continued up Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Race St. and then we followed Race St. back to our hotel. Then we decided we were hungry. There really aren't a lot of restaurants near the hotel but we found a Chili's a block over so we ate there.

It was a busy day and tomorrow we are doing one of those Hop On, Hop Off buses to see the city. So it is time to get some rest so that we can enjoy ourselves tomorrow.