New Jersey - Day 27 - Camden

Clarksboro KOA
Thursday, 27 December 2018

On our early morning walk I know there were deer around because of the reaction of both dogs.  But I chose a route that was the farthest from the woods they were in and we managed to avoid any casualties (either them or me).  But on our second walk before we left the campground, Dexter reacted again like he'd seen or sensed a deer in a different part of the woods.  I couldn't see anything, and actually never did see a deer, but I clearly saw the white tail of one when it moved off.  Very large white patch, as easy to see as a spotlight, though otherwise the deer's body color was perfect for blending in with the trees.

It made me wonder about the evolution of that white patch.  Usually a critter's characteristics evolve for either safety/defense or survival/reproduction, right?  And for the life of me, I can't see how either goal is furthered by having a body that melts in perfectly with the surroundings and yet has this highly visible white patch.  If anybody knows, maybe you could pass it on to me?

today's route

First, today, I took the dogs to their last day of day care here in New Jersey.  Because it'd been more than a week since they were there, Dexter was jumping out of his skin.  Fortunately, the owner knew as well as I did that he'd calm down shortly and be just fine - and sure enough, he was.  I took them earlier than usual and said I'd pick them up later than usual, partly because it was clear they needed it, and partly because it's the last time they can go there and who knows how long it'll take me to find one Dexter will fit in with in Delaware.

From the day care in Pitman, it's a short drive in to Camden.  The main thing I wanted to see, aside from the town itself, was Walt Whitman's House.  But that wasn't going to open until 10:00 so I had some time to look around.

On the way to the Battleship New Jersey, I ended at the waterfront.

To the right of this photo is the New Jersey State Aquarium; to the left is a tiny harbor, a sports arena and the battleship.  Straight ahead is Philadelphia (in the photo) and right behind me is the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex (in Camden). 

The approach is a traffic circle with a centerpiece that I found startling.

This thing is absolutely huge and you can't imagine what a jolt it gives to come up over a small rise and suddenly find yourself face to face with this thing.

I suppose I could have guessed where it came from, but the nice people here put up a sign so we don't have to guess.

I don't know what the real route is to the USS New Jersey - it can't be the route the computer told me to take, because that's not much more than an access road to the small boat harbor (mostly police boats there) and a small parking area for employees only (though I don't know where they're employed).  But there was absolutely no traffic and the only person around was someone on a police boat, so I stopped illegally and put my flashers on and ran down a little side path to take this photo.

You can see I couldn't fit the whole ship into the frame.  The Battleship New Jersey is one of the largest ships ever built, and it's the most decorated ship in the US Navy.  The ship's website has excruciating detail about its deployments (calling it a "she" when I know it's traditional but just plain stupid in this case because did you ever see anything that was less feminine? it's a phallic symbol, pure and simple, so let's compromise on calling it an "it").

They give all kinds of tours and charge quite a bit for the privilege, so there has to be a more accessible route - not to mention parking - but I don't know what it was and anyway didn't want to pay the $17 senior admission fee.  Too cold a day to wander around on a bunch of cold metal.

Camden City Hall

Instead I drove around the area and found the city hall.  This photo is off the internet - the area was very congested and I couldn't even find a place to stop.  The odd thing is, though, it doesn't exactly look like this.  I mean, it does but it's hemmed in throughly by lots of other buildings - this looks spacious, which is the opposite of what it actually looks like.  Wonder where the photographer stashed the other buildings.

The city hall, by the way, is 371' feet tall, is the tallest building in the Philly metropolitan area outside Philadelphia itself, was built in 1928, and the building materials were supplied by the Otis Elevator Company.  (I'm going to guess who installed the elevators inside.)

Right behind the city hall, and plenty big enough to be seen in this photo (except you can't, so odd) is the county administration building, the whole side of which is covered by an amazing mural.  Again I couldn't find anyplace to stop so I could take a picture.  The only one I found online was copyrighted or something - but you can look it up for yourself, and here's the link.   waymarking.com/Growth_of_a_City  Click on the photo to enlarge it.  Stunning to see it from the driver's seat of the RV. 

Around the corner I saw the sign on an office building that backed up to the city hall: Camden County Office of the Surrogate.  I couldn't imagine an entire building for surrogate parenting, which is the way that word is mostly being used these days, so I looked it up.  It's a court for wills, trusts, adoptions, guardianships, and management of minors' funds.  With all that, no wonder they have a whole building - they must be incredibly busy in a city this big.

Just a block down the street is the court of justice with an attached jail (identifiable by the razor wire on top of the wall).  Fancy newish building, unlike the city hall.

By this time it was getting closer to 10:00 so I went back over to the Whitman House.  I'd already driven around the near neighborhood and couldn't find any open street parking spaces, so I finally drove into a parking lot that advertises a flat rate of $11 for a full day of parking.  I didn't want a full day, but I figured I'd spend a little time in the Whitman House, which is what I'd come for, and there didn't seem to be an alternative.

Except unfortunately, the Whitman House wasn't open.  I asked for advice from a man I'd seen standing nearby the several times I'd passed by, and he turned out to be very helpful.  His name is Dion (though I didn't ask how he spelled it so I may not have it right) - very chatty.  Said he played professional football - and I'm guessing he suffered one too many concussions from the way he talked.  It sounds like he does odd jobs now - he said there'd be a big concert down by the propeller this weekend and he'd go work down there, and he did work for the owner of the Whitman building (that's what he said - the owner - though the website sounds like the government owns it).  He said the owner had just been there - in fact, Dion thought he was still in the house and told me to ring the bell.  But when nobody answered, we walked around to the side and Dion saw the man's car was gone - which meant I was SOL.  Dion told me all the parking spaces were free until New Year's, which is probably why they were all full.  He said all those cars belonged to police officers, and that his brother was one.  After about 15 minutes of this kind of informative chat, he asked if I had 80¢ for a cup of coffee, so I gave him a couple of dollars.  I figured his conversation was easily worth that much to me.

Walt Whitman House close up

Whitman House neighborhood and Dion

I was really disappointed, though, not to be able to see the inside.  Walt Whitman has never been one of my favorite poets, but I was hoping I'd learn enough in his home to be able to appreciate him more.  Maybe so, but not this trip.

I paid the ransom for my RV, and because it was only 10:30 I decided to go back to the campground where I could plug into the electricity while I got things done.  But I got waylaid.

Every time I've driven along I-295 I've seen an exit sign for National Park, with no identifier at all as to which national park.  Since I had the extra time, I decided to check it out this morning. 

Turns out National Park is the name of a town.  It was originally founded in 1895 as National Park on the River, a religious retreat and resort.  It sure doesn't look like anything resort-y now - just a dusty little town on the edge of the Delaware River, though I'm sure it's got some very nice people.

What it also has is the Red Bank Battlefield, which of course I'd never heard of, but the road I was on dead-ended at it so I figured I might as well learn something else.  Turns out it was the scene of something important during the Revolutionary War.

Fort Mercer had been built somewhere around there, with Fort Mifflin being the corresponding outpost on the Pennsylvania side.  The Battle of Trenton (following the 1776 Christmas Day crossing of the Delaware) kept the British from invading Philadelphia then, but they managed to take it eventually in September 1777.  These forts were part of the defenses intended to keep the British ships from using the Delaware River to get supplies and messages from the main force into Philadelphia.  (So hard to imagine a world without the ability of rapid communication.)

These signs explain the defenses the colonists constructed in the river, which were quite effective, as this link explains (in great detail - but it's interesting).     worldhistoryproject/battle-of-red-bank

As far as I can tell, the owners of this house were originally innocent bystanders who just happened to live right next to where soldiers wanted to build a fort.  But as you can see from the signs, the house ended up being used as a field hospital, including for the wounded Hessian commander whose men abandoned him when they retreated. (He was the same commander who lost men at the Battle of Trenton and had been seething with revenge, which shows where a quest for revenge can take you.)

It's a large area with monuments scattered all over, but the wind was blowing and it really was cold (wind chill in the 30s) so I didn't stay.  I thought when I first saw the place that it was a shame I didn't have the dogs - but they had signs all over saying no animals - what a waste, but anyway it saved me from wishing they were here.

So now I know New Jersey has a town (National Park) as creatively named as Pennsylvania's State College.

When I picked the dogs up, they seemed just as hyper as usual and, in fact, insisted on a walk as soon as we got back to the campground.  But then they slept hard, which was good.  And peaceful.  Barely woke up to eat supper.  I need to start trying to find a place in Delaware - both a day care and a campground, actually - 2 places.