My Personal Founding Father

My personal founding father

For those of you that may not know, I am from a little state called Pennsylvania. He translates from Penn's Woods, and was founded in 1683 by William Penn. Originally, I never had no one or never would have guessed that the founder of my state was originally from a small town that I worked in for my first occupational therapy placement. At the end of the four week placement though, my educator took me to a pub called the Pennsylvanian that was named after him, and then to the local museum then had a detailed plan about his life.  I then found out where he was buried, set my sights on going to visit him.

The stone above was part of his homestead in Pennsylvania.

To see the grave of William Penn, I had to walk through 20 minutes worth of British countryside near the Chilterns. There was no pavement to be found on the road, and in certain parts there was no strip of grass or forest to walk on either, so it was incredibly terrifying. Oddly enough, I went on a sunny day in February where there were not a lot of people on the road, so I could sprint a long open sections of road if need be.

After walking a mile and crossing the road at least 13 times to avoid becoming road pancake, I finally found it, the small cemetery in which William Penn was buried. I had a brief chat with him and thank him for all that he had done in America to found the nation, and then I followed the footpath out of the cemetery and into the small town of Jordans, where his first Quaker community was settled.

The man who helped to found America.

 I got a bottle of water in the Jordans community store after a quick little hike up the road, and I could still smell stale hickory smoke filling the air. Likely due to the quaintness, Jordans won an award in 2018 for the best kept village in Buckinghamshire. I introduced myself to the shopkeeper, and immediately, the rest of the customers started chatting to me as well. After all, it isn't every day that you meet an American from Pennsylvania in the town that was settled by the man who settled Pennsylvania.

I then went to a little pub called the Jolly Cricketers in Seer Green. it was a quaint location with a very small town and home vibe. I would recommend this pub to anyone who is able to make it up that way, although getting there from London isn't exactly easy if you don't have your own car or the money for an Uber.

After this, I returned back to my domicile to rest up. This was the day that I went to see the founder of my state. Stay tuned for more adventures!

Many Waters of Virginia

One week in June, I went down to The Great Falls Park in Virginia. I met up with a good friend to go out for a day of hiking. We first started off with a warm up hike around Lake Anne, one of the four lakes in Northern Virginia. It has been modernized extensively, and included they Cafe, a bar, a couple retail outlets, and a bookstore that my friend and I went through to find some used literature. We walked around the perimeter of the lake, saw their Unitarian Universalist Church, and hit the road for Great Falls.

Blurry Aesthetics of the Great Potomac Falls.

In all honesty, I wasn't expecting the Great Falls to be as Majestic as they were, especially since I did not realize that I had already seen the other half of them from the Maryland side of the Potomac River. They were Majestic and grandiose, and the Riverside trail made for a very good 3-mile hike or so. It was a very easy trail of about a 2 out of 5. There's a network of trails in this area that you can choose from that extends about 12 miles, so pick your poison accordingly. Either way around, you will see the rivers, see the gorge, and see the beauty of nature as it was intended.

Take me with you to the ocean, sweet river.

After this adventure, we stopped by Cafe Sano, a small little cafe on one of the four legs. It was a Mediterranean restaurant that had very good small plates for decent price, with everything being fresh and mostly organic. It was here only got one of the best falafel wraps I've ever had, whilst enjoying the best homemade tzatziki sauce and ever had, was looking at the lake.

I then stopped at Cafe Amphora for a coffee and dessert with my friend. I had Tiramisu and a soy cappuccino, and fell in love with this little Bakery. It is here that you can actually sit in the Loft above the bakery and watch the bakers hard at work. It is a must-see for anybody who was in the area.

Fanny Mae Gardens  were the last stop on the days of venture, a Botanical Garden riddled with poetic prose and thoughts about the natural world scattered on top of stones throughout the pathway of the garden. It was behind an Urban spot of offices, and was really used by the people that work there. So on that day, we decided to put it to good use, admiring the beauty of nature, the flowers, and quotes by Henry David Thoreau, David Bryant, Sylvia Plath, and Emily Dickinson. They inspired me to be one with the world once more.

Although the hiking here wasn't the most intense thing I've ever done, it was still a very worthwhile trip to go and do for a day. I was extremely excited to be down in Virginia hiking with a close friend, and cannot wait until the day that I returned to like some more.

Eastern State Penitentiary

Seeing as to how the individuals who established the prison believed that all inmates had good inside of them in the potential to be rehabilitated, Eastern State Penitentiary was built to be progressive and meant to instill fear and pierce the soul. of course, this was not unconditionally regarded as a universal experience. As I will touch later, quite a large number of individuals Express their disdain towards the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation system that incorporates solitary confinement into most of the inmates time.

And so, as we entered the prison turned Museum, we learned about Henry Enlicker, who was 1 of 3 people born here. It actually said so on his birth certificate. His grandpa being deputy warden.

The courtyard Henry used to romp around in.

We then went on to tour the first cell block, which was meant to be a general waiting tank. Overall, conditions sucked. there was a lack of proper cleaning facilities, there were no windows in most of the facility, and it also came without any heating or air condition. Generally, the weather on the outside of the walls reflected the weather on the inside.

However, it was the first modern building, albeit with no front doors. They anticipated no rowdy crowds and no typhus outbreaks, and astonishingly enough, it was just as such. when the remodel came, there was heating and running water and it was more modern than the whitehouse. It had sophistication that the White House lacked, as even the president at that point in time, Andrew Jackson, was mostly using a chamber pot.

And so, we learned about solitary confinement. The goal of solitary confinement here was to allow time for reflection to become penitent, per the humane society of Philadelphia. Prisoners never saw other inmates, spent 23 hours in cell, working, weaving, crafting, shoe crafting, and got 2 half hour breaks a day. Approximately every 2 weeks he could bathe, and so, this is when he was allotted more time outside of his cell. whenever any movement occurred outside of the solitary exercise Courtyard or solitary room, The Prisoner was nearly always blindfolded buy a bag placed over the head so that he could not learn his way around the penitentiary or to see and interact with others.

Where they were took if they were injured.

Guards often wore bags on their shoes to muffle their footsteps, and they kept close eye on all inmates. There were severe punishments for talking, such as a straightjacket and gag. as such, Charles Dickens wrote that this prison put the person in a position that was one step between insanity and inmate.

Cell 4 eventually had life sentences. Some people are still incarcerated elsewhere that were once confined Within These Walls. by the 1940s, everyone had a job, including a band and choir.

On a secondary note, alot of inmates couldnt be tracked after release, so nobody knew how they did. It was largely known though, that in those days, inmates often times did not return to prison after their release. this, unfortunately, changed quite a lot throughout the years of mass incarceration.

Isolation to the extreme was most common in the PA system, but in NY, they workes and ate together, but in silence. Isolation, at this point in time, began to be too controversial and expensive, so the Pennsylvania system of penance eventually broke down by about 1870.

The guards we're not always the bad guy, though. Some of the guards had heart, especially Sloan. people had celebrated  holidays and had fun. And at one point, AL Capone got tonsils removed here in this present during one holiday.

The catwalk upon which they stood.

A lot of other individuals weren't enthused about the place, though. a lot of suffering happened here. And so, in 1971, it was shut forever.

Tickets run from $10 to $16, and is open for tour most weekdays. Check it out sometime!