Annapolis

The next day we went to Annapolis, the capital of Maryland.  The city served as the seat of the Second Continental Congress and was the temporary national capital of the United States in 1783-1784.  At that time, General George Washington came before the body convened in the Maryland State House and resigned his commission as commander of the Continental Army.  A month later, the Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris of 1783, ending the Revolutionary War, with Great Britain recognizing the independence of the United States.  Over 220 years later, the Annapolis Peace Conference took place in 2007.

As usual, parking the truck can be difficult in a city but we were pleased when we pulled into town and immediately saw young kids waving us into a church parking lot.

Since it was Saturday morning, the Scouts were doing their weekly fund raiser parking cars at the church.  The adult who waved us to our spot was sure to lead us into a "good" spot and told us he would be sure to leave lots of room around us so we wouldn't have a problem getting out.  I love supporting kids holding fund raisers.

The town was packed!  Based on a recommendation from a woman helping with the parking fundraiser, we made our way to the Federal House Bar & Grill.

It was a lovely restaurant and since we were in crab country, we enjoyed some yummy crab dishes.

The weather was beautiful and the city was set up for a lot of outdoor dining.

We kept walking and made it to the State House.

Why is it that everything seems to be under repair or renovation when we visit.  I guess summer is the time to get things done.

The back of the building.

Since it was a Saturday, there wasn't much going on other than tourists walking around which gave us the opportunity to see most everything.

The Old Senate Chamber is one of the most significant rooms in the nation, as it was here that the Congress met from November 26, 1783 to August 19, 1784.  During that time, three historic events occurred in this room:  George Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783; the Treaty of Paris was ratified on January 14, 1784; and Thomas Jefferson was appointed minister plenipotentiary (a diplomatic agent ranking below an ambassador but possessing full power and authority) on May 7, 1784.

At noon on December 23, 1783, George Washington's resignation marked the end of his military service in the Revolutionary War and his return to civilian life at Mount Vernon.  His voluntary action has been described as "one of the nation's great acts of statesmanship" and helped establish the precedent of civilian control of the military.

At the direction of Secretary Charles Thomson, Washington bowed to Congress, and read the speech he had written on a single sheet of paper.  As he spoke, his "voice faltered and sunk" with emotion.  After he resigned his commission to Thomas Miflin, president of Congress, Miflin delivered a formal response, after which Washington bowed to Congress.  In gratitude for his service, the members responded by removing their hats.

The bronze statue is placed where it is believed Washington stood to deliver his address.

The president's niche and dais are the architectural and ceremonial focal points of the Old Senate Chamber.  Their elaborate design reflects the authority of the occupant.  From here, the president of the Maryland Senate presided over the chamber.  On the dais, Thomas Miflin, president of Congress, stood to receive George Washington's military commission.

The original resignation speech is on display.

This room is part of the original 1779 State House.  It has served many purposes over the years, including record offices, a flag room exhibiting the state's Civil War battle flags, a bill room for the Legislature, and a visitors' center.

In 2011, the room was made into a caucus room for the Maryland Senate and is used for meetings outside of the Senate Chamber.  It is decorated in various shades of red, the color traditionally associated with the Senate.

Even some information about Benjamin Franklin.

We went outside and had a beautiful view of the street below.

The Governor's Residence is right across the street.

It was time to walk back to the truck but since it was hot, we decided to make a stop at the other recommendation we had from the lady at the church parking lot.

Lieutenant Dan, ice cream!

Oh boy, this was ice cream heaven!

I had peanut butter oreo.  Yum!

We got back to the truck (the guy left us a lot of room just like he promised) and we went to the US Naval Academy.  Unfortunately, we didn't realize that it was only about 3 blocks from the restaurant where we had lunch.  Fortunately, we were able to find a parking spot on the street that was easy to get into.

The Academy is a federal service academy which was established on October 10, 1845.  It is the second oldest of the of the five U.S. service academies and it educates midshipmen for service in the officer corps of the Navy and Marine Corps.  The 338 acre campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay.  It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum in Philadelphia which served as the first Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Academy formed in Annapolis.

The midshipmen were marching on the street.

And, of course, we stopped at the Gift Shop.....

.....and looked at hats.

We stopped to see Bill, the US Navy Mascot.

They stuffed the goat??????