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Americans saw wealth plummet 40% from 2007 to 2010.

From the washingtonpost.com. You can read all about it here.

Delaware Canal River Trail

 This is the Delaware Canal Trail. For a link to the trail click here.

It runs along the Delaware River that borders Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This part of the  trail is around Yardley PA. Many years ago, before the oil boom, donkeys and horses would pull small barges used to transport coal as their major source of energy. This canal extended for many miles to help heat many homes and fuel cars. As you can see the canal is on the left while the Delaware is on the right. The limestone gravel path was used by the horses and the people to hull the coal up and down the river. Today they obviously no longer do that so people use this trail as recreation.

And delightful it is. These pictures I took when I was living in the area back in 2003. Fall was particularly special because of all the pretty leaves and their reflection on the canal. Sometimes the canal water would dry up completely but as soon as the Spring rains would come that would quickly change. There are many homes along the river and canal and some folks would use their kayaks and little dinghies to fart around in the canal.

 Water would empty out through a wheel and these canal locks would be used to manage the amount of water into the canal. Like I said before they do not use these canals anymore as a means of transportation but they do offer a scenic view along the trail. I have always enjoyed taking pictures as a hobby and this is what I did for my collection. You can even do a collage while you collect fall leaves. Something creative and educational to do with your kids!

 This part of the trail would bring you into New Hope, PA. Quaint little town and plenty of neat little shops like antiques, eaters, and candles. New Hope is a fun little place to vacation. If you are into antiquing and like to collect little trinkets and love to peruse lots of neat shops, then this is the place to visit.

 I had to take a pic here because of the brilliant yellow tree. This is still the town of New Hope. The only drawback is all the people that swarm to this place because of the shopping and recreation.

 This is a little restaurant right on the canal where you can stop and eat something along the way. They do mock donkey runs with a boat that you can board and get a tour of New Hope in a boat pulled by a donkey. Kind of like in Venice Italy.

 On the weekends many families would bike on the trail so it would get a little crowded from time to time. Before I moved out here to NW PA, in 2006 there was one Spring that the Delaware flooded its banks 3 times in less than 3 months. Many businesses and homes were destroyed. That is one big reason why I would never want to live by a river! I can not imagine having to clean out my home THREE times in less than 3 months. I would have thrown in the towel by then.

Another home along the canal. This one was lighted up. Looked real pretty, so I had to take a pic.

 More homes along the canal. I believe this is passing through Lumberville.

On this trail you could pass through Washington's Crossing. It is the actual place where George Washington and his troops passed the Delaware into Trenton to fight off the Brits!

Some of these pictures have a reflection on them because I took a picture of a picture in order to upload them.

For a link to all trails in Pennsylvania to explore click here.

For all you trail lovers out there.

 This is the Philadelphia River Trail. For a description of this trail click here. It runs along the Schuylkill River from the Justice Bell to the Liberty Bell. When I lived in the suburbs of Philly, I frequently rode my bike for several hours finding it quite therapeutic. As you can see I took several pics. When the trail came into Philadelphia, you had the option of going either along Kelly Drive which is quite scenic or you could continue on into Fairmont Park and into Wissahickon Valley Park Trail. I rode my bike on this trail probably every other day. Now this was way back in my early thirties when I had a little more energy but even now as I age I still have a strong desire to explore so many other trails that I have not yet visited, such as the Great Allegheny Passage in Pittsburgh that goes all the way to D.C. Maybe one day, Lord willing I will get that chance.

 On this trail, if you took some cash with you and plenty of energy pills, you could pretty much bike all day. From Fairmont Park all the way up to Green Lane. I am not sure how many total miles the entire trail is but it should be at least 70 miles. The trail would meet up with the Delaware River and you could bike along side the boat row houses on Kelly Drive. At dusk, all the boat row houses are lighted and it looks real pretty with the reflection from the River. The trail takes you right to the Art museum.

 Towards the Philadelphia area, there would be more cars obviously, but as long as you stayed on the trail, it was quite pleasant. The trail would go under several bridges as you approached the Philly area.

 The trail went through the Manayunk and Conshohocken areas so you could stop and visit the many little shops and stores. As you can see many of these trails are converted from old train lines so this is what makes them interesting.

 Some of these trails have quick stops designed just for the trail users. So if you get hungry or thirsty, you can make a quick pit stop. Not to mention all the folks you could potentially meet along the way.......you know the avid marathon adventure seekers who love the thrill of endless exercise!

 This Conshohocken area is mostly business. Some investors have put money into apartments along the river.........I wonder how that is doing? They were building this back in 2005-2006 like there was going to be exponential growth. I am sure that has all changed now in this economy!

I remember on this part of the trail that starts in Valley Forge, I was running one day and suddenly this horse comes trotting down the trail complete with saddle and reins but no rider or owner. I found this rather entertaining. So I just assumed the horse got away from its owner and I grab its reins and started to walk with the horse and sure enough its' owner was so happy to see his horse. Apparently they tried to cross the river but it spooked the horse and the horse took off. It was a good thing I grabbed that horse because he would have just kept on going...........all the way to Philadelphia!

 This part of the trail is the Perkiomen Trail. It goes from Collegeville up to Green Lane and runs along side the Perkiomen creek. It is more quiet and laid back. There are a lot of bridges and pretty flowers that pop up in the Spring. You could pack a lunch and bike all the way up the Green Lane Park and Lake.

 As you can see, there are many bridges.

 And pretty picket fences. This was a large Lilac bush and the smell of honeysuckle and lilac was intoxicating. Just taking a deep breath soothed the soul from all the busyness and stress of life.

These big boulders like they have out here in NW PA are more up towards Green Lane. But it is mostly farm land as you are moving more towards the end of the trail.

And here of course is Green Lane Park where you end up. I know the folks around here in NW PA love their rails to trails. The Ridgway to Brockway or Clarion to Toby Creek rails to trails is similar but all these trails are unique in there own way and if you have the time and the money, exploring them is a great hobby. Next time I will post pics of the Delaware Canal River Trail that extends from the Camden area, along through the Yardley and New Hope areas all the way up to Easton PA. 

Bilderberg Members label protesters as "cockroaches"......

The arrogance of the rich elite who meet in secret to "plan" the future. Like the Tower of Babel, they will all be confounded.

You can read about it here and
here.

Every time a Bilderberg Meeting takes place, important things happen. The last time they met in the US was an election year, 2008 – and the world got Obama. This year they’re back in the US: will they decide who the next president will be?

 When in 2008 they gathered from June 5 to 8 in Chantilly, Virginia – just a stone’s throw from the Washington DC – Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were neck-in-neck in the battle for the Democratic Party’s presidential candidacy.


 On June 5 of that year, Barack and Hillary mysteriously “disappeared” for some hours “somewhere in the DC area.” Their agendas blocked out, they clearly sneaked off to “Meet the Bilderbergers.”

 The media kept mum about that, save for an Associated Press report on the campaign trail saying that, "reporters traveling with Obama sensed something might be happening between the pair (i.e. Obama and Hillary) when they arrived at Dulles International Airport after an event in Northern Virginia and Obama was not aboard the airplane.

 Asked at the time about the Illinois Senator's whereabouts, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs smiled and declined to comment." (The AP dispatch “Obama and Clinton meet, discuss uniting Democrats” is, strangely, “no longer available” on their website).

 Be that as it may, two days later, Hillary withdrew from the race and Obama became the presidential candidate. Did Bilderberg make Hillary “an offer she couldn’t refuse” to clear the way for Obama to the White House? Did they promise her that she would become his Secretary of State?

 Although most Bilderberg annual meetings are held in Europe – France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Denmark, England, Scotland, Norway – this US election year they’re again gathering at the Westfield Marriott Hotel in Virginia from May 30 to June 3. Either they’re very fond of that place… or of US elections… or both…!

 So the question is: will “key presidential candidacy decisions” be made again this year? Will a Republican wildcard appear? A “God-inspired Burning Bush” of some sort, perhaps?

 Exerting Global Leverage

 A favorite Bilderberg method consists of inviting wannabe future heads of state to their meetings to determine whether they will go along with their agenda. We thus saw George H. W. Bush attend their 1985 meeting, Bill Clinton attend their 1991 meeting, Tony Blair in 1993, and Romano Prodi, former head of the EU Commission, in 1999.

 So what exactly is Bilderberg? It’s neither an organization nor a lobby. The “Bilderberg Meetings,” as they dub themselves in their (apparently) official website www.bilderbergmeetings.com, is a “by-invitation-only” club of around 140 very high-power people from business, finance, oil, politics, media, industry, academia and nobility who come together in a very private no-media / no cameras / extremely-tight-security surroundings to discuss… Well… there’s the rub: what exactly do they discuss?

 They describe themselves as “a small, flexible, informal and off-the-record international forum in which different viewpoints can be expressed and mutual understanding enhanced. Bilderberg's only activity is its annual Conference. At the meetings, no resolutions are proposed, no votes taken, and no policy statements issued.”

 True enough. Actually, they don’t need to because each individual member’s power is so very vast that whatever they agree will forcefully span the globe through their far-reaching leverage and clout.

 A Global Web of Private Power

 Though very high up on the Pyramid, Bilderberg is not the Global Elite’s power center. Rather, Bilderberg is a key group within a much more vast, more complex, less centralized, and highly effective Global Power Network, where they interact and overlap with other organizations, clubs, lobbies and groups, all having common economic, financial, social and (geo)political objectives in the Globalist Agenda.

 This includes such key entities as the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations (long-term geopolitical planners), its London-based sister entity Royal Institute of International Affairs (aka “Chatham House”), RAND Corp., CSIS, the American Enterprise Institute (strategic affairs specialists), Tavistock Institute in London (mass psychology research), the Carnegie Endowment, and the Trilateral Commission “umbrella” entity (founded 1973 by Rockefeller / Morgan / Rothschild interests, geared to coordinating the Americas, Europe and the East). These so-called “Think Tanks” in turn interact with consultancies like Kissinger Associates, The Carlyle Group (specializing in oil strategies and having the Bush, Bin Laden and Baker families as key shareholders), or Trilateralist Claus Schwab’s World Economic Forum.

 Thus, Bilderberg is basically part of that very powerful Global Private Power Web; a “node” so to speak… And a very powerful one at that!! It’s therefore no surprise to see that last year’s attendee list looks like a Who’s Who of banking, industrial and media CEO top brass: Deutsche Bank, HSBC, CitiCorp, European Central Bank, US Federal Reserve Bank, Lazard Frères, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, World Bank, Bank of Canada, AXA, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Fiat, Nestle, Novartis, Coca-Cola, Airbus, Eni, Telecom Italy, ExxonMobil, Alcoa, Marks & Spencer, Die Zeit, The Economist. As their website points out about Meeting participants, “about one-third is from government and politics, and two-thirds from finance, industry, labour, education and communications. Participants attend Bilderberg in a private and not an official capacity.” European nobility regularly attend too: the Dutch Queen, the Spanish King and Queen, Norway’s Crown Prince… Bilderberg’s high-power participants interact with, and are cross-represented on, the global private power web through membership and directorship in the Trilateral Commission, CFR, AEI, governments, corporations, banks, media and others. Interestingly, also in attendance are founders and top executives of giant Internet management and intelligence gathering companies as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Microsoft. Clearly, they run countries around the world, not voting citizens…

from this website.