Humbled at the History!

 Day 39 - Monday, August 22, 2022

Artillery Ridge Campground and Horse Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

This campground is huge!  And this morning we walk a different area, beginning at the entrance with the horse trail -- yes you can ride a horse here -- and there is a lovely goldfish pond.

At the back of the campground are the stables and a wooden corral containing the horses.  They are beautiful!  God did not make any ugly horses!  I walk across the dew laden grass and aim my camera through the wooden fence to get a photo of the horses that are simply standing, resting.

Now as we walk back to our site, I take a photo of all the street signs, which relate to the Battle of Gettysburg.

We are pleased to see that the Gettysburg National Cemetery is just up the street from our RV park.  At the entrance there is a map of the area showing the walking paths and serves as a guide for the various areas.

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1-3, 1863 by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War.   The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point.  Union Maj. Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's attempt to invade the North.

In the center of the half moon area is a bust of Abraham Lincoln, but we could not get up close because the bottom step is undergoing repair.  A sign nearby states that the monument commemorates his Gettysburg Address, given November 19, 1863.  It is thought that the address wa delivered about 300 years from this spot, and marked by the Soldiers' National Monument.

As we walk toward the entrance gate we pass by cannons (possibly replicas) used in the Battle of Gettysburg, and tombstones and grave markers can be seen inside the fence.

A plaque honors the Third Volunteer Brigade, and inside the fence we begin to see grave markers with only a number.  Nearby are plaques with a few lines of the poem, "Bivouac of the Dead," written by Theodore O'Hara.

Although I can not find any information, I think it is safe to assume the copies of the speech we see are written in Lincoln's own handwriting.  I clearly remember having to memorize and recite the speech in my high school history class, taught by my mother, the late Marie C. Pittman.

We stop to read every monument in the cemetery, and are humbled at what happened here 159 years ago.

Although humbled at the many lives lost, we enjoy reliving what we studied many years ago.  And now time for a late lunch -- as we were drive through the town, Tommy's Pizza sign gets my attention, and I can't ever get enough pizza.  Herb humors me.  Our drinks are served in glasses with the inscription, "Fourscore."

Herb laughs at my comment, "This is the best pizza I ever had!"  It has everything except anchovies.

Willie of Sweet Georgia Brown,

   and of Walldog and Willie

   Monday, August 22, 2022

Horses?? -- In a Campground???

 Day 38 - Sunday, August 21, 2022

Artillery Ridge Campground and Horse Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Being a little farther south, we don't get daylight until 6a, but we have a cool start to the day at 65 degrees.  Our morning walk is through a park and around an area of the Schuykill River, which has a weir dam originally built to pump water into a now defunct ice house.  

Herb selects a starting point and we follow the city's designated path, meeting a local resident who tells us why there is only one swan in a section of the river.  She says their names are Abbey and Rambo and they mate for life, but it is not a good idea for them to have young here.  Sadly, we learn that the male will destroy the young.

One area of the river is a bit stagnant because the water is flowing very slowly, but part of the green color is a reflection of the trees.  In the next photo you can see that the water is flowing faster and appears clear.

The end of our walk takes us by St. James Episcopal Church, but even though it is Sunday, we are too early for services, and must leave during the time of the main service.

We get on the road at 10a and notice a sign telling us the elevation is 1400 feet.  Clouds are ahead, and rain is predicted.  We enjoy a pretty drive with more curves and steep grade and arrive to our destination in Gettysburg a little bit after lunchtime.  We leave early because a festival is scheduled to begin around noon, and we don't want to encounter blocked off streets.  Elevation here is down to 572 feet.

When we check in at the office in Gettysburg, we are assigned a site on Blue and Gray Way Street.  We are looking forward to our stay here, because we will be able to tour the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District tomorrow.

But for today we'll see what's going on near us.  There's pool across the street from us and we occasionally hear screams and laughter.  Then we see the bucket at the top of the water tower.  A faucet above is continuously filling it, and when the bucket gets full, it pivots over and dumps bucket-load of water onto the swimmers below.  Kids are delighted, and it seems to be a challenge to them to anticipate the time when the bucket will tip over.  When they see it start to tip, some stay, some quickly swim away.

The bucket is hard to see against the green of the trees, but zooming may help.

There are games for the whole family, and a firewood vending machine that will take a credit card.

We were surprised to learn that this campground is also a National Riding Stables Horse Rescue organization.  Their mission is to save distressed horses from abuse, neglect and slaughter, and to place them in retirement homes as trail or companion horses.  Guests are invited to take a guided horse tour ride, and to donate for their care.

Another way to help is to rent a cabin on the 'street of the little town.' 

Near the children's playground is a sculpture of a horse and rider on the roof of a house, with signs that give direction for the path the horse riders should take.

Willie of Sweet Georgia Brown,

   and of Walldog and Willie

   Sunday, August 21, 2022

From Wine to Moonshine

 Day 37 - Saturday, August 20, 2022 - Part II

Main Street Moonshine, Schuykill Haven, Pennsylvania

We leave Worthington Winery in Central Connecticut at 8:45a for a long day of driving ahead of us, and enjoy the skyline of Hartford, then hills, autumn leaf colors, curves, and I hear the gears of the motorhome downshifting on the downhill.  The Garmin shows the curvey route to travel through the hills.

Passing a road sign for Sandy Hook, Herb and I have a moment of silence while thinking of the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.

We go through a bit of New York state, including the Hudson River Valley, we get rained on, and exit at 30 mph on a steep incline.

At last we arrive to Pennsylvania on a highway designated as President Biden Expressway.   Lucky to get a shot of the sign, the only way to see it is to zoom in.

After a long day's drive we are finally at our destination in Schuykill Haven at the Main Street Moonshine Restaurant as guests of Harvest Host.  At Happy Hour we choose seats at the bar, so we can learn about the drinks, and I am fascinated by their names.  

Maybe I should stay with the Blueberry theme... Steve, one of the bartenders, has an interesting container of lime juice -- a Mason jar.  Jen temps us with souvenir cocktail glasses, but we must limit the number of breakable items we use in our moving vehicle.  They also temp us with tasting shots of other drinks they mix.  

They point out a wall, which looks like the inside of a barn door, that has Two Dollar Bills pasted on it, and offer us to leave our legacy in this bar.  So we play -- Steve gives us a $2 bill and adds it to our tab.  I sign it with our names and the date we are here, then Jen adds it to the wall.

The title of this post makes us sound like a couple of drunks, but actually we are just taking advantage of our membership in Harvest Host.

The Burger Basket sounds like the best thing on the menu, and I am not disappointed.  We laugh about the fact that my drink looks like 'Swamp Water.'

Willie of Sweet Georgia Brown,

and of Walldog and Willie

Saturday, August 20, 2022