Harleysville, Pa.

On Friday, July 6^th we arrived at the Homestead Campground located in Green Lane, Pa. just a few miles north of Harleysville, Pa. where my cousin Bill and his wife Beth live. His mother is my Aunt Mary Rose that Jim & I visited in Brownsville, Texas. 

Bill & I haven’t seen each other for over 40+ years and we spent a busy three days catching up on all those bygone years, touring the area and visiting with his son, Patrick and wife, Missy.

Beth is a quilter too, but unlike me she does everything by hand from piecing the quilt to quilting it.  Her work is beautiful and she’s won several awards.

Bill, Beth & I at Valley Forge

Valley Forge troop housing

Rifle slits in fortress/barn

Bill's delicious BBQ chicken

Jim, Bill & me in front of Beth's quilt.

Gettysburg National Military Park

After visiting Antietam we assumed that this Military Park would be the same but we were wrong. For one reason, the park is huge and best seen via air conditioned car and even then it can take several hours to see it all.  For the more adventurous ones you can visit on horseback.  The campground where we stayed had daily tours into the park but with the high temperatures Jim & I decided to pass it up.


During one of our stops to photograph some monuments we met a young guy who seemed particularly interested in one monument and I waited for him to move on before I took any photos.  It turned out that he was the great-grandson of the person being honored by the monument and he shared lots of stories about it and the surrounding battles that took place near the monument.

He even showed us a rocky area behind a monument where the soldiers had carved the date and their names in the rocks. The carvings were well worn but he suggested we pour some water over them to make them a bit clearer.

Unfortunately, that didn’t help much.

He also showed us the only tree in the entire park that was there during the battles.  It and another one located in the town of Gettysburg are called the “Witness trees” because of what they've “seen”.  The one in town is next to an ice cream shop that Jim & I visited several times during our stay.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - Hershey, Pa.

On another day we went to visit the Hershey factory but were very disappointed.  It was a zoo, starting from trying to get in the parking lot to the entire facility.

It’s not the actual Hershey factory at all but a place to separate visitors and their money.  Part is a huge amusement park with rides and various other things that charge individual admission.

There was one ten minute tour that showed how chocolate is taken from the bean stage and processed into one of their products. At the end of the tour you’re given a small sample of almond covered chocolate and then dropped off inside the gift shop.  It’s a Hershey chocolate lover’s paradise and we stocked up on lots of dark chocolate for the road.

Gift shop - A chocolate lover's heaven!

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - Lancaster, Pa.

I wish I was able to include some photos of the Amish people, the most conservative sect of the Mennonites. We saw many of them driving their horse-drawn carriages around this busy city but they don’t want to be photographed and we honored their wishes. But we did go to several of their quilt shops and drooled over their beautifully handmade quilts. (Well, not really drooled.)  My favorite quilt shops were the ones that were located in a home.

Hand pieced, needle turn appliqued & hand quilted!

Amish farm

One particular quilt shop, Hannah’s Quilt Shop, was located inside her farm home which is self-sufficient without electricity!  The shop was cooled by a floor fan that was powered by gas (probably propane) and a series of belts to turn the blades.

We had an opportunity to talk with an older man, possibly the grandfather, who was snapping green beans on the front porch for dinner. Jim asked him about their cattle, that were grazing in a nearby pasture, and we learned they were dairy cows waiting to be bred. The fields surrounding the house were filled with corn.

I don’t know if the young girl that helped me in the quilt shop was Hannah but she was the person that helped the customers. She explained that the quilts were made in an “assembly line” fashion by several Amish women.  Some of the women cut the fabric and others piece the quilts. Then they go to women who quilt them and finally the quilt is returned to Hannah’s and she stitches the binding onto the quilt. All of this is done by hand except for the binding which is done on a treadle machine. Our visit was certainly a step back in time!

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - Antietam, Pa.

We arrived at the Artillery Ridge Campground in Gettysburg on June 29^th for a seven day stay. We were fortunate enough to have escaped the severe storms that hit the Maryland, Virginia and D.C. area but we brought the horrible heat and humidity with us. We used Gettysburg as our “home base” and made excursions to other places of interest plus catching up on grocery shopping and finding a Laundromat.

The first place we visited was the battlefields of Antietam where 21,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lost their lives. It was too hot to do much walking so most of the visit was spent taking pictures from the air conditioned car. 

Washington D.C. - Day 3

Thursday, the 28^th our last day in D.C. was the hottest day yet.  We have been parking at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center because it’s almost at the center of the National Mall and allows for easy access. We arrived at the parking structure to lots of police activity and news cameras and surmised it must be due to the crowds expected for the announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision on ObamaCare and the Holder Contempt of Court decision. It was a very exciting day to be in D.C.

Parking garage security

We mean business!

 As we walked into the Mall, my friend, Carol checked to see if the announcement had been made on ObamaCare and CNN reported it had been overturned! There was a lot of cheering only to be followed by disappointment a while later.

We started the morning with a walk to the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History and a visit to one of my favorite exhibits… the Hope diamond and all the other famous gems. 

Jim, Ed & Carol at the Museum of Natural History

The Hope Diamond

The Capitol side of the National Mall had the Aids quilts on display and the names of people who had died from the disease were broadcast over loud speakers. Too many people have been lost to this disease! 

Smithsonian Castle in background

Aids quilts

Next we went to one of the newer Smithsonian museums, The National Museum of the American Indian. 

 

 

The decision to uphold ObamaCare certainly put a damper on our moods as we visited the Capitol & Supreme Court building and we were hot and cranky as we headed back to the car. 

Our Capitol

Our Capitol

The Supreme Court Building

Press coverage

Lots of Press coverage!

  

Thumbs down to ObamaCare!

Washington D.C. - Day 2

On Wednesday the 27^th the heat and humidity continued to rise with the worst expected towards the end of the week. We decided to save the rest of our tours of the air conditioned Smithsonian Museums for Thursday.

Our first stop of the day was Arlington National Cemetery where we caught the tour bus instead of walking. The first drop off point was the Tomb of the Unknowns also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to view the changing of the guard. It was hot and very crowded but you never would have known it by the guard’s demeanor.

He marched twenty-one steps, turned and paused for twenty-one seconds, turned again and again paused for twenty-one seconds before marching back only to repeat the same turn and pause sequence. The twenty-one second hold symbolizes a twenty-one gun salute. After each turn he shoulders his rifle so it’s between the onlookers and the tomb to signify that he stands between the tomb and any possible threat. It’s a very solemn ritual. We also witnessed a group of boy scouts and a man & woman presenting wreaths to be laid at the tomb… something I hadn’t seen on my first visit.

Arlington Cemetery

Guarding the tomb

Changing of the Guard

Inspecting rifle

Boy scouts

The next stop was at the JFK Eternal Flame and tomb.  Jacqueline Kennedy has been laid to rest alongside her husband. They are flanked by their baby son Patrick and an un-named daughter. Robert and Ted Kennedy have been buried on the hillside below.

JFK Memorial

JFK's tomb

Mrs. Kennedy's tomb

The last stop on the tour was at the Arlington House that was once owned by, George Custis, Martha Washington’s son and adopted by George Washington. The land from his estate eventually became Arlington Cemetery.

Our final stop of the day was 18 miles away…George & Martha Washington’s home, Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon

Upper Gardens

Back of house overlooks Potomac

Potomac River

A lot had changed from my first visit with the addition of many outbuildings and gardens. But my favorite part remains… the chairs on the porch overlooking the Potomac River.  It’s a great place to sit and watch the river and imagine what it must have been like when the Washington’s occupied the home.

Former grave site

Tomb of George & Martha Washington