Bloody Battles and LuRay Pastels

My Day in Gettysburg.  Pt. 2

About yesterdays post>  Don't get me wrong> I had a good time in spite of the not-so-hot hotel. I've been in worse. 

  In town... 

 It seems one of the big draws is bullet holes in houses.  

We toured the Schriver House and learned a lot about one family's life during the civil war.

A lot of action took place here.

Below is where the garden was.  George Washington Schriver had a saloon in his basement, and a ten pin bowling alley in the back.  He was considered one of the more wealthy in the area.

When the house was restored, many artifacts were found, including this old shoe (below).  It was considered good luck to hide a shoe in the wall of a newly built house back in the 1800's.

 After hearing the outcome of this family, I would say that there was not much truth to that legend.

All of these things were found inside the house during restoration.

We weren't allowed to take pictures during the tour. But we were allowed to take pictures of the showcased items.  


 Going back in time and being in the same attic where the soldiers hid out and fought through holes that they made in the side of the house was quite intriguing.  

It must have been a horrific time for the people.  

They were a young couple, a new family so full of life, and so ready to start their own business... a saloon and a ten pin bowling alley.

 Yet it was all interrupted by one of the most bloody battles of the Civil War.  George went off to war.  Hettie and the children stayed behind, and their new home soon became a hospital for the wounded with amputated arms and legs piled high in corners. What a sad time in history.

If you're interested in knowing more on the story of the Schrivers... 

 look HERE

Okay, enough of Civil War talk. 

 Then we stopped at a great antique market.

 This bowl was free.  Isn't it sweet?

 I love these LuRay pastels.  Color is always a draw for me....

And how about this cute planter?  

 Jewelry galore.

It was fun.  

And what do you think I came home with?

Mini Japanese porcelain doll furniture from the 30's.

When I was a little girl, I remember digging up a tiny porcelain teacup in the dirt.  

I thought I had found the best treasure in the world...  it was so shiny and colorful and pretty.  I've had a fondness for that type of thing ever since. 

And Rissie will enjoy playing with these.  

Gettysburg, Pa and Save The Planet

Early yesterday morning I headed to Gettysburg, Pa. to attend a hearing convention for my job.  My navigator announcer has a beautiful, crisp, clear voice which is unusual in a GPS, (mostly they are very computer-ish sounding). But she's not very bright.  Oh, she found us the quickest route and it looked like we'd be 15 minutes early, just in time for coffee and donuts UNTIL we ran into a detour less than a mile away from our destination and were rerouted around the town...  She freaked.  She kept  repeating 'make a legal u turn now', 'make a legal u turn now,' then she sent us to a couple of dead end roads and a closed bridge after recalculating several times.  We were late.

The bad news: The day was long and I almost fell asleep a few times.

The good news: They served a great lunch and I had a few good laughs with the others from our franchise.

On to the hotel. 

 I carefully chose Comfort Suites after viewing the fabulous feedback from others via trip advisors.    A good hotel means a good nights sleep.  A good nights sleep means the next day will be more enjoyable.  I'd gotten up at 4 AM and hadn't slept well the night before.  I was dead tired.  

  

And speaking of dead.  The first question the desk clerk asked:  "Do you want a room facing the cemetery?"  I'm assuming those are the choice rooms, since Gettysburg is known for it's 'ghost tours' and 'haunted houses'.  

I love Gettysburg....  but not for those reason.  

It's the history and stories that I enjoy.
"No, thanks."

When we got to the room...

*GASP*  

Oh no!  It's one of those hotels that only wash the towels that are found on the floor.  Lucky for me I brought my own towel and wash cloth.  

ESPECIALLY after seeing this dirty towel folded and waiting for us to use.  

I'm sorry.  But this is disgusting. 

 I'm wondering now how many other things they don't bother to replace in attempts to 'save our planet'.

The room didn't look right. It didn't feel homey. It was cold and dreary.  

Oh, great!  

They were using these blasted curly light bulbs that are supposed to use less energy.   

Before leaving the hotel this morning, I tore all the towels and washcloths down and threw them in a heap on the floor.  

At least the next guests will have clean ones.  

Did I mention that the Internet didn't work?  I finally had a call back on that at 10:00 PM when I was in bed for the night.  'Thanks, but no thanks.'

I didn't understand why everyone on Trip Advisor had raved about the free breakfast.  I have never witnessed sausage that had that much grease inside and out.  And the fake eggs tasted bitter.  

The good news:  The coffee and waffles were great!!

We were glad to say goodbye to our room and move on...

Goodbye room.

Uh oh!  The elevator was out of order.

The good news:  There are only 3 floors to the Comfort Suites.

The bad news: We were on the 3rd floor.

"And now off to town for 

some History Lessons and fun!"

... to be continued

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  The weather has been beautiful and tomorrow is the first day of spring.  I tried reading some of your blogs from my phone last night, but commenting was being very slow so I'm going to try real hard to catch up in the next few days.  I sure did miss you guys.

Dear Diary,

I love this time of year.  I went to the tennis court and I ran and played Chickie Bird and drank water.  My feet hurt now.  Gracie.