Gettysburg

Day 10 September 22, 2024 Gettysburg Pennsylvania 78.3 miles

Rain fell over night and the forecast is for more to come. Rob did some minor maintenance between rain drops. We didn’t have to be at the host hotel until about 10 am so it left us a little time. We are staying about 8.5 miles from the host hotel. Then he tried to start the car. It really did not want to start. He tried for quite a while before it finally started. His best guess was that the car really does not like the rain.

We twisted and turned through county roads. The roads are not very wide but they also don’t carry much traffic. We got to the host hotel in plenty of time. We checked in and got our goodie bag. Some good stuff but also some throw away. Then we had to go for a safety inspection. That included do your headlights work. Do you have a fire extinguisher. Do you have tire chocks. Then they took pictures of the car and of us beside the car.

We decided to do the Sunday bonus tour even though most of it will be repeated tomorrow. The directions seem pretty good. The first stop was a winery. They were really busy with locals more than tour folks. They had lots of kinds of wine. Most of it was sweet varieties. Quite a few had other fruits in addition to the grape. We ordered a pizza and Connie had a glass of wine. The pizza made Flying Pie Pizza at home look like a real bargain.

We missed a turn and ended up at stops three and four. That was okay because we can still go to stop two afterwards. One of these was a small cafe and the other was a round barn that now sells fresh produce, canned goods and souvenirs. The round barns were first built by the Shakers as the perfect shape. That way the devil could not get you in a corner. This is a very large building capable of holding 50 head of cattle and 16 horses. The upper level is now used as an event site and the bottom is for food items. They had lots of different kinds of apples, salsa, jam, sauces and other items.

We doubled back a little and took the scenic route to stop number two. We saw so many different apple orchards. Most still have apples on the trees. Pennsylvania is the fourth largest producer of apples behind Washington, Michigan, and New York. The drive is very pretty. Not many houses. Sure glad we don’t have to drive this in the winter. The roads are narrow and some of the inclines are relatively steep.

Stop number two also sells fresh produce and lots of other stuff. One of the better things is fresh apple cider. We bought a gallon because that was only $2.00 more than half a gallon. We drank a glass each before leaving. They had a football player made from hay bales near one of the parking lot entrances. He was big enough to be drafted.

Then it was back to the host hotel to wait for the evening banquet. We stayed in the parking lot for a short time and cleaned up the car. We visited the hospitality suite which can’t have any outside food so there was not much there. They did have numerous baskets they are going to draw raffle tickets for on Thursday. We put in for a couple of items. Very doubtful we will win either item. But just like the lottery, you must play to win.

The banquet food was not one of the better meals. The food was lukewarm and dry. Both of us had the chicken option. The beef looked better. We did get to talk with some people we had met on other Glidden tours. The drive home was all in the dark which is not easy with Model A lights and narrow winding roads. For some unknown reason, we have no taillights on high beam. So, low beam was the only option tonight. Something new for the to-do list. Luckily no animals appeared on the road other than one road kill deer.