Alexandria Bay and Lake Placid (NY) – August & October 1996

Various Trips of 1996 (Part Three)

ALEXANDRIA BAY, NY – AUGUST 1996

We took a day trip down to the Altamont Fairgrounds to see a Bagpiper Corps perform.  Hundreds of bagpipes playing at once was music to my Scottish ears, but it was hot that day.  And with no shade anywhere, it gave me quite the headache, thus difficult to enjoy.  Seeing any Bagpiper Corps is worth the visit no matter where you are, hence this brief entry.

There are bus trips which leave from Glens Falls which were relatively inexpensive, so we looked to see if there were any we could do.  The fun of a bus trip is you park at the depot, and then they do the driving the rest of the way.  Advantages are you don’t have to find a place to park, or figure arrangements for food.  The disadvantages are you’re on their schedule, so you may not be able to stay as long as you want, or you can’t wander too far from the tour group.  Bus tours are worth checking into nevertheless.

We found one which was heading to Alexandria Bay, and Molly suggested that would be a good one to take.  I agreed with that idea, although it was a tad bit surprising.  Since my family had the cottage near Cape Vincent (which was only about thirty minutes away) she never expressed interest in doing anything on that side of the state.  I figured this might be a good way to open up that area to her.

The main target of the tour was Boldt Castle.  I’d been there once, back in the late 1970s when we were just visiting the Thousand Islands region.  (This was before the ownership of the cottage transferred to my material grandfather and his daughters, thus becoming our regular summer destination.)  When I was there last time, it was just an abandoned castle on an island with overgrown yards and muddy pathways.  The interior, although still in good structural shape, was covered in graffiti.  It was cold and rainy when I was there last, so it would interesting to see this place in the warm sun.

The ride up was nice, as we talked, played cards, and generally joked around.  That was good to do without having to pay attention to traffic.  We drove past Clayton (one of my old summer haunts) and arrived in Alexandria Bay.  I noticed there was a lot of activity around the castle, and learned that a restoration project was underway.  I was glad to know that after fifty-something years this place would finally be completed.

Boldt Castle began as a dream of a New York City hotel owner who decided to build a “summer home” here.  George Boldt wanted build a full-sized castle for his wife, and the construction started in 1900.  A mere four years later, Mrs. Boldt died suddenly, and then Mr. Boldt halted work, and told all the workers to leave.  Why continue building something if the person you’re building it for isn’t there any more, so George Boldt abandoned the project, and never returned to the area.  The property remained in his family until the late 1970s, which at that point it was assumed by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority.

The main portion of the castle hadn’t had a lot of restoration work done on it yet, because the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority (who was in charge of the project) had decided to work on the smaller outer buildings first.  While the inside of the actual Boldt Castle was still covered in graffiti as I remembered it, but the rest of the buildings no longer looked like a bunch of ruins.  The muddy pathways were now covered in gravel, and the grounds where actually mowed.  I was impressed at how much had changed, and surprised that during all the summers at Camp we’d never wandered up to watch the progress.

One structure was now completed, which was the tower at the water’s edge.  Actually known as Alster Tower, but referred to as the “play house,” this was actually meant to be a place for George Boldt’s kids to have fun in.  In reality it was where the Boldt’s lived while the Castle was being constructed.  This had normal-sized ceilings, and a decent amount of space spread out over the five floors.  I don’t want much, but something this size would be enough space for me to live in.  Ignore all the gamer fantasies about living in a tower please.

I was in the process of writing a novel of about how the survivors react to most of the world’s population mysteriously vanishing overnight.  Using the “write what you know” theory, I’d based all the characters on my friends, and the settings at various places I’d been.  But during the writing, I didn’t quite know what exactly I was going to do with it, or where the story was going.  Because I’d visited Brian in Harrisburg not too long ago, I’d started to work in elements of that region to the tale.  The camera ended up remaining in its pouch as story ideas shot through my mind.  I decided this would be the climax for my tale.  It would be the perfect place for my tormented main character to go into self-exile, and deal with the information he’d uncovered about the plot’s adversary.  Since the tower was finished, that’s where my story would end, and knowing that I could start working on how it’d get there.

I jotted down a bunch of notes about the area, including a small island cave about a mile away known as “Devil’s Oven” that I thought I could use.  I think Molly got annoyed because I wasn’t paying much attention to her during the trip.  She wasn’t all that impressed with the novel-in-progress because I hadn’t worked a character based on her into it yet.  Now that I had some new information, I promised I’d do so.

The trip back was good, even though I tried to note down what information I could on random bits of paper.  I still had grabbed a brochure to use as a resource.  But here was something of historical value which had practically been under my nose all those years at the Camp.  Now that I knew it was in motion, I figured I’d come back every couple years or so to see the progress of it.  In the end, the bus trip to Alexandria Bay turned out to be much better than I’d expected.

LAKE PLACID, NY – OCTOBER 1996

Technically our anniversary is in early September, around Labor Day, which was a rather crazy time at work.  We decided to do the actual celebration with a weekend trip when it would be less busy, so our Lake Placid trip would be in mid-October.  We stayed at the same Econo Lodge as we did before (the one just outside the village proper), since we knew what type amenities it had.

This was an “in-between” period of the area.  The summer season wrapped up in Labor Day, and it wasn’t cold enough to start any winter festivities, so most of the venues weren’t in operation.  They weren’t closed, so you could go an explore them.  We headed back over the bobsled area, because during this time visitors were allowed to walk the track.  The bobsled run in essentially a cement pathway which had equipment underneath to generate the icy surface.  None of the equipment comes to the surface, in order to make it smooth as possible.  That’s why visitors are allowed to walk on it, as they’re foot traffic is unlikely to damage it (unless you’re Superman stomping your feet).

As Lake Placid had the distinction of having hosted two Olympic games (1932 and 1980), a lot of the venues from the first were able to be used in the second.  After we left the bobsled area, we headed east along Route 86, and came to the front side of Whiteface Mountain (which is where the downhill ski events took place).  Being in the Adirondack Mountains during October meant is was during the Fall Foliage period, when the formerly green leaves during various shades of red and orange before finally falling to the ground.  It’s very pretty to see.

The pathways on the front of Whiteface are an optical illusion, because from this distance they seem so narrow.  You think no one in their right mind would ski down what essentially is a tunnel through trees.  Okay, skiing at high speeds is not something I ever found too bright in the first place, so I never got into it as a sport.  But the trails are rather wide.  From the base of the trails (where the ski runs would end), I went up the mountain for a short distance in order to have a photographic representation to show why it’s a visual illusion.  I’m the small white dot in the center of the shot, which you can tell is me holding my arms out.  That allows you to see how wide this trails are, so the experienced skier can navigate easily which the fear of a tree jumping out in front of them.

The lodge at the base wasn’t open (which was no surprise), and we were going to get food once we got back to the village.  We left the ski area and continued east along the Veteran’s Memorial Highway, which brought us around the backside of Whiteface Mountain.  The engine on Molly’s Neon strained as we went up the gradual route and switchbacks which brought us to the top.  The view of the area was stunning.  I’d seen these before, even as far back as hikes with the Boy Scouts, and I still find them majestic every time I see them.

The castle at the top of Whiteface was open, so we could take a bathroom break, before heading up to the top.  Looking out among the peaks was the actual Lake Placid for which the region is named.  Thanks to legislation signed by the NY Governor back in 1885, this whole area (referring to the Adirondack Park itself, not just the Lake Placid region) was deemed protected, and is the largest state park in the Lower 48.  Looking out over the forested mountain peaks, even though there was a lot of logging is the early 19^th Century, these views are the same for what the first European explorers saw, and what the native people enjoyed everyday for countless generations before that.

When at top of Whiteface Mountain, there are no guard-rails to obstruct the view and to keep morons from toppling over.  The rocky edges are very a “at your own risk” venture as you wander about.  There’s a few pillars set around which have the pay-binoculars to get closer views of the peaks, but they’d been all put in storage at the end of the summer season.

Whiteface tops out at over 4,800 feet, so it’s not one of the largest mountains in the area, but that’s still a respectable size.  On the lower elevation, the October weather was cool, but comfortable.  After going up a couple thousand feet of elevation, the temperature dropped significantly; and that’s before the wind-chill factor.  We were smart enough to bring our winter coats with us.  It was chilly to lay on the rocks for the “I was here” picture, but it was less-chilly than to stand in the wind.

From there, we headed back down the Memorial Highway and into the village of Lake Placid.  We got cleaned up, and then headed to an early dinner at one of the finer establishments in the area.  Figured it was a good way to treat ourselves.  This was only a weekend trip, but it was what was needed to mark the celebration.  We’d been here in the winter and fall now, so we figured a spring and summer trip would be coming before too long.  Thinking about how the mountains looked with the Fall Foliage, I knew the view would still breathtaking when the oranges and red were replaced with a sea of various greens.

For current information on the places visited:

            Thousand Islands Region:  http://www.visit1000islands.com/visitorinfo/

            Boldt Castle:  http://www.boldtcastle.com/visitorinfo/

Lake Placid:  www.lakeplacid.com

Whiteface Mountain:  www.whiteface.com

Adirondack Park:  http://visitadirondacks.com/

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Howe Cavern (NY) and Wilson Castle (VT) – July & August 1996

Various Trips of 1996 (Part Two)

HOWE CAVERN -- JULY 1996

It was pretty hot the latter part of this month, so we figured on a nice way to beat the heat (at least for a short time).  Instead of doing something near water (where most people were already flocked to), we decided to go underground.  We hopped on the Northway which took us to Albany, and then went about thirty minutes southwest on Interstate 88 to the small village of Howes Cave, where we could find Howe Caverns.

While the caves had been first discovered earlier settlers, but the historic claim goes to Lester Howe.  The story goes in May of 1842, he noticed the particular way his and his neighbor’s cows were hanging out in the pasture.  When Lester investigated, he found a cave opening which had cool air coming from below.  He entered the cave, and realized the value of what he’d found.

There was about two miles of underground passageways, complete with various rock formations, so he opened it up for visitors the following year.  It ended up being a rather prosperous venture for Lester Howe.  He guided many people through the caves up until 1872, when a change of the railroad baron bought controlling interest in the caves, and began mining the limestone within to be turned into cement and plaster.  Thanks to two later gentlemen who saw its potential, Howe Cavern was re-opened in 1929.  In place of the previous entrance, there was now a 150 foot elevator shaft to allow visitors in.  Due to the mining from the cement company, over half of the cave had been destroyed in the intervening years.  What remains is still pretty spectacular.

The guide tour we were given went over much of this information.  As the surviving sections of the cave are still considered living (that means the rocks are still forming, thus they appear wet), we weren’t allowed to touch anything.  There was one formation which was designated for visitors to get the feel of these rocks.  The oils secreted by human hands will eventually break down the minerals which cause the rocks to form over thousands of years.  The one we got to touch wouldn’t grow again, but it was better than having endless visitors put their grubby little mitts on everything.  Considering the amount of time the caves were open the first time (and the subsequent activity by the cement company), I think it’s doubtful these will ever continue to form.

The walking portion of the tour paused as we came to an underground river.  We then boarded small boats (which would hold about eight to ten adults), and that took us to the edge of the property.  A large piece of wire mesh kept the boats going any further, but allowed the water to pass.  That was good, as we could hear a waterfall a short distance away.  The river’s passageway was only wide enough for two boats to fit side by side.  Metal rods had been sunk in the walls on higher levels, which the guides used to push the boats along.  Once we reached the mess, the guide moved to the other end of the boat, we spun around in our seats, and headed back the same way.

At one point the guide lost her balance when she reached out for a rod, and fell off the edge of the boat.  Just about everyone in the tour group lost their frickin’ minds.  These people work down here, dumbasses, they know what’s going on.  The water was only four feet deep, so the guide was able to stand back up, and crawl into the boat.  She commented the water was about 60 degrees, so it was cold.  Once we returned to boat launch, the walking portion resumed.

There were many specification formations which had cute names which described what they looked like, and there were a bunch of winding passages.  Our tour ended in an area which was referred to as the cathedral.  There was a rather impressive, cross-like rock, so this had been the site of many weddings.  A heart had been carved in the floor, and stained red (in order to stand out).  There’s a bit of lore associated with it which said if someone wished to be married by the end of the year, you’d stand on it.  One woman asked what if you didn’t want to be married any more, so the guide said you sit on the rock; which that woman promptly did.

The entire tour lasted about an hour, and it was pretty informative.  I know there are other caves which are more impressive, but for one nearby it wasn’t bad.

WILSON CASTLE (PROCTOR, VT) – AUGUST 1996

Let’s take a day trip over to see the castle in Vermont, she said.  That had my attention.  I was picturing a medieval-style castle with towers and battlements and such.  No, we were going to Wilson Castle.  Originally built at the close of the Civil War by an American doctor and his English wife, they only were able to live in it briefly.  When the wife died, the doctor couldn’t afford the taxes on it, so it was repossessed.  The property went through a number of different owners until 1939 when it was purchased by Herbert Lee Wilson (for whom the estate bares the name of).

The castle has remained in the possession of Wilson’s descendants ever since, tours began in the early 1960s.  There’s over a hundred acres of grounds, and a few small outbuildings.  One of those is the old stable, where Mr. Wilson placed a radio station (which is still in operation).

The interior is ornately decorated in a mix of different 19^th Century styles, and the rooms are set to show the artifacts of the Wilson family (specifically focusing on Herbert Lee Wilson).  Stained glass is found through-out the manor.  There’s a lot of fireplaces in here (which makes sense for cold Vermont winters), and they are just as ornate as everything else.  There weren’t too many people taking pictures on this trip, so I wasn’t going to be the only pulling out my camera the whole time.

The entire tour lasted about an hour, and covered the history of the mansion and Wilson’s family.  It was very informative.  I wanted to go up and see the radio station, but other than the structure of the stable it was built in, there’s nothing historical about it.  Some statues can be found on the grounds, so there are interesting things to see.  It wasn’t that expensive for the admission, so it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

For current information on the places visited:

Howe Caverns:  http://howecaverns.com/

Wilson Castle:  http://www.wilsoncastle.com/

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Lake Placid (NY) and Six Flags Jacksonville (NJ) – January & July 1996

Various Trips of 1996 (Part One)

 LAKE PLACID, NY – JANUARY 1996

One of Molly’s favorite places to go for weekend trips was Lake Placid.  Since it was only a drive of an hour or so, it was a nice venue for some short trips.  There was an Econo Lodge just inside the village (you’d drive past the bobsled runs, ski jumps, and torch, but you wouldn’t reach the Olympic Museum yet).  That was a good central location to have as a base point.

Even though the Olympic events ended back in 1980, the Lake Placid region was still used for various athletes to train.  It also hosted trials, semi-finals, and other meets designed to place on the national levels, as well as some exhibitions.  While were up there, a skeleton competition was taking place.  The sport of skeleton is very similar to luge, where a single person rides a sled down an icy track at insanely-high speeds.  Luge has the person laying on their back and feet first, while skeleton is on-the-stomach and head first.  It doesn’t matter how you’re sitting, reaching acceleration of up to 5g will still hurt you pretty bad.

Yes, this is the same track which is also used for bobsledding.  Bobsledding is where a two or four person team rides down inside a cart.  The cart, also known as the bobsled (which the sport is named after), has steering and brake controls inside.  While the speeds are comparable, in my opinion bobsledding is slightly safer.  Since you’re inside the bobsled, if it flips (which does happen now and then), the exterior of the cart can protect the occupants from impact.  While both the luge and skeleton sleds have small hand-brakes on either side (for limited steering), it’s really no different than zipping down the hill behind your house on the plastic toboggan.  If the thing flips, you’re not attached to the sled, and you’ll go spinning ass-over-tea-kettle until what little friction the track provides brings you to a jarring halt.

Since this was only a Friday through Saturday trip, once we had our breakfast at the Bear’s Den restaurant in the village of Lake Placid, it was time to head back to the grind which was Tribune.  Yeah, we didn’t do a lot when we were away, but some of the weekend trips aren’t always about seeing a bunch of things, but spending time together.  Still, the weather was sunny and pleasant the whole time, so the drive back was nice.  While the snow doesn’t always stick, the pine-forested mountains we have to travel through to get to and from Lake Placid are always nice to look at.

SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE (JACKSON, NJ) – JULY 1996

Part-time during the summers, Molly worked at the Great Escape theme park in Lake George.  Hey, who doesn’t like having extra money, and she enjoyed it.  I’d gone to Storytown (what Great Escape used to be called) every year through grade school, and a couple times during the end of my high-school run.  To me, it’d become pretty repetitive, so there wasn’t much sense in going in my post-college life.  Roller coasters are okay, but they never really “thrilled” me.  Since Great Escape had been acquired by Six Flags, that meant Molly could use her employee discount to visit any other theme park within the corporate family.  Take a trip to New Jersey to check out a different location?  Sure, I’m game for that.

Jackson is located in the southern portion of New Jersey, just past the central region.  It’s this area which is filled with forested areas, hiking trails, and the lot, which is the source of the nickname “The Garden State.”  Driving down from Glens Falls means we had to go through the northern section (past Trenton), which feels like an extension of the New York City metroplex, and smelled like industrial waste.

And New Jersey’s toll system really does suck.  With the New Your State Thruway, you get your ticket when you enter, and that tells you what you’re going to pay when you exit.  With New Jersey, it like every five miles or so we had to stop at a tollbooth and chunk out a quarter here or seventy-five cents there.  That adds a lot to the drive time too.  Ultimately, that eats into your play time too, as we weren’t planning on spending the night down there.

Once we got parked, then we went around various rides that we didn’t have to wait too long to get into.  Since it was a hot summer day, the lines were crazy for any water-related ride.  We hadn’t brought a change of clothes, and it’s no fun to wander around a place soaking wet, no matter how hot it was.  Shoes don’t dry that quick.  And there’s the thought of what potential wet clothes will do to your car seats.  Still, the temperature was much cooler around the water rides, so we stood there to get some breaks from walking.  We just made sure to check the splash pattern so we could remain cool and dry.

Theme parks are designed to have an “one price admission” so the only things you’ll spend your money on when you get are over-priced greasy food, watered-down warm beverages, and bric-a-brac souvenirs.  Some time there’s a side venue which requires you to pay a little extra to check it out.  There were two I found down there, and overall they were worth the extra what I paid for them.

The first was an indoor “laser tag” course.  A group of twenty gets suited up in orange or green gear (ten on each team), and you have a fifteen minute match.  The area was dark, with black-lights providing the only illumination.  Each team has an objective to score more points than the other, but it’ll give you an individual rating too.  The harness I wore had a sensor on front and back, and there was also one on the end of the gun.  There was a little vibration feature to let you know when you were “hit,” but with the adrenaline rush I didn’t notice it at all.  After a certain number of hits, your gun would stop working, and you’d have to run to one of two recharge stations to reactivate it.  The recharge stations were in opposite corners from each other, and the two other corners of the square course was where each team’s home base was.  The home base had a sensor inside, when hit, would register a lot of points for the team.

Since I’d played real Lazer Tag with Shawn, Chuck, and others, this was old hat to me.  It was a free-for-all, with everyone firing at whatever moved, and half the hits everyone got was due to friendly-fire.  Tactically, it made no sense to “guard” my team’s base, due to the time limit (and you’re going to spend that entire time being dug in on defense?  I think not).  I made my way to the other side of the course, and charged the opposing base.  The three grade-school defenders scattered as I rushed them.  Since their base was mine, I laid down (to provide cover) and continuously shot at the sensor to score my team a ridiculous amount of points.  The downside of that strategy was I got shot every time one of my own team made their way into the enemy base.

After the match ended, you were given a printout which was correlated to the particular harness you wore.  It showed who you hit and how many times, and who hit you.  Yeah, I knew I was shot by my own team more than the enemy.  It also showed that I scored about twenty hits on the opposing base, so my team won that match.  What did we get for participating?  A bottle of water, and a comment of a “job well-done.”  Fifteen minutes doesn’t sound like much, but to be in motion the entire time was tough.  It was fun, and I’m glad I did it.

The other interesting there was a virtual reality (VR) machine.  It was a small amount to pay for a ten minute demo, in order to give you feel of what a total-immersion video game would feel like.  I stood without in a circular platform with railings, just to keep someone from unconsciously taking any steps forward.  The controller I held on to had the trigger to fire my weapon, and a thumb-knob to allow me to move forward or backwards (thus keeping a player from trying to walk).  The helmet had wrap-around goggles, and ear-muffs which cut you off from the outside world.  Everything I saw or heard was part of the game.  There was a monitor behind me, so others could see what I was seeing.

The game scenario was going down into the sewer tunnels and looking for aliens.  A “bug hunt” is a pretty basic objective, and perfect for the demo.  I’d hear a sound from one side, spin in that direction, and then open fire on anything that moved there.  I doubted I’d be trying to rescue anyone in such a short time frame, so I’d just assume everything was a hostile.  The rendering for the VR computers were a bit slow in certain instances.  I’d hear a sound, spin to left, see nothing but grey pixels, and then look back the way I was facing … which at time the system would be showing me what I’d looked at to the left.  Hey, it’s new technology, there’s going to be some limitations.  >grin<

The other part of the sensory experience was the one I’d hadn’t anticipated on.  When I was standing in line waiting, those who were jacked in where just making “oohs” and “aahs,” or comments like “this is cool.”  Without realizing it, I really got into the plot of the scenario.  I didn’t know that until the demo had finished, and the helmet removed to reestablish my connection with the real world.  It was at that point I was being told that I’d been yelling things like “die you bastard bugs,” and “frag” (the exclamation used by DC Comics’ assassin character Lobo).  I found it all rather amusing, as it added to the sensory experience I’d had.

So while I can say the rides at Six Flags Great Adventure were okay, the best part of the whole day’s experience were the two things I’d just mentioned.  The laser tag thing was fun, and that would be more interesting to do with a group.  But the VR was something I want to do again, and the next time I hope the technology has improved to make it react quicker.  Still, I was impressed at the quality.

For current information on the places visited:

Lake Placid:  www.lakeplacid.com

Olympic Sports Complex:  http://www.lakeplacid.com/do/family-fun/olympic-sports-complex

Six Flags Great Adventure:  http://www.sixflags.com/greatAdventure/index.aspx

Great Escape (formerly Storytown):  http://www.sixflags.com/greatEscape/index.aspx

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Southern PA & Central MD (Gettysburg, Hershey & Baltimore) – June 1996

GETTYSBURG BATTLEFIELD

Brian was now living in Harrisburg, PA, and that wasn’t that far of a drive from where I was living.  Depending on the traffic and road conditions, it’d be about six hours; not that far, considering I could get on the road at the ass-crack of dawn.  And I could drive straight through, as the only stops I’d need to make would be to feed the car.  I much prefer to travel on an empty stomach, and all those day-long car trips I took as a kid where made longer when we had to stop about half-way through to eat, and later for some snack.  Just get there already!

Because it wasn’t too far away, one of the days I was there, we decided to drive to Gettysburg.  I’d there once before, back in 1979 when it was a side-bar stop to break up the long drive back from Tampa.  Then I recalled going through the museum, and seeing a lot of things my nine-year-old mind didn’t comprehend the significance of.  One of the things I recalled from that visit was a film which had moving dioramas to enhance what you were seeing.

Since I drove the long distance from New York, Brian drove us every place here.  There was a slight drizzle covering the area when we got to the battlefield, so we decided to do a driving tour to go from monument to monument.  Had it been a nice day, it would’ve made a nice, although long, walk checking out the inscriptions.  We’d pull up to a statue, roll down the window so we could read the inscriptions, perhaps take a photograph, and then travel a short distance on to the next.  There was a few which were a further back from the road, which I’d jump out and quickly snap a shot of.

In addition to the cannons here (which were set in approximately the same placements during the battle), there were memorials to those who lead portions of the campaign, and some which remembered a specific event.  Unfortunately with everything that was there, and the way which we were quickly from one to another, it ended up a lot of absorb and recall.  There was a consistency among the statues of mounted people where you could tell if they survived the battle depending on how many hooves were in the air.  If they were all on the ground, the person survived unscathed, one hoof in the air meant they were wounded, and if the horse rearing back, they died.

Being here reminded me of going to the Saratoga Battlefield (even though that was a Revolutionary War site).  Here was the actual ground which has pretty much remained as it was when the historical events took place.  This was not an area which was “updated for modern times, and restored to its former glory,” nor was this used for any other purpose since.  Looking out over the rolling hills of the area, I could picture the Blue and Grey armies clashing here.

One particular memorial was constructed in 1938 to commemorate the end of the battle.  Known as the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, this large obelisk was made with two different types of marble, one quarried from the South, and one which came from the North.  By constructing a monument with tangible aspects of the participants, it’s a way to heal the wounds of the conflict which had divided the country.  One of Lincoln’s best ideas upon the conclusion of the war when asked how to deal with the defeat Confederate officials he said to “embrace them as brothers.”  I’m paraphrasing it of course, but you get the general intent.  The construction of this monument was a way to honor those who fell in the line of duty, and serve as way to always remember them.

The Gettysburg Battlefield is pretty good size, and that’s not even counting the museum and other historical buildings which played some role in the drama.  We worked our way into the museum proper, and took a quick look around.  We ended up going through this in a hurry, as we didn’t have the time remaining in the day to do this justice.  Still, that just gives me a reason to return for another look.

Upon returning to Brian’s place, what better way to put everything I’d just seen today in proper perspective than by watching the Gettysburg movie?  Clocking in at around three hours, the acting and script was so good that the drama kept you engaged the entire time.

CHOCOLATE WORLD AND HERSHEY PARK

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania, and there are a lot of interesting things nearby.  One of those is Hershey, the home of the chocolate bar which bears its name.  I also recall the name of the AHL team, the Hershey Bears, which played against my hometown Adirondack Red Wings throughout the 1980’s.

The first thing we stopped at in Hershey was Chocolate World, so we could take a factory tour to see all the products Hershey makes.  We sat in a little tram which moved us along a track, where we could view the machines that mixed up the various ingredients to make the different types of chocolate.  A recording over a loud speaker described to us what we were seeing.  The machines squirted the partially-liquid chocolate into various molds or patterns, depending on what the desired shape was.  The Kisses were made by the nozzle shooting out a small amount on a sheet, and withdrawing at the same time, which created that teardrop shape.

At the conclusion of the tour when we exited the tram, a factory employee handed a handful of Kisses as we passed.  We were then herded into the gift shop.  In addition to shirts, hats, and the like, and type of consumable product they made was present.  I’d been requested to bring back “the largest Kiss I could find.”  The one that I found was about a foot high, and was five pounds of solid chocolate.  While Molly would’ve been wildly happy with that, I also didn’t want to drop $50 on chocolate (on the fear that it wouldn’t survive the trip home).  I got two smaller ones instead that were about as big as a soda can.  Those were foil-wrapped, and contained in a box, so less chance of them losing their shape completely if they got too warm.  I put them in a locker for safe keeping (as opposed to Brian’s all-black truck) while we went over to nearby Hershey Park.

Hershey Park is an amusement park connected to Chocolate World.  Based on the admission, it was cheaper to do both together.  This was similar to other amusement parks I’d been too, as the biggest attractions (excuse the pun) were the roller coasters.  One of the featured ones was called “The Comet.”  I had to check it out, so it could be compared to the one current at Great Escape (where Molly did part-time summer work).  I didn’t see much difference, as both were old-style wooden coasters (when the current technology was to use steel tubes for the frame).

As Brian and I got sat into the cart, I had an idea.  Having the nice instant “point and shoot” camera with me (as opposed my manual 35mm), I had it ready.  The strap was secured around my wrist, so the camera wasn’t going to go anywhere.  There’s a chain track which slowly pulls the carts to the top of the first hill to get the ride going, and it was at that point I quickly shot my hand out to take a couple shots.  The camera was back inside my belt case before the carts accelerated for the rest of the trip.  I expected to get some sort of blur shot, as I had to wait until the rolls of film came back from being developed.  It was nice to see the picture turned out decent.

We put in a full day at the park going from ride to ride, and had a good time.

FORT MCHENRY (BALTIMORE, MD)

What did we decide to do today?  Let’s drive a couple hours to Baltimore.  Coming from Harrisburg, we were able to skirt the northern portion of the Washington Beltway.  Past that we could see what a war zone the suburbs around Baltimore were, and how crazy the drivers were.  That’s why Jamie always referred to them a “Baltimorons” when she had to deal with them.  Baltimore itself is a nice city, very modern and well-constructed.  But the surrounding area looked like the urban sprawl one would see in post-apocalyptic movies.  I think of the places I’d been, and only the Bronx was worse.

We located a place to park, and found a restaurant inside one of the high rises.  It was set up like a food court you’d find in a mall.  The cuisine was a little higher than what I was used to pay, and the quality was about what I’d expected.  But the view made up for it.  Being on the tenth floor allowed us to look over the Baltimore Harbor (near Chesapeake Bay), and see Fort McHenry off in the distance.

A ferry ride brought us across to the historical site.  During the War of 1812, British boats where shelling the American defenders at the fort.  After a long siege, a lot of smoke filled the air, so the British commanders ordered a cease-fire so they could see how badly they’d pounded the Yankees.  As they’d survived the assault, in a way show their middle finger to the Limeys, the Americans found the largest flag they could and ran it up the flag pole.  Aboard one of the boats was an American by the name of Francis Scott Key saw this.  He composed some lyrics to the melody of a then-current song, which later became our National Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The tour guides at the Fort explained that to us.  They also noted the flag currently flying over the Fort was much smaller than what Key saw back during the September 1814 bombardment.  Unfortunately little of that flag survived intact, so it can’t be viewed.  The guide did point out on the wall behind us (which was a familiar star pattern on a blue background) would give an indication as to the size.  Each of the stars on the wall were a foot across.  That gave you a good idea of the size the thing!  If you were going to snub your nose at your enemy, that was certainly a way to have done it.

It was also explained to us about the origin of the tune which Key used to compose his poem.  The guide said that most people didn’t know the melody was that of bawdy song sung in British gentleman’s clubs, a drinking tune called “To Anacreon in Heaven.”  Right on cue, I began singing the first few lines of that song.  See, I’d learned that little tidbit over a decade earlier listening to Dr. Demento, when he played a recording of it.  From the expressions of the people around me, they must’ve thought I was a heckler or being disrespectful of the anthem.  I saw the smiling face of the tour guide as I did this.  He promptly commented that in twenty years of giving these tours, he’d never encountered someone who actually knew the words to the song.  The mood of the crowd became more positive after that.

The rest of the tour was showing the various parts of the Fort, like the barracks, formation grounds, powder magazines, and such.  While the defense capabilities of the Fort had been updated circa the Civil War to house Confederate POWs, and then some additions during WWI to reflect modern potential threats, it was mostly restored (in 1925) to its early 19^th Century condition.  There were some people in period costume acting as a “living history” exhibit to show what life was like during that time.  It was a great piece of history to see, and certainly worth the trip.

For current information on the places visited:

            Gettysburg Museum and Visitor’s Center:  http://www.gettysburgfoundation.org/10

Gettysburg National Military Park:  http://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm

Hershey Chocolate World:  http://www.hersheys.com/chocolateworld/

Hershey Park:  http://www.hersheypark.com/

Fort McHenry National Monument:  http://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm

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