So let's revisit the topic of the last post - the John Mayer trivia quiz. I love him. I do. I eat, sleep, and breathe John Mayer like I used to do with the Indigo Girls (no I am not gay...keep reading) during my college/fresh out of college years. John makes me happy. Okay. His music makes me happy. Nonetheless... So I log onto the Local-83 fan club site and get ready to take the quiz. There are people in the chat room talking smack about the GD quiz! People were actually trying to psych each other out and get each other all nervous. Apparently, it worked because I did not win. I knew the questions that pertained to the Mayercraft Carrier (cruise), but I hadn't read the latest celeb gossip on Johnny that morning and a lot of the questions came from his set list the night before or things that he said in his concert (like dream cheating on Jennifer Aniston). I didn't have a prayer. Anyway, I need to devise an alternate plan to meet John and convince him that we should be together always. Forever. Love. *sigh*
And then there was a move thrown in. I no longer live in Seneca Falls, but rather reside in Geneva now. There is a great path along the top of Seneca Lake and amazing views of the lake that Belle and I see every morning when we take our little walk. My new apartment is approximately the size of a postage stamp, but we seem to be getting on okay. Storage is an issue, but I have found places for all of my shoes, which was a concern. I have rented an
additional storage space and it is filled to the gills - mostly with books that I can't seem to part with. Anyway, we are doing fine and the men in the neighborhood are remarkable. I am confused by this phenomena, but there seems to be a large proportion of young (aka my age) professionals with dogs who live in the little circle. I live in a row house on a brick circle with an awesome park in the middle, so that is where everyone takes the dogs to do their business. Belle loves the fountain and dips her paws in it almost daily. The water runs down the steps into a shallow pool at the bottom. This is where Belle frolicks. Happy day. Other than the bat that shared my apartment for a day and a half my first week there, the move has been fairly uneventful.
After a weekend of moving, I traveled to Gettysburg to camp for the weekend to celebrate my nephew's 14th birthday. We had a good time for the most part, with the exception of a few thunderstorms (my tenet was waterproof!) and a few small family skirmishes. Not to worry, though. We are all still talking and good to go. One of the coolest things about the KOA where we stayed was the pet playground. It was a godsend for Belle and Libby. We spent a decent amount of time there and it almost tired out Belle.Saturday we headed to the Boyd's Bear concentration camp/mecca. This place is enormous, but the rumor is that they've gone bankrupt, so there wasn't nearly as much stuff there as there was in October during our last visit.
Here are Andrew, Morgan (cousin), and Grace with the "Head Bean."
After that exciting trip, my mom, her husband Jeff, Morgan, Andrew, and I went on a ghost tour to the Hawthorne House and Cemetery Ridge. The Hawthorne House was occupied by Confederate sharp shooters during the battle and several were picked off in the attic, which is where the tour starts. As we sat in the attic, the guide told us stories about the Louisiana Tigers and that they were recruited from the ranks of prison and other institutions. They were fierce and nasty and it's possible they are where the term "Ragin' Cajun" came from. It was from this vantage point in the attic that Jenny Wade was killed 600 yards up the road while baking bread for the Union troops. Anyway...while we were in the house I had some weird things happen, but I will spare the details for all of you non-believers. After leaving the house we went to where the orphanage was during the war (now the museum) and then to the Grove of the skirmish at Cemetery Hill. The Grove (now Gettysburg High School's football field) is said to be the most haunted area of Gettysburg and you could definitely feel a different energy there. As we stood and watched the fog settle down onto the field the guide told us that 2500 soldiers went into the Grove and less than 400 came out. I can not comprehend this in my brain? How do you line up and march straight into enemy fire? It blows me away (no pun intended). As I was standing there, I kept getting whiffs of cherry tobacco, which was very common during wartime. After the tour we got back to teh camp site very late and after yelling at not only my mother, but my grandmother, too, I climbed into my tent and zonked out.
Sunday afternoon we headed back to the battlefields to explore Little Round Top and Devil's Den. Andrew was pretty stoked to see where the 21st unit from Maine held the line, saving the entire war from going in the other direction.
We were all having a nice time in the area, exploring the monuments, climbing on the rocks and then it happened. I heard "Belle! Get back here!" I looked over to see my mother's head coming from out of a bunch of weeds and then heard "....PISS ME OFF!" I hesitated a moment, unsure as to whether or not I should go see what happened, but realized that it was likely that this little gem
was running solo on the hallowed grounds of Gettysburg. I walked over to see my mom limping up the hill with Belle's leash in her hand and her lip quivering. I look down and see her knees all banged up and a bruise already starting on her shin. Apparently, Belle pulled a little too hard down the hill and mom caught her foot on a rock. After having my mother give me some dog parenting advice I went to find Andrew and Morgan so that we could go clean up her knee. She wasn't impressed, but to my knowledge my mom is the only female wounded at Little Round Top! Nice work, mom! YOU are now a piece of American history! Your blood has been left where many other proud, brave, patriotic soldiers fought. I am sure none of them were tripped by a dog, though.....
So that was pretty much the end of our day. We said goodbye as we ate our lunch in separate cars in the Arby's parking lot (it was hot, we couldn't leave the dogs in the cars) and then traveled onto route 15 together. Until next time, Gettysburg....
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