2013
Gettysburg-Hershey-Philadelphia-Atlantic City
Day one----Friday, July 5, 2013
It has been quite a first day and we really haven’t done much. We left home about 6:30 AM and got to DIA at 7:00 AM for a 8:55 AM flight. We checked our bags, got to security and when I opened my bag to take my computer out to send it through the scanner it wasn’t there. I had packed the cords in their nice new bag, and forgot to put the computer in it’s pocket.
I could survive without. It would even make the nights easier, not having to deal with balancing cash. But, I really like to keep track of expenses as we go, so we don’t overspend. And, I like to at least write a little on these blogs so, I don’t have so much work when I get home.
So, now what? Going back to get it was out. Margo suggested having Jessi ship it. Too risky. Looking at my watch, if Jessi left right away, she could just get it to the airport, and give me time to go through security again and board the plane. Southwest would begin boarding our flight at 8:25 AM. Jessi made it to the airport at about 8:10 AM, and I made it to my gate at 8:25 AM. One bullet dodged.
The direct flight to Philadelphia was uneventful. I worked on my very first Kindle book “A Higher Call” about a German pilot from World War II, that instead of shooting down a severely damaged, and defenseless B-17, he escorted it through a heavily defended Geman AA battery and to the North Sea. I don’t know the story past that, as I won’t finish the book until we fly home. But, it’s a good choice, as it’s easy to get into, and it made the 3 ½ hr flight slip way.
We landed, got our luggage, and waited for the Thrifty Rental Car van to pick us up. The wait was only about 10 minutes, but couple that with the 20-30 minutes it took for our bags to arrive, and then another 15-20 minutes to finally get through the rental counter, and we were behind where I had hoped to be.
The Thrifty clerk was nice enough, but difficult to understand, and they are using a new electronic from, instead of a paper one. So, I ended up approving liability insurance for about $100 more than I had planned. I kind of thought something was wrong and should have stopped the whole process, but I was too anxious to get started.
When we were finally driving the Ford Focus out the gate, they checked Margo’s ID, to see who was driving. We switched places when she suggested we go back and add Margo as a secondary driver, at an additional charge. It looks like Thrifty is really pushing the extra charges. I did dodge the one where they ask if we want to upgrade, before they do it automatically, when they run out of the cheap cars. I head the lot manager tell my clerk over the walkie-talkie that they were out of compacts. He then told me a minute later that he had upgraded me for free. I just thanked him and we left.
Our first stop, now that we were officially past all the hurdles of getting started on vacation was Hooters in King of Prussia. This will be the 34th Hooters Margo and I have visited. Truth be told this is a tradition that may die off. We started it back in 2002, when I was 39. Now, I’m 50 and old enough to have fathered most of these girls. Still, it’s nice to see pretty scenery when you eat.
Our Hooter’s girl was less than thrilled, going through the motions. She was pleasant enough, but not putting anymore effort into than the minimum. Then Margo and I watched as she and another girl participated in a coin toss. Our girl, Ann, won. She shrieked in pleasure and threw her arms into the air, in victory. I guessed that she had just won the right to leave early. When she delivered our meal, I asked her. She confirmed what I suspected and between the coin toss and some interaction on our part, her attitude changed for the better.
I could survive without. It would even make the nights easier, not having to deal with balancing cash. But, I really like to keep track of expenses as we go, so we don’t overspend. And, I like to at least write a little on these blogs so, I don’t have so much work when I get home.
So, now what? Going back to get it was out. Margo suggested having Jessi ship it. Too risky. Looking at my watch, if Jessi left right away, she could just get it to the airport, and give me time to go through security again and board the plane. Southwest would begin boarding our flight at 8:25 AM. Jessi made it to the airport at about 8:10 AM, and I made it to my gate at 8:25 AM. One bullet dodged.
The direct flight to Philadelphia was uneventful. I worked on my very first Kindle book “A Higher Call” about a German pilot from World War II, that instead of shooting down a severely damaged, and defenseless B-17, he escorted it through a heavily defended Geman AA battery and to the North Sea. I don’t know the story past that, as I won’t finish the book until we fly home. But, it’s a good choice, as it’s easy to get into, and it made the 3 ½ hr flight slip way.
We landed, got our luggage, and waited for the Thrifty Rental Car van to pick us up. The wait was only about 10 minutes, but couple that with the 20-30 minutes it took for our bags to arrive, and then another 15-20 minutes to finally get through the rental counter, and we were behind where I had hoped to be.
The Thrifty clerk was nice enough, but difficult to understand, and they are using a new electronic from, instead of a paper one. So, I ended up approving liability insurance for about $100 more than I had planned. I kind of thought something was wrong and should have stopped the whole process, but I was too anxious to get started.
When we were finally driving the Ford Focus out the gate, they checked Margo’s ID, to see who was driving. We switched places when she suggested we go back and add Margo as a secondary driver, at an additional charge. It looks like Thrifty is really pushing the extra charges. I did dodge the one where they ask if we want to upgrade, before they do it automatically, when they run out of the cheap cars. I head the lot manager tell my clerk over the walkie-talkie that they were out of compacts. He then told me a minute later that he had upgraded me for free. I just thanked him and we left.
Our first stop, now that we were officially past all the hurdles of getting started on vacation was Hooters in King of Prussia. This will be the 34th Hooters Margo and I have visited. Truth be told this is a tradition that may die off. We started it back in 2002, when I was 39. Now, I’m 50 and old enough to have fathered most of these girls. Still, it’s nice to see pretty scenery when you eat.
Our Hooter’s girl was less than thrilled, going through the motions. She was pleasant enough, but not putting anymore effort into than the minimum. Then Margo and I watched as she and another girl participated in a coin toss. Our girl, Ann, won. She shrieked in pleasure and threw her arms into the air, in victory. I guessed that she had just won the right to leave early. When she delivered our meal, I asked her. She confirmed what I suspected and between the coin toss and some interaction on our part, her attitude changed for the better.
We asked about a t-shirt and she went into the back room and brought out samples of everything they had. It turned out that they had only a basic shirt, which Jessi did not want, in a small. But, Ann was happy and apologetic; not feeling put out at all. So, we ended up just paying the bill and getting the requisite picture. Ann (on the right) looks as happy as I did.
Our next stop was Valley Forge; home to the first winter quarters for Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War. I knew going into it that it would be tight to see much here. Our flight did not arrive until 2:30 PM, and the visitor’s center would close at 6 PM. We got there about 5:15 PM. The park would not close until dark, so we walked around the museum, and the gift shop. They we took a short self guided tour of the park.
I had hoped for less than hot, muggy weather. The long term forecasts seem to be granting my request. But, by the time today arrived, it was obvious that the heat of California had followed us here. It was in the mid -90s, according to the car thermometer, and plenty humid.
Our next stop was Valley Forge; home to the first winter quarters for Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War. I knew going into it that it would be tight to see much here. Our flight did not arrive until 2:30 PM, and the visitor’s center would close at 6 PM. We got there about 5:15 PM. The park would not close until dark, so we walked around the museum, and the gift shop. They we took a short self guided tour of the park.
I had hoped for less than hot, muggy weather. The long term forecasts seem to be granting my request. But, by the time today arrived, it was obvious that the heat of California had followed us here. It was in the mid -90s, according to the car thermometer, and plenty humid.
Valley Forge Camp
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We ended up making it about half way through the tour. We made stops at the large monument erected by the Free Masons, and the log cabins. But, it was past 7 PM by then, and we had 1 ¾ hrs to drive to get to our hotel in Chambersburg. That put us arriving after 9 PM. I figured it would be tough to find anything other than fast food, if we arrived much later. I told Margo just to follow the GPS out of the park.
So we followed the GPS and it took us through the horse county, and later than I expected we were on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I expected some sort of toll both when we got on, but we only saw something that looked like it may have been one in the past. There were no machines, no signs indicating a toll, no narrow lanes, nothing except a building off to the side. I had seen a sign about a FastPass or something, but I only caught a glance. This would come back to haunt us shortly.
We were driving west into the setting sun, and Margo’s drivers seat was so low that it beat down on her. By the time we were coming up on Carlisle she was exhausted and irritable. I offered to drive. But we needed a place to switch, and I needed some water. So we exited off the Turnpike. We got to the toll booth and the guy asked to see our ticket. We did not have a ticket. We never went through a booth. This was completely alien to this guy and he treated us like idiots. He asked where we were from, and then explained how a toll road worked. I felt like coming out of the car. We could not convince him that we never saw a toll booth to get a ticket. So instead of a $7 or so toll, we had to pay the maximum of $25. I was not happy, but I was hot and tired, and just chalked it up to bad luck. When bad luck on a vacation only costs you $25, you’re miles ahead.
I took over after we got drinks. We got a ticket when we went through the same toll booth to get back on the turnpike. I can guarantee you that we did not go through anything remotely close to this when we got on near Valley Forge.
It was still better than an hour to our hotel, and the GPS was predicting a 9:20 arrival time. Assuming that the Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel, that I knew were close by our hotel, stayed open to 10 PM, we had a shot at something other than fast food. Good fortune smiled on us. The Bob Evans was in the same lot as our Hampton Inn, and would be open until 10 PM. We arrived at almost exactly 9:20, checked in by 9:30, and was over at Bob Evans less than 5 minutes later. I had a turkey dinner. Margo had soup and salad, and we finished at 10 PM.
We took the elevator to our 3rd floor room and neither key would work. So I left Margo and the door and I went back down to get them reset. That done, back up I went. We got in and Margo began to unpack a few things. She wanted a soda and a water. So down I went to the ground floor. The machine would not take my bills. So I walked over to the clerk and asked about another machine. She said there was one on each of the three floors, with a Coke machine being on the 3rd floor.
So I rode back to 3 and that machine wouldn’t take my bills. I’m agitated by now, but decide to try the 2nd floor machine before going down to see the clerk for the fourth time tonight. That machine worked. Six dollars later, I had a pop and two waters. I got back to our room and by key would not work again. Margo took pity on me and opened the door. So down I went and made that fourth appearance. I was annoyed, but way too tired to be very angry. Then as I pulled my money clip out of my pocket, by anger turned to embarrasement. My money clip has a strong magnet on it, and I had shoved the card key into the same pocket. I had demagnetized my own key, twice.
Getting that fixed was pretty much it for the night. I made some notes for this blog and typed about two paragraphs before Margo turned in and I decided to join her. 6 AM would come very early.
We were driving west into the setting sun, and Margo’s drivers seat was so low that it beat down on her. By the time we were coming up on Carlisle she was exhausted and irritable. I offered to drive. But we needed a place to switch, and I needed some water. So we exited off the Turnpike. We got to the toll booth and the guy asked to see our ticket. We did not have a ticket. We never went through a booth. This was completely alien to this guy and he treated us like idiots. He asked where we were from, and then explained how a toll road worked. I felt like coming out of the car. We could not convince him that we never saw a toll booth to get a ticket. So instead of a $7 or so toll, we had to pay the maximum of $25. I was not happy, but I was hot and tired, and just chalked it up to bad luck. When bad luck on a vacation only costs you $25, you’re miles ahead.
I took over after we got drinks. We got a ticket when we went through the same toll booth to get back on the turnpike. I can guarantee you that we did not go through anything remotely close to this when we got on near Valley Forge.
It was still better than an hour to our hotel, and the GPS was predicting a 9:20 arrival time. Assuming that the Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel, that I knew were close by our hotel, stayed open to 10 PM, we had a shot at something other than fast food. Good fortune smiled on us. The Bob Evans was in the same lot as our Hampton Inn, and would be open until 10 PM. We arrived at almost exactly 9:20, checked in by 9:30, and was over at Bob Evans less than 5 minutes later. I had a turkey dinner. Margo had soup and salad, and we finished at 10 PM.
We took the elevator to our 3rd floor room and neither key would work. So I left Margo and the door and I went back down to get them reset. That done, back up I went. We got in and Margo began to unpack a few things. She wanted a soda and a water. So down I went to the ground floor. The machine would not take my bills. So I walked over to the clerk and asked about another machine. She said there was one on each of the three floors, with a Coke machine being on the 3rd floor.
So I rode back to 3 and that machine wouldn’t take my bills. I’m agitated by now, but decide to try the 2nd floor machine before going down to see the clerk for the fourth time tonight. That machine worked. Six dollars later, I had a pop and two waters. I got back to our room and by key would not work again. Margo took pity on me and opened the door. So down I went and made that fourth appearance. I was annoyed, but way too tired to be very angry. Then as I pulled my money clip out of my pocket, by anger turned to embarrasement. My money clip has a strong magnet on it, and I had shoved the card key into the same pocket. I had demagnetized my own key, twice.
Getting that fixed was pretty much it for the night. I made some notes for this blog and typed about two paragraphs before Margo turned in and I decided to join her. 6 AM would come very early.
Day Two----Saturday, July 06, 2013
6 AM did show up quicker than I was expecting, but I was still pretty rested. I had laid in bed for an hour, unwinding my mind. I remember seeing the clock at past midnight. Margo usually gets up before me and is in the shower first. Today she was catching up on sleep and got up with me. That almost always means she is not showering. I always shower in the morning. It’s part of my wake up routine. I don’t drink coffee, the hot water does the trick for me.
Our plan was to be at the reenactment site at 8:00 AM. It was a 40 minute drive. The Hampton we are staying at was the closest hotel I could find, back in July of last year, that was not outrageous in price. Anyway, that meant we needed to be on the road by 7:20 AM. The plan was to eat breakfast here at the hotel, as it was free. But, with a Bob Evans across the parking lot, I decided to scout the buffet out first. The food looked good, with several hot choices. So we ate downstairs. I had scrambled eggs, but skipped the sausage patties. I’m hoping for bacon tomorrow. Toast, and a banana nut muffin completed my breakfast. Margo made herself a waffle.
The drive to the reenactment field was about 40 minutes, just like the GPS predicted. As we crested a hill on Table Rock Road, we got our first look at the encampment. There were dozens of white, Civil War era tents. That sight put me in the right frame of mind instantly.
Our plan was to be at the reenactment site at 8:00 AM. It was a 40 minute drive. The Hampton we are staying at was the closest hotel I could find, back in July of last year, that was not outrageous in price. Anyway, that meant we needed to be on the road by 7:20 AM. The plan was to eat breakfast here at the hotel, as it was free. But, with a Bob Evans across the parking lot, I decided to scout the buffet out first. The food looked good, with several hot choices. So we ate downstairs. I had scrambled eggs, but skipped the sausage patties. I’m hoping for bacon tomorrow. Toast, and a banana nut muffin completed my breakfast. Margo made herself a waffle.
The drive to the reenactment field was about 40 minutes, just like the GPS predicted. As we crested a hill on Table Rock Road, we got our first look at the encampment. There were dozens of white, Civil War era tents. That sight put me in the right frame of mind instantly.
Before I go on I need to explain a few things. First, the reenactment is not held on the actual battlefield. The actual battlefield is a National Military Park and off limits. Second, the re-enactors take their business very seriously. They camp just like the soldiers of 150 years. They immerse themselves in the life to make it real to them, and then us.
Margo and I parked and got out of the car. We had been in an air conditioned car for most of an hour. The heat and humidity washed over us as we stepped out, and reminded us that we were not in Colorado. It was about a quarter mile walk to go through security and then have our tickets taken. From there, it was about another 10 minute walk to the main grandstand area. That seemed to be where most of the activity was taking place.
We passed several tents that were selling things, or offered shelter from the oppressive sun. The main Suttler (retail) Camp had a variety of businesses. They sold basic cloth, art, at least three tents that took old time pictures, books, and on and on. There wasn’t a ton we were interested in. The situation was not the best either. It was hot. By 9:00 AM it was 84 degrees. It was well over 90 by noon. This is coupled with high humidity. Second, as this is the 150th anniversary reenactment, there were people everywhere. We are talking Disneyland crowded. Finally, the tents that were housing these businesses were enclosed. That made it even hotter inside. You just did not feel like looking around.
The first reenacted battle was scheduled for 11 AM. They open up the grandstands a half hour before the battle. At 10 AM we noticed that people were already in line. I have learned that when people start lining up early, there is usually a good reason. And, as we had not done this before, I talked Margo into getting in line.
There are two grandstand areas; the south end. closest to the parking lot, and the main grandstand, which is closest to the Suttler Camp and the Union encampment, and on higher ground. The walk not that long ago had made that clear. So we chose the middle section of the Main Grandstand, and got in line.
Did I mention it was hot? It was hot to the point that even at 10 AM, an umbrella was a necessity. You had to create your own shade or risk melting. The event organizers provided a few shade tents, with chairs set up. But they were all full. As a matter of fact, it looked to me like many older people staked out a claim on one of those chairs and never moved all day. I have no idea if they ever saw any of the action. On the other hand, it was ten degrees cooler there.
It was announced while we were in line, that umbrellas could not be open during the battle action, except in the very top row, where there would be no one behind you. Margo and I resolved to try for one of those coveted positions. We failed. We failed each battle for both days, if I can be allowed to flash forward a bit. But, it turned out not to matter. Once the battle started, at least for me, the cranium searing sun disappeared.
There were three battles scheduled for today; a calvary charge, an artillery battle, and a reenactment of Little Roundtop, on Day two. The latter was a pivotal part of the Battle of Gettysburg and I wanted to see it. I also wanted to see the actual Gettysburg Military Park, so I had some decisions to make.
The Calvary Charge was interesting. It was to portray Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart’s entry to the battle. He was opposed by recently promoted General George Armstrong Custer. He being the very same Custer who would die at the Little Big Horn 13 years later.
Calvary charges between to mounted forces are known for the slashing of their sabers and the close quarter fighting. The reenactors could not fire their guns in these close quarters, because even a blank charge can be dangerous. But, they could clang their swords together and make impressive sounds, and we could see the sun glinting off of the shiny steel. You couple this with the sight of perhaps 100 mounted men charging (controlled, and much more slowly than Hollywood), and it was a sight to see.
The battle, which began with dismounted skirmishers and had several charges, separated by tactical retreats and regroups, lasted about half and hour. It was narrated by a Civil War historian, over the PA system. It was all well orchestrated.
Margo and I parked and got out of the car. We had been in an air conditioned car for most of an hour. The heat and humidity washed over us as we stepped out, and reminded us that we were not in Colorado. It was about a quarter mile walk to go through security and then have our tickets taken. From there, it was about another 10 minute walk to the main grandstand area. That seemed to be where most of the activity was taking place.
We passed several tents that were selling things, or offered shelter from the oppressive sun. The main Suttler (retail) Camp had a variety of businesses. They sold basic cloth, art, at least three tents that took old time pictures, books, and on and on. There wasn’t a ton we were interested in. The situation was not the best either. It was hot. By 9:00 AM it was 84 degrees. It was well over 90 by noon. This is coupled with high humidity. Second, as this is the 150th anniversary reenactment, there were people everywhere. We are talking Disneyland crowded. Finally, the tents that were housing these businesses were enclosed. That made it even hotter inside. You just did not feel like looking around.
The first reenacted battle was scheduled for 11 AM. They open up the grandstands a half hour before the battle. At 10 AM we noticed that people were already in line. I have learned that when people start lining up early, there is usually a good reason. And, as we had not done this before, I talked Margo into getting in line.
There are two grandstand areas; the south end. closest to the parking lot, and the main grandstand, which is closest to the Suttler Camp and the Union encampment, and on higher ground. The walk not that long ago had made that clear. So we chose the middle section of the Main Grandstand, and got in line.
Did I mention it was hot? It was hot to the point that even at 10 AM, an umbrella was a necessity. You had to create your own shade or risk melting. The event organizers provided a few shade tents, with chairs set up. But they were all full. As a matter of fact, it looked to me like many older people staked out a claim on one of those chairs and never moved all day. I have no idea if they ever saw any of the action. On the other hand, it was ten degrees cooler there.
It was announced while we were in line, that umbrellas could not be open during the battle action, except in the very top row, where there would be no one behind you. Margo and I resolved to try for one of those coveted positions. We failed. We failed each battle for both days, if I can be allowed to flash forward a bit. But, it turned out not to matter. Once the battle started, at least for me, the cranium searing sun disappeared.
There were three battles scheduled for today; a calvary charge, an artillery battle, and a reenactment of Little Roundtop, on Day two. The latter was a pivotal part of the Battle of Gettysburg and I wanted to see it. I also wanted to see the actual Gettysburg Military Park, so I had some decisions to make.
The Calvary Charge was interesting. It was to portray Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart’s entry to the battle. He was opposed by recently promoted General George Armstrong Custer. He being the very same Custer who would die at the Little Big Horn 13 years later.
Calvary charges between to mounted forces are known for the slashing of their sabers and the close quarter fighting. The reenactors could not fire their guns in these close quarters, because even a blank charge can be dangerous. But, they could clang their swords together and make impressive sounds, and we could see the sun glinting off of the shiny steel. You couple this with the sight of perhaps 100 mounted men charging (controlled, and much more slowly than Hollywood), and it was a sight to see.
The battle, which began with dismounted skirmishers and had several charges, separated by tactical retreats and regroups, lasted about half and hour. It was narrated by a Civil War historian, over the PA system. It was all well orchestrated.
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The next battle was at 1 PM, so they would not be clearing the grandstands, as is normal practice, between battles. They had a large group of civilians come onto the field, from the Confederate end. I don’t recall why, but it was enough of a delay to have the Live Mortar Fire Competition, which was scheduled next, to be postponed, until after the 1 PM battle.
Margo and I were both disappointed. That promised to be a good show, plus we would now not get to eat until about 2:30 or 3:00 PM, as we did not want to give up our seats. I offered to go get cheeseburgers from one of the vendors, plus some more water. We were going through it like mad. At $3 per bottle, we would have to do something different tomorrow. It was turning into quite an expense.
With lunch done, it was about time for the 1 PM show. The description in the program “Gallant Rally at the Klingle Farm” was not adequate for me to discern what was going to happen. I already told you that it was an artillery battle, but I did not know that until they began dragging cannons out onto the field to go with some that had been set up already.
The battle began at 12:58 PM, with the Confederate guns opening up, and interrupting a description of some piece of Civil War minutia that the historian was letting us in on. I was actually enjoying the historian’s tales and facts, and thought it rude of the Rebels to interrupt him. But, he wisely changed course and began to tell us about the battle.
To be honest the specifics of what he was trying to get across to us were lost in the initial noise of the cannons, and later, again for me, of the description of what each person in the cannon crew would do and then watching them do it. I’ll probably get more into that later in this blog, but Margo and I had heard the steps to firing a Civil War era cannon explained when we visited Fort Delaware back in 1999. I found it fascinating that a cannon crew consists of seven people, and each has a specific job to do, to make the cannon fire.
I would watch one member pass perform his duty allowing the next to do his (or hers!), and then watch the order be given to fire. Or I would start watching and be interrupted by the loud sound of another cannon or cannons going off and by attention would divert. There were perhaps a dozen to twenty cannons for this battle, and the loudest of them sounded like the loudest fireworks from Brighton’s 4th of July celebration. Scooter would have hated it.
The cannons would fire in singles, pairs or more. Union, Confederate, or both. Short gaps between rounds or long ones. It was all organized, but you could not actively see that. It appeared to be random, unless you could hear an occasional command, or see which cannons were under command of which officers.
It was much more impressive than I had thought it would be, and ended sooner than I expected. But, when all was said and done, there was probably a solid 30 minutes of cannon fire, which was preceded by the infantry action. All very cool.
Margo and I were both disappointed. That promised to be a good show, plus we would now not get to eat until about 2:30 or 3:00 PM, as we did not want to give up our seats. I offered to go get cheeseburgers from one of the vendors, plus some more water. We were going through it like mad. At $3 per bottle, we would have to do something different tomorrow. It was turning into quite an expense.
With lunch done, it was about time for the 1 PM show. The description in the program “Gallant Rally at the Klingle Farm” was not adequate for me to discern what was going to happen. I already told you that it was an artillery battle, but I did not know that until they began dragging cannons out onto the field to go with some that had been set up already.
The battle began at 12:58 PM, with the Confederate guns opening up, and interrupting a description of some piece of Civil War minutia that the historian was letting us in on. I was actually enjoying the historian’s tales and facts, and thought it rude of the Rebels to interrupt him. But, he wisely changed course and began to tell us about the battle.
To be honest the specifics of what he was trying to get across to us were lost in the initial noise of the cannons, and later, again for me, of the description of what each person in the cannon crew would do and then watching them do it. I’ll probably get more into that later in this blog, but Margo and I had heard the steps to firing a Civil War era cannon explained when we visited Fort Delaware back in 1999. I found it fascinating that a cannon crew consists of seven people, and each has a specific job to do, to make the cannon fire.
I would watch one member pass perform his duty allowing the next to do his (or hers!), and then watch the order be given to fire. Or I would start watching and be interrupted by the loud sound of another cannon or cannons going off and by attention would divert. There were perhaps a dozen to twenty cannons for this battle, and the loudest of them sounded like the loudest fireworks from Brighton’s 4th of July celebration. Scooter would have hated it.
The cannons would fire in singles, pairs or more. Union, Confederate, or both. Short gaps between rounds or long ones. It was all organized, but you could not actively see that. It appeared to be random, unless you could hear an occasional command, or see which cannons were under command of which officers.
It was much more impressive than I had thought it would be, and ended sooner than I expected. But, when all was said and done, there was probably a solid 30 minutes of cannon fire, which was preceded by the infantry action. All very cool.
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But the explosions were not done. As promised we would be treated to a live mortar competition. Live means, not that it is being done in real time; ie not recorded and rebroadcast on TV. No, “live” means that they would be firing a real projectile. My experience with mortars comes from TV. They have these tubes set up and a guy drops a round from the top, it hits the bottom. There is a whooshing sound as it fires back out of the tube, and then it explodes down range. I did not think they would exploding things out here, so I was wondering what would be going on.
We did not have a lot of time to wonder. There ended up being four separate teams of mortar teams. Three of them lobbing 15 (I think) lbs balls and the other lobbing a nearly pound ball. In combat these mortars are filled with gun powder and projectiles. They are meant to explode over the enemy. As our narrator pointed out, it was mortars that Francis Scott Key wrote about when he spoke of “bombs bursting in air”. But today’s competition would be with hollow zinc balls that would just lob up and come down. The teams were shooting at first a near target; 125 yards or so, and a far target 225 yards or so. I was surprised to see men milling out by the target. At first thought that sounded dangerous. But with the first explosion, it was obvious why this was allowed.
The mortar going off made no more sound than one of the cannons, which is an impressive noise. But, the projectile was easier to follow with your eyes than a golf ball. Plus these teams are accurate enough to make it easy to find a safe place to stand. Each team fired two shots at the near target and two at the far one. Margo and I both tried to take pictures. I got a couple of decent ones. In one you could see the actual mortar shell out in the distance. It’s just a small dot, but when you blow it up, you can see it.
The finale of the show/competition all four mortar teams fired at the same time. I had not noticed that all of the men by the targets, whose job had been to mark the landing spots of the mortar shells, had left. When the shells reached their destination, instead of a seeing them hit the ground, they exploded like they would in combat. I got the detonation on film.
We did not have a lot of time to wonder. There ended up being four separate teams of mortar teams. Three of them lobbing 15 (I think) lbs balls and the other lobbing a nearly pound ball. In combat these mortars are filled with gun powder and projectiles. They are meant to explode over the enemy. As our narrator pointed out, it was mortars that Francis Scott Key wrote about when he spoke of “bombs bursting in air”. But today’s competition would be with hollow zinc balls that would just lob up and come down. The teams were shooting at first a near target; 125 yards or so, and a far target 225 yards or so. I was surprised to see men milling out by the target. At first thought that sounded dangerous. But with the first explosion, it was obvious why this was allowed.
The mortar going off made no more sound than one of the cannons, which is an impressive noise. But, the projectile was easier to follow with your eyes than a golf ball. Plus these teams are accurate enough to make it easy to find a safe place to stand. Each team fired two shots at the near target and two at the far one. Margo and I both tried to take pictures. I got a couple of decent ones. In one you could see the actual mortar shell out in the distance. It’s just a small dot, but when you blow it up, you can see it.
The finale of the show/competition all four mortar teams fired at the same time. I had not noticed that all of the men by the targets, whose job had been to mark the landing spots of the mortar shells, had left. When the shells reached their destination, instead of a seeing them hit the ground, they exploded like they would in combat. I got the detonation on film.
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After this Margo and I decided to get a picture with us, using the encampment as a background. For the last three years Margo has created a Kretzer’s Travels picture for our Christmas cards. It is a collage of the places we have been to in the past year. So now we make a point of having someone take our picture, with us together, in front of the prominent feature of the city or place. The tent encampment sounded like the spot. We spotted a Union solider who was talking with some other tourists, and thought getting him in the shot would be perfect. We got someone to take the picture and it turned out well.
Like I mentioned earlier, I wanted to stay for the fight for Little Round Top. It was the pivotal skirmish of the Battle of Gettysburg. But, I also wanted to see the real battlefield, and I had a feeling this would be the only chance. That turned out to be the right decision.
It was a fairly short drive to the battlefield and traffic was lighter than expected. But the Visitor’s Center at the Military Park was packed. All scheduled tours were booked, so our only option was a self guided tour. So we grabbed a map and headed back to the car.
The auto tour needed to take us out of the park and reenter from the other end of the park. The park has road for the tour, but they are almost all one ways. The town of Gettysburg was packed, too. So it took us 20-30 minutes to drive what was normally 5 minutes.
It was a fairly short drive to the battlefield and traffic was lighter than expected. But the Visitor’s Center at the Military Park was packed. All scheduled tours were booked, so our only option was a self guided tour. So we grabbed a map and headed back to the car.
The auto tour needed to take us out of the park and reenter from the other end of the park. The park has road for the tour, but they are almost all one ways. The town of Gettysburg was packed, too. So it took us 20-30 minutes to drive what was normally 5 minutes.
Me and Margo in front of the Virginia Monument. That is Robert E Lee and Traveler on top
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By this time it is late afternoon, but it is still hot and humid. It was taking its toll on Margo, especially since she was getting hot flashes about every 8-12 hours.
We stopped at the biggest state monuments, one prominent lookout, and Longstreet’s Tower. That was about 8 flights of stairs to an observation tower. Margo was not going to do that. So she kept the car and A/C running while I went up and saw the battlefield from a grand perspective. I took plenty of pictures, so now I have some great perspective when I hear or read a discussion of the battle. 
The North Carolina Monument
The Regular US Army Monument on Cemetery Ridge
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Cemetery Ridge as viewed from the Confederate side. CR was the goal of Pickett's Charge. This is the expanse his men had to cross.
The obelisk in the left center is the US Regular Monument. In the center, on the horizon, is the Pennsylvania Monument. The red building on the right is Codori Farm.
The castle looking thing is the monument to the 12th and 44th NY. It is on Little Round Top
Gettysburg Battlefield. The Peach Orchard is that several rows of trees on the left. Way behind that is Cemetery Ridge. The large white building (mostly behind a tree) on SR is the Pennsylvannia Monument. On the right of photo, poking up through the trees is Little Round Top. The buildings in front of LRT is Rose Farm
It was pushing 7 PM by now and we needed to get back to Chambersburg and eat dinner. So, we cut our tour short, missing Little Round Top, my only real regret of the trip, and heading back to our hotel. We ate at Bob Evans again and had the same waitress, Tessa. We decided that since we went through so much water, we probably should carry in as much as we could tomorrow. We drove to Wal-Mart and got that taken care of. By now the heat and early rises had really caught up to us. We took a shower to feel human again and then off to bed. 7 AM would come quick enough.
Day Three----Sunday, July 07, 2013
7 AM did show up as expected. I slept well, but I still felt tired due to the hour. Margo and I resolved not to show up at the reenactment site at 8:00 this time, as we had seen all the vendors’ tents and every time we wandered past a tent with some sort of speech or happening, it was too crowded to get in. With that in mind our goal was to see the battles.
We arrived at 9:30 AM and immediately got in line to get into the grandstands for the cavalry battle that would begin at 11 AM. Like yesterday the sun was out in full force, like it had a grudge against those or out for this event. Unlike yesterday, Margo and I had brought our own water. We had gone to Wal-Mart the night before and gotten about a dozen bottle of water and iced down what we could not put in to the small freezer at the hotel. It was hoped that the frozen bottles would help keep the others cold. Margo packed them in a bag that she had brought, knowing it would be inspected on the way in. It actually worked out OK. We did not bring all dozen, as they were heavy to lug around, but I think we brought six. It wasn’t enough. We went through those and still ended up buying more.
The 11 AM battle was a cavalry charge. It was both impressive and disappointing at the same time. I know that sounds like some sort of oxymoron, but you’ll have to bear with me a second. In 2013, 150 years after the Civil War, the biggest impression that any of us have about “how it was” is from television or the movies. Their job is to make it as realistic as possible, without crossing any legal or moral lines. So my subconscious is expecting the two sides to gallop towards each other pistol ablaze and sabers ready to impale. But, these are reenactors who do not have the benefit of special effects, editing or stunt men. The drawn pistols were fired at about 100 yards apart, prior to any “charge” And then there was no galloping towards each other, only a controlled gait towards each other. My conscious brain quickly gave my subconscious a tongue lashing for setting the bar so high.
We arrived at 9:30 AM and immediately got in line to get into the grandstands for the cavalry battle that would begin at 11 AM. Like yesterday the sun was out in full force, like it had a grudge against those or out for this event. Unlike yesterday, Margo and I had brought our own water. We had gone to Wal-Mart the night before and gotten about a dozen bottle of water and iced down what we could not put in to the small freezer at the hotel. It was hoped that the frozen bottles would help keep the others cold. Margo packed them in a bag that she had brought, knowing it would be inspected on the way in. It actually worked out OK. We did not bring all dozen, as they were heavy to lug around, but I think we brought six. It wasn’t enough. We went through those and still ended up buying more.
The 11 AM battle was a cavalry charge. It was both impressive and disappointing at the same time. I know that sounds like some sort of oxymoron, but you’ll have to bear with me a second. In 2013, 150 years after the Civil War, the biggest impression that any of us have about “how it was” is from television or the movies. Their job is to make it as realistic as possible, without crossing any legal or moral lines. So my subconscious is expecting the two sides to gallop towards each other pistol ablaze and sabers ready to impale. But, these are reenactors who do not have the benefit of special effects, editing or stunt men. The drawn pistols were fired at about 100 yards apart, prior to any “charge” And then there was no galloping towards each other, only a controlled gait towards each other. My conscious brain quickly gave my subconscious a tongue lashing for setting the bar so high.
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But there were numbers, and there were sabers made of real steel. There looked to be between 30 and 40 horsemen on each side. When they did meet in the middle of the field in front of us, there was plenty of glint from sunlight and the clank of metal on metal. It was pretty controlled and no haphazard and sweeping swings at their opponent. Just some very basic clank clank clank. Even so it was hard not to admire how they were able to control their mounts, bang steel, weave in and about the fray, and not hurt anyone. This battle suggested more of what may have happened then what actually did. There were actually hundreds of horses on each side back in 1863. That fact boggled my mind, as the 60 or so in front of me looked like a lot.
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We were hot and hungry by now. The few clouds in the sky teased us by providing shade for a moment and then drifting away or skirting the sun altogether. Margo and I had an umbrella and we used it. I can not remember the last time that I felt shade was necessary for continued life, but these past two days are not etched into my brain, with that message.
We got lunch from one of the vendors. But, where to eat it was a problem. All chair provided by the event were in the shade tents. Those were occupied and carefully guarded. And truth be told, those tents were stifling themselves. No air and too many bodies. All shade seemed to have been staked out, as well as any place that you could sit and lean against. Margo and I finally found a patch of grass by a suttler’s tent and we sat on the ground to eat. Not fun, but it was an experience.
We had some time to kill before the 3:30 PM Pickett’s Charge, the climax of the event. We made our way over to the Union camp and chatted up one of the soldiers. He did his best to stay in character, but he wasn’t fanatical to the point of calling us out on dress or technology. Some of those reenactors are hard core like that. We got someone to take a picture of us with him and then gave him a $5 tip to buy some lemonade. He was reluctant to take it, but did.
We got lunch from one of the vendors. But, where to eat it was a problem. All chair provided by the event were in the shade tents. Those were occupied and carefully guarded. And truth be told, those tents were stifling themselves. No air and too many bodies. All shade seemed to have been staked out, as well as any place that you could sit and lean against. Margo and I finally found a patch of grass by a suttler’s tent and we sat on the ground to eat. Not fun, but it was an experience.
We had some time to kill before the 3:30 PM Pickett’s Charge, the climax of the event. We made our way over to the Union camp and chatted up one of the soldiers. He did his best to stay in character, but he wasn’t fanatical to the point of calling us out on dress or technology. Some of those reenactors are hard core like that. We got someone to take a picture of us with him and then gave him a $5 tip to buy some lemonade. He was reluctant to take it, but did.
Once again, I started noticing people lined up to get into the grandstands. It was only about 1 PM and the grandstands would not open until 2:30 PM. I talked Margo into waiting in the line, telling her that there was really nothing else to see any way. That was basically correct. We could have hiked over to the Rebel camp, but that was at least a mile away and was not the least little bit appealing.
The time did not pass quickly. We did out best people watching and we each left our position in line once or twice to go to the bathroom or just stretch our legs. One interesting thing about the line this time was the security screening. This time the police were here and they brought their dogs. I don’t know if a threat had been called in, or if this was just a precaution, but everyone had to have their bag checked, and then they had to walk past one of the dogs to get the canine seal of approval. We passed and I did see anyone else have a problem either. It was also announced that once you got checked in, you could not then leave and come back. I didn’t care. We had gotten our bathroom break, so we weren’t leaving.
Margo was not holding up as well as I hoped. She hates to be out in the sun, and this was as bad as we have ever tried to handle. It was in the 90s with serious humidity, again. The only shade we had was from the grandstands or our umbrella. By the time we sat down she was looking miserable. We still had an hour to go. We were at least sitting down now, and occasionally a cloud would drift into the right position and shield us from the oppressive sun, but it never last long.
Finally the battle began. I was aware that Pickett’s Charge was proceeded by an intense Confederate artillery barrage intended to knock out the Union artillery. The Rebel troops would be crossing ¾ of a mile of open field and it would be helpful if they did not have to dodge grape shot and cannonballs along the way.
The time did not pass quickly. We did out best people watching and we each left our position in line once or twice to go to the bathroom or just stretch our legs. One interesting thing about the line this time was the security screening. This time the police were here and they brought their dogs. I don’t know if a threat had been called in, or if this was just a precaution, but everyone had to have their bag checked, and then they had to walk past one of the dogs to get the canine seal of approval. We passed and I did see anyone else have a problem either. It was also announced that once you got checked in, you could not then leave and come back. I didn’t care. We had gotten our bathroom break, so we weren’t leaving.
Margo was not holding up as well as I hoped. She hates to be out in the sun, and this was as bad as we have ever tried to handle. It was in the 90s with serious humidity, again. The only shade we had was from the grandstands or our umbrella. By the time we sat down she was looking miserable. We still had an hour to go. We were at least sitting down now, and occasionally a cloud would drift into the right position and shield us from the oppressive sun, but it never last long.
Finally the battle began. I was aware that Pickett’s Charge was proceeded by an intense Confederate artillery barrage intended to knock out the Union artillery. The Rebel troops would be crossing ¾ of a mile of open field and it would be helpful if they did not have to dodge grape shot and cannonballs along the way.
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That was back in 1863. Today they began with about 50 pieces of artillery per side. I have read that in 1863 this artillery exchange was likely the loudest noise ever produced by man at that point in history. Between the two sides they had over twice what they had in 2013. In 2013 it was still plenty loud. It was a repeat, but on a larger scale, of what we saw yesterday. It was very impressive to watch a battery of cannons go off one right after the other, and then see a response from the Rebel side. You would see the smoke and then the Boom!, a second later. I got a little bit of video of this.
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Pickett’s Charge began after the cannons finished. I was amazed by the number of reenactors that had shown up. I’m terrible at estimating these kinds of things, but I was guessing at 2000 per side. Back in 1863 the Rebels alone had over 10,000 soldiers thrown onto that field. I could barely imagine that. It was moving to watch the Confederates fight across the open field, and then be mowed down in increasing numbers as they got closer to the grandstands (Union side).
I was mesmerized. Margo was miserable. Right before the infantry assault, she lost it, and burst into tears. From my perspective, the cannons were an auditory representation of history; something to be studied. |
The loud noise created the atmosphere of what happened 150 years ago. From Margo’s perspective, it was a half an hour of headache inducing noise, and was also the relentless soundtrack to the unyielding sun’s attempt to melt her brain.
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She had reached her limits. Then God interceded on my behalf and a very large cloud covered the sun and its shade made things bearable.
The cannon stopped and Margo was able to enjoy things.As the battle ended, I turned my attention to the sky and noticed that our cloud savior was being joined by some darker cousins. It looked like we were about to get some rain. The historian who had provided a play by play of Pickett’s Charge (odd to say, but it worked) noted that after the battle, it had also rained. A few drops told us that perhaps history was about to repeat itself. Lingering in the suttler’s village did not seem like a prudent idea. |
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The stands cleared surprising quickly and the skies started to let loose. It spit and sputtered for a few minutes and the let go completely. We quickly found a tent to wait out the worse of it. We were there for half an hour as it rained as hard as the sun had shown down an hour ago. When it retreated to just mild rain, we made a run (well, quick walk) for it. We got wet, but really not bad at all. It felt good after the past two days. Getting out of the lot (read; farmer’s field) took an additional 50 minutes.
By the time we got back to Chambersburg, Margo and I were pretty tired and hungry. We settled on Ryan’s, a buffet-style restaurant that serves comfort food. Afterwards, I was still tired, but not so much hungry. But, as we had driven past a place called Rita’s, which served frozen custard, several times, I decided there was always room for ice cream and we made a pit stop there before going back to our hotel at around 8 PM. The rest of the night was devoted to getting notes down for this travelogue, taking care of tracking expenses, and a little TV.
Day Four----Monday, July 08, 2013
Margo and I were up, dressed, breakfasted and on the road by 8:20 AM. That was likely going to put us a bit behind for our first attraction of the day. Our destination this morning was Hershey, PA. I wonder what we would be planning to do there. If you guessed visiting Hershey’s Chocolate World or Hersheyland amusement park, you would be half right. Our very first stop would be The Hotel Hershey, but not because it was built by Milton Hershey. We were going there because that is where Segway of Hershey conducted their business.
Margo and I had taken a Segway tour of Epcot in Orlando, back in 2010. We had really enjoyed it and I specifically went looking for a Segway tour on this trip. Hershey looked like the best bet. We pulled into the Hershey Hotel about 9:30 or so. As they want you to arrive 30 minutes early, we were about on time. I like to be early. But, it all worked out
Trish, was is 73 years old and Bruce, who is 84, were the owners and operators of Segway of Hershey. They were upbeat and energetic. I am hoping to be alive and ambulatory at their age. Trish was very impressed that we had already been on a Segway and treated us like we had been riding for years. I was hoping I could get on without hurting myself.
There were no mishaps by Margo or I getting on, and we almost immediately felt like old hands. There was a father-son couple that made up the rest of our group. Our Segways were not the same model as what we had ridden in Orlando. These were an off-road model with special tires. My Segway, as it turned out, had a problem. The stem with the handlebars can be adjusted up or down for different height riders. Mine would not stay locked into on place. But, I did not notice until we made our first rest stop and it did not bother me.
Margo and I had taken a Segway tour of Epcot in Orlando, back in 2010. We had really enjoyed it and I specifically went looking for a Segway tour on this trip. Hershey looked like the best bet. We pulled into the Hershey Hotel about 9:30 or so. As they want you to arrive 30 minutes early, we were about on time. I like to be early. But, it all worked out
Trish, was is 73 years old and Bruce, who is 84, were the owners and operators of Segway of Hershey. They were upbeat and energetic. I am hoping to be alive and ambulatory at their age. Trish was very impressed that we had already been on a Segway and treated us like we had been riding for years. I was hoping I could get on without hurting myself.
There were no mishaps by Margo or I getting on, and we almost immediately felt like old hands. There was a father-son couple that made up the rest of our group. Our Segways were not the same model as what we had ridden in Orlando. These were an off-road model with special tires. My Segway, as it turned out, had a problem. The stem with the handlebars can be adjusted up or down for different height riders. Mine would not stay locked into on place. But, I did not notice until we made our first rest stop and it did not bother me.
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The grounds of the hotel are beautiful, with lots of green grass, flowers, and trees. There are a couple of fountains, with viewing gazebos. After about twenty minutes or so, we stopped at one of those. This gave us the opportunity not only to get our requisite picture taken on the Segways, but to see the ducks and the fish.
The two ponds that the fountains sat in were also home to a large number of golden koi and a large family of ducks. Our guides were very familiar with the ducks, as they had been hand feeding them since they hatched. When the koi are being fed they more closely resemble piranha, even swimming up onto the concrete to get the food. The ducks were still babies, but getting large. Apparently Bruce feeds them at a particular spot on each tour, because they came running over to him quacking up a storm. Then we he began feeding the fish, they jumped into the water stealing food from the koi. They were very aggressive. Wild Kingdom right there in front of us. Who knew?
We toured the grounds of the hotel and Trish and Bruce took us to part of the old golf course. It’s not in use anymore, but we were allowed to make good use of a fairway and could even each other on the wide open expanses of this hole. Trish took a few pictures of us out there, but they were at a distance. Trish and Bruce had really treated us well, so we tipped them extra largely.
The two ponds that the fountains sat in were also home to a large number of golden koi and a large family of ducks. Our guides were very familiar with the ducks, as they had been hand feeding them since they hatched. When the koi are being fed they more closely resemble piranha, even swimming up onto the concrete to get the food. The ducks were still babies, but getting large. Apparently Bruce feeds them at a particular spot on each tour, because they came running over to him quacking up a storm. Then we he began feeding the fish, they jumped into the water stealing food from the koi. They were very aggressive. Wild Kingdom right there in front of us. Who knew?
We toured the grounds of the hotel and Trish and Bruce took us to part of the old golf course. It’s not in use anymore, but we were allowed to make good use of a fairway and could even each other on the wide open expanses of this hole. Trish took a few pictures of us out there, but they were at a distance. Trish and Bruce had really treated us well, so we tipped them extra largely.
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After the Segway tour we went to Hershey’s Chocolate World. When I was researching this trip I was disappointed to find out that there was no factory tour. That would have been so cool to see the process from bean to bar. But, there was still plenty to do to keep us busy.
We went in and bought a couple of package tickets, so we could do multiple things. The first up was the next best thing to a factory tour. We took a virtual factory tour. Hershey had set up a cross between a Disney ride and a factory tour to show people how the chocolate is made. You tour in a people mover through a kind of factory. It has some of the components, but it also has singing cows and such. It was interesting.
We moved on to a chocolate tasting class. But the finer points of tasting were lost on me. I could tell the difference between milk and dark chocolate, but that was as good as my palate got. There was no “hint of coffee” or other such non-chocolate reference. It was all chocolate, and all good.
We had lunch there in Chocolate World. Margo had a loaded baked potato and I got a bread bowl filled with broccoli cheese soup. They were both really good. Chocolate World was pretty well conceived and executed. You could spend a morning or afternoon here and enjoy pretty much everything. That included shopping. By the time we were done we dropped about $200 for Hershey related souvenirs and candy.
We went in and bought a couple of package tickets, so we could do multiple things. The first up was the next best thing to a factory tour. We took a virtual factory tour. Hershey had set up a cross between a Disney ride and a factory tour to show people how the chocolate is made. You tour in a people mover through a kind of factory. It has some of the components, but it also has singing cows and such. It was interesting.
We moved on to a chocolate tasting class. But the finer points of tasting were lost on me. I could tell the difference between milk and dark chocolate, but that was as good as my palate got. There was no “hint of coffee” or other such non-chocolate reference. It was all chocolate, and all good.
We had lunch there in Chocolate World. Margo had a loaded baked potato and I got a bread bowl filled with broccoli cheese soup. They were both really good. Chocolate World was pretty well conceived and executed. You could spend a morning or afternoon here and enjoy pretty much everything. That included shopping. By the time we were done we dropped about $200 for Hershey related souvenirs and candy.
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But first, it was time for the city tour. Hershey is kind of a town within a town. It is officially in Derry Township, which takes care of all of the government stuff, while Hershey gets all of the credit. Hershey was obviously founded by the chocolate maker, Milton Hershey. This trolley tour that we were about to take part on would tell us about him and the town he founded.
I was expecting to be driven around a bit and given a running narrative about the places we would be seeing. We did get that, but we also got a show. We had one guide, a teenage, early 20s girl, Caroline, who was the official guide, plus a age peer of hers; a male, Wilbur, who would get on at multiple stops, get off, change costumes, and then reappear at another stop, in a different costume. He would play the part of different people who had influenced or were influenced by Milton Hershey. It was fun to watch and anticipate where he would appear and who he would be recreating.
I was expecting to be driven around a bit and given a running narrative about the places we would be seeing. We did get that, but we also got a show. We had one guide, a teenage, early 20s girl, Caroline, who was the official guide, plus a age peer of hers; a male, Wilbur, who would get on at multiple stops, get off, change costumes, and then reappear at another stop, in a different costume. He would play the part of different people who had influenced or were influenced by Milton Hershey. It was fun to watch and anticipate where he would appear and who he would be recreating.
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We were given Hershey’s Miniatures at multiple stops, a very tasty bonus. Margo’s favorite part was the singalong. We were given a handout with the words to several old time songs; “When You’re Smiling”, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”, “A Bicycle Built for Two”, and a song Margo and Jessi would sing when she was a little girl, “You Are My Sunshine”. To break up the trolley trip and undoubtedly to give our male star time to get into position, the whole trolley sang a couple of the songs. It was kind of fun.
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By the time it had ended we had seen plenty of Hershey, including their famous Hershey Kiss shape street lights, Hersheyland Park, and the smoke stacks of the old factory. We enjoyed the tour. We made sure to tip our guides and we got a picture with them.
The last part of our day trip to Chocolate Town, USA was at their little mini-factory back at Chocolate World. We were going to build our very own, personal chocolate bar. You pick milk, dark, or white chocolate. Add nuts or not, and made top it with sprinkles. We then got to design our own wrapper. You plug all of your choices into the computer and then you got to watch it go through the whole process. The machine was behind glass, but you could still watch it go from stage to stage. It was really fun to watch your bar come to life. Margo will keep hers forever. I made mine for Mary back at home, knowing she would appreciate it.
The last part of our day trip to Chocolate Town, USA was at their little mini-factory back at Chocolate World. We were going to build our very own, personal chocolate bar. You pick milk, dark, or white chocolate. Add nuts or not, and made top it with sprinkles. We then got to design our own wrapper. You plug all of your choices into the computer and then you got to watch it go through the whole process. The machine was behind glass, but you could still watch it go from stage to stage. It was really fun to watch your bar come to life. Margo will keep hers forever. I made mine for Mary back at home, knowing she would appreciate it.
After Hershey we had a nearly 2 hour drive to our hotel in Philadelphia. We were staying in the heart of the Historic district, Olde City. But, that meant parking at a nearby garage. Not a big deal, as we got to drop our luggage off at the front door, check in, and then go park.
The clerk, at our Best Western Hotel, Donna, recommended several restaurants for dinner. We settled on Cuba Libre, a more upscale restaurant, but no one cared we were a bit under dressed. The food was good. I had the Citrus Brick Chicken and Margo had the Guacamole Cubano. It was nice to try a different ethnic food, even in the heart of own of the most American towns in the country.
It had been a long day, and we were tired. I worked a bit on expenses and jotted down some notes so I wouldn’t forget anything when I went to write this then it was off to bed. Tomorrow would be a day of a lot of walking, so we were going to need all the rest we could get.
The clerk, at our Best Western Hotel, Donna, recommended several restaurants for dinner. We settled on Cuba Libre, a more upscale restaurant, but no one cared we were a bit under dressed. The food was good. I had the Citrus Brick Chicken and Margo had the Guacamole Cubano. It was nice to try a different ethnic food, even in the heart of own of the most American towns in the country.
It had been a long day, and we were tired. I worked a bit on expenses and jotted down some notes so I wouldn’t forget anything when I went to write this then it was off to bed. Tomorrow would be a day of a lot of walking, so we were going to need all the rest we could get.
Day Five----Tuesday, July 09, 2013
Tuesday was our walking tour of historic Philadelphia. Margo and I were up at 6:30 and after a leisurely lunch were on the move by 8:45 AM. We needed to be at nearby Liberty Bell Center, the permanent home of the Liberty Bell, at 9 AM. No tickets were needed but seeing this iconic symbol was on a first come-first serve basis. I did not want to spend a lot of time waiting in line, so I wanted to be there when it opened. We were not first in line by any means, but we were close enough. We had to go through a bit of queue, which was filled with informative walls and such, to get to the front of the line.
Reaching the front was both thrilling and anticlimactic at the same time. The setting for The Bell has a glass wall behind it, with Independence Hall looming in the background. For a student of history it was a very stark and moving image. At the same time, it seemed a bit smaller than I was expecting. We got there, we had someone snap a few pictures of Margo and I together, and took our own pictures and moved aside for the next guys. It was much better than Plymouth Rock, and if I ever get to Philadelphia I would make the effort to see it again, as long as there was not a big line.
Reaching the front was both thrilling and anticlimactic at the same time. The setting for The Bell has a glass wall behind it, with Independence Hall looming in the background. For a student of history it was a very stark and moving image. At the same time, it seemed a bit smaller than I was expecting. We got there, we had someone snap a few pictures of Margo and I together, and took our own pictures and moved aside for the next guys. It was much better than Plymouth Rock, and if I ever get to Philadelphia I would make the effort to see it again, as long as there was not a big line.
From Liberty Bell Center we had a short walk and a short wait before we go inside one of the most historic buildings in all of America; Independence Hall. Independence Hall was the site of the Second Continental Congress, the approval of the Declaration of Independence and the debate and signing of the US Constitution. Our nation was quite literally born here and I was pretty excited to walk the ground where Washington, Adams, Franklin, and Jefferson had sown the seeds of what was to become the greatest beacon of liberty in the world.
It is free to take a tour of Independence Hall, but you need a time ticket, because it is so popular. I had ordered ours in advance and had timed it for 10 AM. That turned out to be a little later that we wanted, but the wait was not long.
We had an excellent guide you took us first into the East Wing for a short lecture. There is an iconic painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the wall. Our guide asked someone to point out George Washington in the painting. I knew he did not sign, so I piped up that he was not in the painting. I had only given it a cursory look. I was correct, but I failed to answer the follow up question of where he was at. My mind went blank, and the answer “he was leading the Continental Army” would not come. Oh, well. I was one of the few who had heard of Gouverneur Morris, although I had to admit, I knew almost nothing about him. That is something I plan to remedy.
It is free to take a tour of Independence Hall, but you need a time ticket, because it is so popular. I had ordered ours in advance and had timed it for 10 AM. That turned out to be a little later that we wanted, but the wait was not long.
We had an excellent guide you took us first into the East Wing for a short lecture. There is an iconic painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the wall. Our guide asked someone to point out George Washington in the painting. I knew he did not sign, so I piped up that he was not in the painting. I had only given it a cursory look. I was correct, but I failed to answer the follow up question of where he was at. My mind went blank, and the answer “he was leading the Continental Army” would not come. Oh, well. I was one of the few who had heard of Gouverneur Morris, although I had to admit, I knew almost nothing about him. That is something I plan to remedy.
After the history lesson we moved to the Supreme Court room. I spent much more time looking around at the period (not original, but from the era) furniture and such, and actually had to look a YouTube video to actually learn anything. It turns out I really didn’t miss much. The most impressive thing was his explaining about the changing of the crest that hung above the judges before the Declaration of Independence and after. Prior is was seal fro Great Britain, reminding us that we were British subjects. After the seal of the State of Pennsylvania was put in its place. The British seal was burned.
We moved into the Assembly Room, across the hall. This is where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were debated and signed. I will probably mangle this piece by our guide (who could play Ben Franklin, based on appearance, if he had the glasses), but he said that he considered this the “most historic room, in the most historic building, in the most historic square mile, in the most historic city in America”. He could be right. I’ll be honest and say that the gravity of it did not fully descend on me until much later.
I learned later that not all tours go up to the second floor, but our tour. Up there you have the Long Gallery (used as a reception area for those meeting the governor), The Governor’s Council Chamber (used for a lot of things, and had a surveyor’s instrument that was used by the Mason and the Dixon to determine the Pennsylvania/Maryland border. Very cool. Also up there was Committee of the Assembly Chamber which among other things conducted fugitive slave trials. The room ironically is directly about the Assembly Room, birthplace of the Declaration of Independence.
We moved into the Assembly Room, across the hall. This is where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were debated and signed. I will probably mangle this piece by our guide (who could play Ben Franklin, based on appearance, if he had the glasses), but he said that he considered this the “most historic room, in the most historic building, in the most historic square mile, in the most historic city in America”. He could be right. I’ll be honest and say that the gravity of it did not fully descend on me until much later.
I learned later that not all tours go up to the second floor, but our tour. Up there you have the Long Gallery (used as a reception area for those meeting the governor), The Governor’s Council Chamber (used for a lot of things, and had a surveyor’s instrument that was used by the Mason and the Dixon to determine the Pennsylvania/Maryland border. Very cool. Also up there was Committee of the Assembly Chamber which among other things conducted fugitive slave trials. The room ironically is directly about the Assembly Room, birthplace of the Declaration of Independence.
We moved out of Independence Hall and over to Congress Hall. It was where the US Senate and House of Representatives met for the first 10 years after the US Constitution was ratified. Margo and I took pictures all over the place getting both houses of Congress and the Senate Secretaries office.
It was a short walk over to the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier was. There is an eternal flame burning in front of it. I never knew this existed. It was well done, with a large marble background, a statue of George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, the actual tomb, and then the flame. All of this set back well back from the street with a nice wide walkway surrounded by flags and greenery.
I’m sure I forgot to mention that we were now on a self-guided walking tour of the Olde City, moving from place to place, reading signs and snapping pictures. We passed Library Hall, which served as the first Library of Congress, The Todd House, and the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church. Not necessarily in that order. There was way too much walking involved to do a complete tour, and there was just not time to see them all. So we did not go in everything.
I’m sure I forgot to mention that we were now on a self-guided walking tour of the Olde City, moving from place to place, reading signs and snapping pictures. We passed Library Hall, which served as the first Library of Congress, The Todd House, and the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church. Not necessarily in that order. There was way too much walking involved to do a complete tour, and there was just not time to see them all. So we did not go in everything.
Lunch interrupted our quest for knowledge. As first time visitors to Philadelphia I felt it was a moral imperative to have the city’s signature sandwich, a Philly Cheesesteak. The self-proclaimed inventor of this local delicacy is a place called Pat’s King of Steaks. Across the street is Geno’s Steaks, their rival. But, neither were anywhere near where Margo and I were at. However, research had uncovered a place called Sonny’s, just steps from where our tour would take us
Sonny’s was not just convenient. There were plenty of people that thought their steak sandwich was the best in the city. Who knows? I really liked it. The beef was lean and tender. I found no grizzle and it there was nothing overpowering about the seasoning. Peppers and Onions added on, plus some fries and I was pretty happy. Margo less so.
Next up was the B. Free Franklin Post Office. I wish I researched this one a little more in advance. It did not make much of an impression on Margo and I. We only took a single photo of a cardboard cutout of the old 1970s era cartoon mailman that the USPS used as their logo. We thought it nostalgic.
What we missed was this is a working post office, unique in America. It is run like post offices were in colonial times. Each letter that goes though it is hand cancelled with B. Free Franklin name. This was how Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia’s first postmaster and first US Postmaster General (among other accomplishments) would sign letters. This was a protest of Great Britain. No US flag flies over this post office, because no US flag existed in 1775, the time this post office portrays. The employees dress in period clothing. Margo and I noticed none of this, and quick moved next door, to something that did catch our eye.
Sonny’s was not just convenient. There were plenty of people that thought their steak sandwich was the best in the city. Who knows? I really liked it. The beef was lean and tender. I found no grizzle and it there was nothing overpowering about the seasoning. Peppers and Onions added on, plus some fries and I was pretty happy. Margo less so.
Next up was the B. Free Franklin Post Office. I wish I researched this one a little more in advance. It did not make much of an impression on Margo and I. We only took a single photo of a cardboard cutout of the old 1970s era cartoon mailman that the USPS used as their logo. We thought it nostalgic.
What we missed was this is a working post office, unique in America. It is run like post offices were in colonial times. Each letter that goes though it is hand cancelled with B. Free Franklin name. This was how Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia’s first postmaster and first US Postmaster General (among other accomplishments) would sign letters. This was a protest of Great Britain. No US flag flies over this post office, because no US flag existed in 1775, the time this post office portrays. The employees dress in period clothing. Margo and I noticed none of this, and quick moved next door, to something that did catch our eye.
Benjamin Franklin had many children and grandchildren. One grandchild was Benjamin Franklin Bache. He ended up a not only being a printer, like his grandfather, but had his own newspaper and used his grandfather’s press to print it. Next door to the B.Free Franklin Post Office was B.F. Bache’s print shop. Inside an old printing press was set up to print the Declaration of Independence. I got a copy and Margo and I took a few pictures, she more than me, thank God. Then it was on to our next stop and a little break.
The summer heat, Philadelphia’s humidity, and our pedestrian mode of travel all conspired to wear on both of us. Back home, I walked 4-6 miles each evening. The operative word being “evening”. I was only about 3 ½ blocks to Betsy Ross’ house, but by the time we go there we were ready for air conditioning and a chair.
Mrs. Ross was quite accommodating to our needs. Her house was set back from the street, and out front was a cobblestone and brick common area, with bistro tables and chairs, and a small concession stand to boot. We got a drink and something sweet and took a few minutes to soak in the day. It was starting to get a little cloudy, and the place had shade trees, so soon we were ready to go.
We got our tickets had a nice tour of the house. They had a lady play Betsy Ross. She stayed in character and we learned a little. Mostly I remember her saying that the reason we have five pointed stars is because she had a nifty way of cutting them out. It was both quick and consistent. As a seamstress herself Margo was impressed with this and made sure she left with instructions on how to do this.
We took a self-guided tour and was most impressed by how small the place was. The doorways were short and narrow. I felt like a giant walking through them. I don’t think there was very much if anything as far as original artifacts, but the stuff they did have was from the period in which she lived, so close enough.
The summer heat, Philadelphia’s humidity, and our pedestrian mode of travel all conspired to wear on both of us. Back home, I walked 4-6 miles each evening. The operative word being “evening”. I was only about 3 ½ blocks to Betsy Ross’ house, but by the time we go there we were ready for air conditioning and a chair.
Mrs. Ross was quite accommodating to our needs. Her house was set back from the street, and out front was a cobblestone and brick common area, with bistro tables and chairs, and a small concession stand to boot. We got a drink and something sweet and took a few minutes to soak in the day. It was starting to get a little cloudy, and the place had shade trees, so soon we were ready to go.
We got our tickets had a nice tour of the house. They had a lady play Betsy Ross. She stayed in character and we learned a little. Mostly I remember her saying that the reason we have five pointed stars is because she had a nifty way of cutting them out. It was both quick and consistent. As a seamstress herself Margo was impressed with this and made sure she left with instructions on how to do this.
We took a self-guided tour and was most impressed by how small the place was. The doorways were short and narrow. I felt like a giant walking through them. I don’t think there was very much if anything as far as original artifacts, but the stuff they did have was from the period in which she lived, so close enough.
We left and headed for Christ Church Cemetery. This is the final resting place for Benjamin Franklin. With my love of cemeteries (they seem like such a great place to get in touch with history) and American history, visiting this cemetery was on the must do list.
In addition to Ben Franklin, there are four other signers of The Declaration of Independence buried in Christ Church Cemetery; Frances Hopkinson, (NJ), George Ross (PA), Joseph Hewes (NC), and Dr. Benjamin Rush (PA). I can’t say I had heard of any of them. I do hope to read about all the signers. I had heard there was a book out about their lives. What happened to them during the war and after? I know several died broke, giving their entire fortune for the cause of independence. How many would have that resolve today? That question did not cross our minds, however.
In addition to Ben Franklin, there are four other signers of The Declaration of Independence buried in Christ Church Cemetery; Frances Hopkinson, (NJ), George Ross (PA), Joseph Hewes (NC), and Dr. Benjamin Rush (PA). I can’t say I had heard of any of them. I do hope to read about all the signers. I had heard there was a book out about their lives. What happened to them during the war and after? I know several died broke, giving their entire fortune for the cause of independence. How many would have that resolve today? That question did not cross our minds, however.
We ran out of steam after a short time at the cemetery, at around 4 PM. But, a city bus just happened to be pulling in and it was going to Love Park, downtown. So we paid $2.25 each, got on and went downtown. “Just happened” is less serendipitous than it sounds. While I wasn’t deeply familiar with the bus system in the City of Brotherly Love, I had checked a few routes and stops. I knew we had a shot at catching a bus and here it was.
Love Park is officially John F Kennedy Plaza, but everyone just calls it Love Park, because that is where the icon LOVE sign is at I wanted a picture of Margo and I together with that sign. It would be one of those pictures that just tells the viewer where you are at. I like those.
We got there after a short ride. The sign was easy to find, but taking our pictured turned out to be a bit of an adventure. As it turned out a couple of homeless guys were working a scam where they would take your picture in front of the sign for a tip. I ordinarily would have gotten pissed, but they were both so friendly, and I kind of admired both their brass and entrepreneurial spirit, that I let them take the picture. They did a good job with the camera, taking three pictures, each of which were slightly different, and composed well. I did look a bit apprehensive, but had relaxed by the last photo.
Love Park is officially John F Kennedy Plaza, but everyone just calls it Love Park, because that is where the icon LOVE sign is at I wanted a picture of Margo and I together with that sign. It would be one of those pictures that just tells the viewer where you are at. I like those.
We got there after a short ride. The sign was easy to find, but taking our pictured turned out to be a bit of an adventure. As it turned out a couple of homeless guys were working a scam where they would take your picture in front of the sign for a tip. I ordinarily would have gotten pissed, but they were both so friendly, and I kind of admired both their brass and entrepreneurial spirit, that I let them take the picture. They did a good job with the camera, taking three pictures, each of which were slightly different, and composed well. I did look a bit apprehensive, but had relaxed by the last photo.
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"Government by the People" It looks like government squashing the life out of people
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We walked across the street to Municipal Services Building Plaza to see the statues. One was a god awful ugly thing called “Government by the People”. It was comprised of squished, fat, misshapen people, supporting what looked to me like a large pile of shit. It is the ugliest think I have seen in a long time, and probably set the city back several million dollars. The rest of the courtyard featured large game pieces. Things like the Monopoly iron, bingo chips, jacks, ect. The whole series together is called “It’s Your Move”. I like them in a nostalgic kind of way, but they were starting to rust and show some age. They could use some help. Margo and I took a few pictures of these and then walked to the closest subway station to get back to our hotel.
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We vegged for a little while and the decided to go back downtown and have dinner at the Hard Rock Café. I am not known for my sophisticated palate. We took the subway, finding that it ran frequently and was air conditioned. It got us there in about 3 minutes. The food was predictable, if not grand. I was hoping for a New Orleans kind of vibe, but not so much. I was also hoping to get a pilsner glass, but the chain is getting away from those. Bummer. We got back around 7:30 PM and Margo decided to call it a night. The heat and humidity of the past three days had taken its toll. I followed a few hours later, trying to get some writing in.
Day Six----Wednesday, July 10, 2013
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Wednesday we checked out of our hotel, but asked them to keep our luggage for a few hours. I wanted to hit South Philly and get some goodies from an old Italian bakery called Isgro’s. That turned out to be a good idea. The cannolis were very good, as were the pignoli cookies. Even Margo liked the pignolis. She got some coconut macaroons as well. It was $16 well spent
The subway did not get us very close to the bakery, so we had to walk about ¾ of a mile. After getting our baked goods, we went to the pizzeria across the street, and got a couple of cokes. We ate some cookies and then decided to go back and be on our way to Atlantic City. We went less than a block when we saw an elderly woman, as frail as a twig, fighting with a small two wheel grocery cart, in the middle or the road. |
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A lady had stopped her car, and could not continue because old lady was blocking her path. Another lady, with a baby stroller, had also stopped to help, but the old lady was shrugging off all assistance, even though the tiny pebbles were more than she overcome when pulling this cart.
The other two could not really drop everything and insist on some help, but Margo and I could. It turned out she lived very close, and had actually just arrived in her car. She could barely walk. Each little pebble would stop her cart, as she was trying to push it. She explained that was because she needed it for support. So I added a little forward force and we crept along, about a block to her house. Margo walked with her to make sure she did not fall. We got her home, unloaded her groceries onto the porch. It was evident she did not want to invite two strangers inside. We couldn’t blame her. But, she was home and looked to be able to handle it from there. We talked about that all the way back to the subway.
We got back to our neighborhood, freed the car from the parking garage ($38), and picked up our luggage. Then it was across the Walt Whitman Bridge, which spans the Delaware River, and into New Jersey. $3.75 in tolls later, and we were in Atlantic City about an hour later.
We were staying at the Tropicana on The Boardwalk. Check in should have gone smooth, but it did not. Well, the check in did, which I had Margo drop me off while she went to find a place to park the car. That turned out to be a mistake because the signage was confusing and she got very frustrated trying to find me. She never even parked the car, until she picked me back up. She was in tears when I got it. But, that quickly blew over once we were among the lights and sounds of the casino.
We were both hungry and went out the back on to the legendary Atlantic City Boardwalk. It did not look to me like Hurricane Sandy had even touched this area, but I am sure it had. The boardwalk looked to be in great shape, and was impressive. I had pictured a bunch of slats laid horizontal to each other creating 10 feet or so of wooden pedestrian paths. The wood slats were laid at an angle in a herringbone pattern and is 60 feet wide. I like it a lot.
We had lunch at Hooters, which was right there at our hotel. This was really just a coincidence this time. I wasn’t looking for a Hooters restaurant on this trip. But, I wasn’t going to look gift Hooters, well, yeah. Anyway, our waitress was having surgery to remove cysts from her ovaries and was a bit scared about it. Margo and both talked with her for a while and I think that helped her some.
The other two could not really drop everything and insist on some help, but Margo and I could. It turned out she lived very close, and had actually just arrived in her car. She could barely walk. Each little pebble would stop her cart, as she was trying to push it. She explained that was because she needed it for support. So I added a little forward force and we crept along, about a block to her house. Margo walked with her to make sure she did not fall. We got her home, unloaded her groceries onto the porch. It was evident she did not want to invite two strangers inside. We couldn’t blame her. But, she was home and looked to be able to handle it from there. We talked about that all the way back to the subway.
We got back to our neighborhood, freed the car from the parking garage ($38), and picked up our luggage. Then it was across the Walt Whitman Bridge, which spans the Delaware River, and into New Jersey. $3.75 in tolls later, and we were in Atlantic City about an hour later.
We were staying at the Tropicana on The Boardwalk. Check in should have gone smooth, but it did not. Well, the check in did, which I had Margo drop me off while she went to find a place to park the car. That turned out to be a mistake because the signage was confusing and she got very frustrated trying to find me. She never even parked the car, until she picked me back up. She was in tears when I got it. But, that quickly blew over once we were among the lights and sounds of the casino.
We were both hungry and went out the back on to the legendary Atlantic City Boardwalk. It did not look to me like Hurricane Sandy had even touched this area, but I am sure it had. The boardwalk looked to be in great shape, and was impressive. I had pictured a bunch of slats laid horizontal to each other creating 10 feet or so of wooden pedestrian paths. The wood slats were laid at an angle in a herringbone pattern and is 60 feet wide. I like it a lot.
We had lunch at Hooters, which was right there at our hotel. This was really just a coincidence this time. I wasn’t looking for a Hooters restaurant on this trip. But, I wasn’t going to look gift Hooters, well, yeah. Anyway, our waitress was having surgery to remove cysts from her ovaries and was a bit scared about it. Margo and both talked with her for a while and I think that helped her some.
We wished her well and then we got down to business and gambled a bit. Margo had zero luck and was donating $20s left and right. I wasn’t doing much better, only managing to lose slower. Margo did finally hit for $100 on a Sex in the City machine and tucked that money away. It had been another long day so we headed back to the room. Margo wanted to unwind and read a bit I decided to see what the boardwalk was like at night, plus there was a Mrs. Fields at the Tropicana, and I love those chocolate chip Nibblers.
The weather had turned gray and foggy, which was both cooler and less visually appealing. Still the boardwalk felt vibrant and looked great. I walked down about ¾ of a mile taking in the sights and storing them up to tell Margo about later. Then it was back to the Tropicana. Margo read some more and went to bed. I realized I had not written Uncle Tom his week letter. As soon as that fact registered, quickly realized I was not going to be able to do it until we got back home. Bummer. By this point in the night, I was too tired to even make an attempt. I knew even if I did, I could not do the previous week justice. I resigned myself to writing when I got back. There was just not going to be any time until then. I knocked off for bed soon after.
The weather had turned gray and foggy, which was both cooler and less visually appealing. Still the boardwalk felt vibrant and looked great. I walked down about ¾ of a mile taking in the sights and storing them up to tell Margo about later. Then it was back to the Tropicana. Margo read some more and went to bed. I realized I had not written Uncle Tom his week letter. As soon as that fact registered, quickly realized I was not going to be able to do it until we got back home. Bummer. By this point in the night, I was too tired to even make an attempt. I knew even if I did, I could not do the previous week justice. I resigned myself to writing when I got back. There was just not going to be any time until then. I knocked off for bed soon after.
Day Seven----Thursday, July 10, 2013
Thursday was our last real day of vacation. We planned to see the things on the boardwalk and gamble. We decided we had given the Tropicana enough money. So we began walking the boardwalk down to the next casino, Trump Plaza. No luck there. We moved on to Trump Plaza, won a little and lost a little. Caesars was next when Trump Plaza had taken their bite out of our bankroll. It was the same at Bally’s, which was next in line, and the Resorts after that. Each of these casinos seem about like the next. They obviously were not identical, but they weren’t exactly world apart. But, they all ended up with some of our money.
I really wanted to see Trump’s Taj Mahal, which was the next one in line. I can remember when it first opened. Back in 1990, a news report said that it would have to net a million dollars a DAY just to stay even. It had cost a small fortune to build and it was bogged down with a lot of debt. Donald Trump was confident he would do that easily. I seem to recall that it was either in or had been in bankruptcy recently.
Anyway, I think I was down about $120 overall, and Margo at least $200. The other casinos had all extracted a toll from us and it was not long before this pretend Indian was doing the same. Then I sat down at a Deal or No Deal machine, and started playing. I was betting $2.50, the max each time, and watching my money disappear. I had noticed well into my $20 that this was 2 cent machine and not a penny machine. So that max bet of $2.50 was double what I thought I was betting. I was just getting good and pissed at myself for not paying attention, and had stupidly resolved to punish myself for the poor focus by losing my entire $20 when lightening stuck. I was calculating how many spins I had left (4 if I won a few cents on the next 3), when the word “JACKPOT” flashed across the machine. To me the symbols did not look like they lined up, but I was playing a penny machine with like 30 lines, which zig zag all over the place. So I must have hit one of those. The payout was 46, 662 credits. I was like, “What did I just do?” How much is 46,662 credits when each credit is two cents. I was not up to doing the math in my head at that minute, so I just hit the “collect” button. The ticket printed out for $941.94.
Time for lunch and hold on to this.
I really wanted to see Trump’s Taj Mahal, which was the next one in line. I can remember when it first opened. Back in 1990, a news report said that it would have to net a million dollars a DAY just to stay even. It had cost a small fortune to build and it was bogged down with a lot of debt. Donald Trump was confident he would do that easily. I seem to recall that it was either in or had been in bankruptcy recently.
Anyway, I think I was down about $120 overall, and Margo at least $200. The other casinos had all extracted a toll from us and it was not long before this pretend Indian was doing the same. Then I sat down at a Deal or No Deal machine, and started playing. I was betting $2.50, the max each time, and watching my money disappear. I had noticed well into my $20 that this was 2 cent machine and not a penny machine. So that max bet of $2.50 was double what I thought I was betting. I was just getting good and pissed at myself for not paying attention, and had stupidly resolved to punish myself for the poor focus by losing my entire $20 when lightening stuck. I was calculating how many spins I had left (4 if I won a few cents on the next 3), when the word “JACKPOT” flashed across the machine. To me the symbols did not look like they lined up, but I was playing a penny machine with like 30 lines, which zig zag all over the place. So I must have hit one of those. The payout was 46, 662 credits. I was like, “What did I just do?” How much is 46,662 credits when each credit is two cents. I was not up to doing the math in my head at that minute, so I just hit the “collect” button. The ticket printed out for $941.94.
Time for lunch and hold on to this.
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Margo was on a machine close by and I got her attention. She took my picture and then we made it over to a collection kiosk. I’m looking all around to make sure that no one had noticed we were collecting a big payout. I was as worried about having to fill our tax forms and I was about attracting the attention of some unsavory type. I even had Margo kind of block the view of me running it through the machine. I expected some sort of notification that the machine was contacting some pit boss to bring an clipboard full of tedious and ultimately expensive documents, but no, it just spit our my nearly $950, and we made a beeline for the door.
As soon as the cash was in my hand I gave Margo $200. I would have given her even more, but we had, untraditionally, overspent on this trip and a big chunk was going to cover that. We walked back down the boardwalk towards our hotel. We ate at lunch at Margaritaville, which was in the Resorts Casino. It was decent, heavy on the seafood, but I was able to find something to my liking.
We gambled our way back down the boardwalk. Margo’s bad luck held. She was still losing more than she was winning. I was staying pretty much even. I did not feel the need to increase my bets or frequency. I was determined that I was going to come home a winner from Atlantic City.
We ate dinner at a pizza place on the boardwalk, at about dusk and then wandered the boardwalk taking in the lights and finishing our souvenir shopping. We had taken a detour to go off the boardwalk and onto the beach. Back home a coworker of Margo’s, Anna, collects her name written in the sand in beaches. We have donated Biloxi, MS and now Atlantic City. Odd, but kind of cool, too.
We continued working our way back down the boardwalk. We gamble some. Margo ended up dropping everything she had in cash. When I finally gave up for the evening I was up $860 for the day.
We had also noticed several sign up on the boardwalk telling us about a project some entity was doing in which they would trap, neuter, and then release stray cats along the boardwalk. Signs warned you not to feed them or dump your own unwanted kitty there. We found on feline sleeping comfortably under a bench with a sign of such above, so we got a picture of that.
As soon as the cash was in my hand I gave Margo $200. I would have given her even more, but we had, untraditionally, overspent on this trip and a big chunk was going to cover that. We walked back down the boardwalk towards our hotel. We ate at lunch at Margaritaville, which was in the Resorts Casino. It was decent, heavy on the seafood, but I was able to find something to my liking.
We gambled our way back down the boardwalk. Margo’s bad luck held. She was still losing more than she was winning. I was staying pretty much even. I did not feel the need to increase my bets or frequency. I was determined that I was going to come home a winner from Atlantic City.
We ate dinner at a pizza place on the boardwalk, at about dusk and then wandered the boardwalk taking in the lights and finishing our souvenir shopping. We had taken a detour to go off the boardwalk and onto the beach. Back home a coworker of Margo’s, Anna, collects her name written in the sand in beaches. We have donated Biloxi, MS and now Atlantic City. Odd, but kind of cool, too.
We continued working our way back down the boardwalk. We gamble some. Margo ended up dropping everything she had in cash. When I finally gave up for the evening I was up $860 for the day.
We had also noticed several sign up on the boardwalk telling us about a project some entity was doing in which they would trap, neuter, and then release stray cats along the boardwalk. Signs warned you not to feed them or dump your own unwanted kitty there. We found on feline sleeping comfortably under a bench with a sign of such above, so we got a picture of that.
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We ate dinner at Jersey Shore Pizza, which was good, but not spectacular. We saw a water show at the Pier Shops, near Caesars and then a light show, which was projected on the Convention Center building. Both were very well done. We stopped by any of the Boardwalk Shops that caught our eye. We tried to get Margo a pair of walking shoes, but they didn’t have anything in stock and their on line store (walkingstore.com) was inaccessible. Disgusted by the whole inability to sell us something we wanted we left.
By then it was 10:30 and we went back to the hotel. Margo decided to give the Tropicana one more shot at her money. She still had the $100 voucher from yesterday. I was happy with being well ahead and fell no desire to give any more back. So I got on the computer and started writing some of this blog. I went to bed about 12:30 AM. Margo came back about 1 AM. She had managed to turn her $100 into nearly $200 and had a good time doing it.
By then it was 10:30 and we went back to the hotel. Margo decided to give the Tropicana one more shot at her money. She still had the $100 voucher from yesterday. I was happy with being well ahead and fell no desire to give any more back. So I got on the computer and started writing some of this blog. I went to bed about 12:30 AM. Margo came back about 1 AM. She had managed to turn her $100 into nearly $200 and had a good time doing it.
Day Eight----Friday, July 11, 2013
Travel Day. I’m usually ready to go home by this point in the vacation, and this was no exception. But, I still hate the final travel day. You have all of the hassles of Day One. Rental Car, TSA, Check ins, ect and none of the fun pay offs.
We were up at 8 AM and ready to go about 1 ½ hour later. We had a couple of hiccups between this point and the airport back Philadelphia. The first was that it took 20 minutes for Tropicana’s valet to get our rental car. Really? Friday morning? I could understand if it was Sunday morning, and people going home from their weekend. Whatever. We had time until our flight.
The drive back to Philly itself was uneventful. Then we hit the Walt Whitman Bridge and things came to a screeching halt. I hate traffic. Who likes it, but it is such a waste of time. But again, we had time, so once we got through all that mess things settle back to normal.
The flight home was not routine, but for once it was a positive deviation. One of the passengers had a puppy. Margo was in heaven and she got to hold the cute baby animal.
That was it. We had another great vacation. Next year we haven’t decided on yet. San Francisco has been on the list for about a decade. No idea if that happens this next year of not. But it will happen.
We were up at 8 AM and ready to go about 1 ½ hour later. We had a couple of hiccups between this point and the airport back Philadelphia. The first was that it took 20 minutes for Tropicana’s valet to get our rental car. Really? Friday morning? I could understand if it was Sunday morning, and people going home from their weekend. Whatever. We had time until our flight.
The drive back to Philly itself was uneventful. Then we hit the Walt Whitman Bridge and things came to a screeching halt. I hate traffic. Who likes it, but it is such a waste of time. But again, we had time, so once we got through all that mess things settle back to normal.
The flight home was not routine, but for once it was a positive deviation. One of the passengers had a puppy. Margo was in heaven and she got to hold the cute baby animal.
That was it. We had another great vacation. Next year we haven’t decided on yet. San Francisco has been on the list for about a decade. No idea if that happens this next year of not. But it will happen.