May 22, 2022
I will be departing soon on the start of Trip 4, which has me visiting fourteen sites (Group #5) in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Though this trip, like my previous three, will be by car, it will start (and end) a bit differently.
Rather than heading north from my Florida home, I will head south to Sanford, just northeast of Orlando. Here, both my car and I will board an Amtrak train for an overnight trip to Lorton, Virginia, southwest of Washington. I will then drive a large loop up into Maryland, across Pennsylvania into New Jersey and Delaware, finishing up in Baltimore. Then it’s back to the Lorton Station to take the train back to Florida.
I’m not sure that taking the train works out to be financially cheaper than driving. I do avoid a night’s motel stay, where even cheap places are approaching $100/night. I do save on gasoline – and we know what that is costing – and wear and tear on the car. To me, the biggest saving is the wear and tear on me. I have always loved driving and often drove from my home in Ohio to my parent’s home in Florida in one day. I still enjoy driving, but my stamina is not what it was. And I find I enjoy it even more if someone else, like my daughter, does the driving!
Two of the key stops for me on this trip are: Gettysburg National Military Park; and a side trip to the village of Geigertown, Pennsylvania.
Gettysburg, of course, was the site of one of the worst battles of the U.S. Civil War. It lasted three grueling days in hot July weather and costs tens of thousands of soldiers their lives. Amongst the combatants in the 147th New York was Cyrus Brown – an ancestor on my mother’s side. He was wounded here and later at the Wilderness but survived the war. The 147th New York was attached to General Reynolds’ 1st Corps, which were among the very first non-cavalry to engage in the battle. Their actions delayed Confederate moves allowing the bulk of the Union army to arrive, but at a cost of 3/4 of the regiment.
Geigertown is not a Park Service site. It is a very small village about 5 minutes from Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site. You might guess the significance of this town to me if you knew my mother’s maiden name: Geiger. The village was founded by ancestors, many of whom rest in the cemetery on the edge of town.
There will be a strong dose of history in this trip. In addition to Gettysburg, I will visit the far less known Monocacy Battlefield in Maryland, where, in 1864, Confederates made another foray into the north, unsuccessfully. I’ll experience some Revolutionary War history at Valley Forge National Historical Park and Independence National Historical Park, where the Declaration of Independence was ratified in 1776. A visit to Fort McHenry brings a site from the War of 1812 into the mix.
The remaining sites are dedicated to individuals, natural beauty, and other places of historical significance.
As I leave on this trip, I also have built my website to a usable level. There are still a few things I want to tweak, but most of the information and functionality is in place. In addition, the blog attached to the website is configured how I’d like and seems to be functioning. Posts from all of my prior trips have been added and I plan to add new ones in a more timely manner – hopefully in the evening of the day I visited. Keep an eye out for them if you are interested.
With that, I’ll wrap up this post and return to the final planning and eventual packing.
Steve
