Vacation of the Year

I wanted to sit on the balcony and listen to the water crash up against the rocks. However, we are not in Piney Point, but Hagerstown and this is my view out the window.

Yes. Corn Stalks. And if any children come crawling out of that field of corn like the Stephen King movie, call 911.

Hagerstown is a small town. I would call it Hillbillyish. Who else on this planet has duck crossing signs and streets called Mousetown Road. I kid you not!

We did find a cute little German/Bavian place to eat in the middle of some vacant stores boarded up and across the street from a shop that sold "water pipes". Hmmmm? Bongs, perhaps. There were several to chose from just looking across the street in their window. To smoke tobacco, I am sure.

The best part of our dining experience was the server with the accent who asked Bill to remove his hat. He had to eat his meal with "hat hair", the horror of it! Next, we found a cemetery. Go figure. Us? Cemetery? Always the cemetery walker at heart.

 Yes, there are Civil War Soldiers and Generals interred here, but I was more fascinated by how people decorate their loved ones graves.

Then, I saw the largest damn mausoleum in my life.

I could not even fit the entire building in the photo shot. Then, there were the familiar stones that tell a story much like those in Laurel Hill. This is a stone with the top cut short.

Being a genealogist (among other things), I know this stone symbolizes a life taken before its time, so as I walked up closer I read this family lost three young children in the middle of the 1800's.

Another interesting stone in this particular cemetery was of a girl.

After we ate and walked in the nearby cemetery (after we checked the time the place locked the gates). Yes, We got locked in a cemetery once. At night. Until someone finally let us out. We hit the Battlefield Car Tour because you just cannot ride through enough Civil War Battlefields.

And find another cemetery.

Actually, there is an interesting story behind this family known as the Mumma's. When the battle broke out, the parents gathered their ten children and left the farm and their grounds to find safe shelter. The confederates got to the house first, and decided to burn it for fear the union would take hold of it, and use it as a place to hide snipers. After the war was over, the union rebuilt every home they destroyed as a result of the battles. The Mumma's were union. The Mumma family farm was destroyed by the confederates, therefore, the union refused to rebuild. As with every family who lived out in the rural areas, they had their own burial ground several yards from their home. Today, it is still an active farm.

Next, it was onward to Burnside's famous stone bridge. The bugs were so bad, I opted to take a picture from the top, as the very brave "real" photographer climbed down and under the bridge. I hope he checked self for ticks. I really do not need one crawling over to my side of the bed.

I was more interested in this.

We passed this on the road and I have no idea why I took this picture so do not ask.