Day out with Suzanna

July 30 – We picked Suzanna up this morning at 10 planning to go pick some wild raspberries while it was still cool out, but there were none to be found.  At least we enjoyed them for a while and have some frozen for later.  I wanted to go back to Antietam and she had never been so we went here and re-visited some of the displays, watched the video and then drove the auto tour.  I think it was less crowded than our last visit so it was nice.

Susanna as Lincoln

At the end of the tour we stopped at the bakery as Bill and Suzanna wanted chocolate milk.  We got that and a couple of goodies for later.  Then we went to the Antietam National Cemetery, which we had not been to.  It appeared to be in really nice condition.  We didn’t stay long but looked a bit through the huge catalog they have listing all the names and locations within the cemetery.

We retreated to Captain Bender’s Tavern for lunch.  Bill heard the burgers were good so that’s what he had.  Suzanna and I both had the soup of the day, Maryland Crab, and a small salad.  The soup was excellent and I could have eaten more.  The salad was nothing special but very fresh and crispy. 

Bill at The Big Spring

Across the street is the alley to The Big Spring, which was the natural water source which was the reason the town was founded where it was.  Indians used to stop there and eventually it developed into a town.  We trespassed to get to it since the alley was blocked but no harm, no foul.

On the walk back we made our final stop at Nutter’s for ice cream.  They have this awesome Java Chunk.  I only had the kiddie serving and that is plenty.  Bill got a small and it’s two huge scoops.  We sat outside and just enjoyed our dessert and a beautiful day.  While we finished and went to get the truck Suzanna walked over to the bank to use the ATM, then we took her back to her place at Ferry Hill.  We have enjoyed getting to know her and spend some time with her.  She’s very mature for only 19.

One of the old homes in
Sharpsburg

After a short rest we went out to do more prepping to leave on Thursday.  I checked the roof for debris and spent some time reworking the plastic cover over the screws that keeps them dry and rust free.  The wind causes it to move and bunch up.  We put the ladder on and Bill put most of the yard things away.  We sorted a stack of pamphlets and brochures, some we put in the bag for the new hosts and some are for Virginia.  I put some things away and got the laundry sorted for tomorrow.

We had leftovers for dinner and then walked the sites but there wasn’t much going on.  Only 2 sites set up for the night but there were picnics going on at 2 other sites.  Jared called to tell us how Shiloh liked her birthday gifts and about school starting in a couple of weeks. 

I worked on the blog and my photos and we watched out shows.  Tomorrow is Bill’s last day.  It’s kinda sad.