Gettysburg: 146 years later

On the grounds of Gettysburg National Park. We were overwhelmed by the statuary.


Mark climbs to the ledge of this tribute to a leader in the Civil War. OK, so I don't know his name. Sue me.


Danielle was emotional as she posed with the bronze of Lincoln outside the visitors' center at Gettysburg.


Mark is very proud of this photo he took of the remembrances of the Army of the Potomac.


Headstones at Gettysburg.


An example of the amazing zoom on Mark's camera: A bee spreads its wings as it feasts on a flower.

Park ranger Angie spoke about medicine during the Civil War. We learned that patients who needed amputations did not have to bite down on leather straps without anesthetic.


Mark and a group of visitors don 3-D glasses to see photos taken by famed Civil War photographer Matthew Brady.


Danielle tried on this "hat" at the gift shop. It's actually called something else, but I can't remember the name.


Just in case you forget, there is no hunting allowed at Codorus State Park near Hanover, Pa. I bet the groundhogs feel better for it. We played disc golf there after our day at Gettysburg, and it was a beautiful spot.

Pennsylvania byways

This dude (wearing pants halfway to his knees, btw) gave us directions on the winding road to the Quaker Meeting House in Ohio that was active as part of the Underground Railroad.


And here's the sign for the meeting house.


Danielle stands with Dave, a local who helped us navigate the scenic disc golf course in West Virginia. Dave was friendly and helpful, teaching Danielle some tricks to throwing the disc. Next time we are in the area, we hope to meet up with him again.


The disc golf course in Moundsville, W.V., was the site of a gorgeous sunset.


Mark walks toward the 16th hole in Moundsville.


Near the 17th hole was this abandoned farmhouse.


We met Dave at a Pittsburgh-area library. He had a wealth of information about where to go and what to see in Pittsburgh. We also learned that he is the "most recognizable man in Pittsburgh." Turns out he sells hot dogs at all hockey and baseball games, as well as concerts.


We couch-surfed in Upper St. Claire, near Pittsburgh, where we slept in twin beds. Our hosts were Rich and Mary Beth, and they were fantastic.



From William Carlos Williams:

so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.

Granted, there are no chickens ... but this was in the backyard of the home at which we couch-surfed.


This cute little guy licked our toes and made us feel welcome in our couchsurfing home.


My very first birdie! It was at the disc golf course created by students and teachers at Carrick High School in Pittsburgh.



Mark mimics the baseball player Roberto Clemente, who died the same year we were born: 1972. The mural was on a wall of the passageway that led to the Gateway Clipper, the boat that took us on a tour of the three rivers that meet in Pittsburgh: Allegheny, Ohio and Monongahela.


Danielle on the bow (the front?) of the ship with the skyline as a backdrop.


We met a woman named Carrie who took this photo of Mark and Danielle on the ramp that led to the Gateway Clipper.


As official photographer of the trip, Danielle spends a lot of her time shooting from the passenger seat of the Jetta.


Pittsburgh has some of the most beautiful cemeteries.


Mark stands with the sign that points to Josh Gibson's grave at Allegheny Cemetery.


Gibson was known as "the black Babe Ruth."


We saw two or three deer eating the long grass at the cemetery. I was about 50 feet from this one when I captured its image with the long lens.


Back on the road ... Danielle does the tree pose at Sideling Hill state forest in Pennsylvania, on the road to Gettysburg. Elevation: 2195 feet.


A common site on Highway 30 in Pennsylvania.


After Danielle took this photo of a boy and his cat on the front porch, she waved to him. He waved back, looking a bit confused.

Chilling with family in Louisville ... and other bizarre sites

A ghoulish mask lies dormant (yet still frightening) in a box in aunt Janet’s basement.


Bobie opens the door to an old GE refrigerator ... again in Janet’s basement.


Bobie chats with sister Janet on her deck on a sunny Louisville afternoon that soon turned stormy.


Aunts, uncles and cousins met for lunch at Check's Cafe in Germantown. From left are: Danielle, Mark, Rosie, William, Charlie, Janet and Bobie.



Mark’s aunt Linda shows her fervor for the Yankees with this baseball-through-the-window sticker on her car.


Linda goofs off behind an orange sherbet and vanilla twirled ice cream cone at Dairy Kastle.



Mark enjoys his swirled ice cream cone.


The “two Lindas” mug during dinner at Kingfisher in Jefferson, Ind.


Mark can make a great grumpy face when he wants to. This is on the Indiana side of the Ohio River, facing downtown Louisville.



Yellow flowers at Falls of the Ohio state park .


Danielle took about a dozen photos of this flagpole as the sun set behind it.


A church catches the late afternoon sun in Louisville. Photo taken from the back seat of the (moving) car.


A view of downtown Louisville from the Indiana side (aka bank of the river) of the Ohio River.


It’s a lightning bug caught in flight - look for the yellow strip in the center of the grass.


Some disc golf shots

Danielle lines up to make her first drive at Iroquois Park.


On the 18th hole at Iroquois Park, we saw a tree with the letter ‘M’ spraypainted on it. We’ve seen it at other disc golf courses and have no idea what it stands for .... unless, of course, they knew Mark was coming.


William (middle name “Shakespeare,” I kid you not) makes a sweet putt on hole #3 at Charles Vettiner park outside Louisville. Will made par on the first tee. The course was full of trees and narrow fairways. We lost two discs and got tangled by spider webs when we had to fetch a lost disc from the brush.

Kentucky roadways ... and its capital

We stopped on a back road to take some photos. I like the little potpourri of signs.


We took some back roads from Lexington to Frankfort, Ky. The farmland seems to stretch on forever.


Visitors to the capital of Kentucky (Frankfort) are greeted with a sign on the doors to "push hard."


I had to stand very far from the camera to get this shot adjacent to the capitol building in Frankfort. The lens of Mark's camera is absurdly long.



Down the commonwealth's steps are flowers and pretty stuff. Mark asked me to make a silly face. I did. He was underwhelmed at visiting the capitol, but I thought it was cool.