A Weekend Upstate

Since we were already going to be attending my wife’s family reunion in New York on Sunday, it only made sense to tack on a few days and make a long weekend out of the trip. With this rough plan in mind we headed out yesterday morning and slowly meandered through Pennsylvania and into ‘Upstate’ New York (yes, completely avoiding New Jersey). We had already made plans for dinner on Friday shortly after arriving and lunch today, but there has been plenty of room in the schedule to add a few more things to the list.

It was a rather interesting experience when we first pulled up to our hotel as we had to show our ID’s in order to proceed past the first gate at West Point. Yes, you read that correctly, we stayed at The Thayer Hotel which is located at West Point (just beyond the first gate of course). The really interesting thing is that shortly before our scheduled travel north, my wife discovered that her mother had stayed at that exact hotel many times in the past when she was a student at NYU. I guess some things are just meant to be.

In addition to being very secure, the hotel was actually very nice both inside and out as the rooms were spacious and comfortable and the view of the Hudson River flowing behind the hotel was a beautiful sight. In fact, it was a pleasant backdrop to our buffet breakfast in the morning. Of course, being so close to the West Point campus, we had to take a tour while we were there and it was well worth it as we were not only able to enjoy some spectacular views but also explore some of the memorials erected on the property while being reminded of important role that the Military Academy has played in the history of this country.  

Shortly after we arrived on Friday afternoon we dropped out bags off in the room and headed down to Yorktown Heights to meet up with some extended family. Following a hearty meal and sharing stories, we drove around the neighborhood so that my wife could see all of the houses that she grew up visiting when her grandparents and other family members filled the neighborhood. It was great seeing her face light up when we passed those familiar structures.

The following morning we had a little extra time which allowed us to make a slight detour on our way to Connecticut. The detour in the opposite direction brought us to Orange County Choppers where there were surprisingly few cars in the parking lot. It was interesting seeing all the bikes that were built on American Chopper over the course of the show’s run and our son seemed to really enjoy seeing the bikes and exploring all the other new things around the showroom. If you watched the show you may remember some of these projects being built…

Today we were also able to spend time with some family members who will not be attending the reunion tomorrow which is what brought us over to Connecticut. It really was a great time and more great memories and stories were shared with us. And after another long day there is just enough time to rest and recuperated before the big gathering tomorrow and the drive home afterward. So, that is all for now, more about the reunion tomorrow!

Chocolate, Flowers, And A Full Hotel

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, my wife and I took our son on a little getaway this past weekend. With everything that has happened, we wanted to do something special and get away from everything for just a night. We didn’t want to go too far and we wanted somewhere family friendly were we could walk around. After all, this was his first trip and night away from home so we wanted something a little easier on all of us. That list of simple criteria lead us to Hershey.

Even though I was a little late in scheduling the trip, I got lucky and found a room available at the Hershey Lodge for Saturday night. With the hotel booked, we headed out late Saturday morning amidst the mist enveloping the highway. Just over an hour later and we were checking in at the front desk as the cocoa aroma flowed through the lobby. After a quick lunch at the Bear’s Den (decent burgers but I suggest you have the salt ready) we walked out front, hopped on the free shuttle, and made our way to Hershey Gardens (free tickets included with our room).

Not the greatest view.

The gardens proved to be a nice little walk despite the overcast sky. However, having spent more time at much larger places (i.e. Longwood Gardens) we covered the entire grounds pretty quickly. While not as impressive as many other horticultural attractions it was still a nice walk with a decent variety of plants, paths, and views. Here are just some of the pictures that I took with my phone during our walk (also the one at the beginning of the post):

Now much later in the afternoon, we walked back to the shuttle and enjoyed a nice conversation with the driver as we made our way back to the lodge. After unpacking everything in our room and taking a little break, we spent some time outside with our very happy baby.

It was nice to have the quite time to enjoy the cool breeze and people watch as prom goers and military officers convened at the same time to attend their respective events (this is in addition to the countless little cheerleaders scurrying about the building).

When we walked over to the Hershey Grill afterward, we were nearly turned away by the hostess. Given the busy weekend there was limited seating and we were about to turn around when the manager escorted the three of us to the patio and sat us at a very nice table near the ducks playing in the water fountain. The meal that we had here was excellent… I suggest the mushroom bruschetta, the smoked trout lettuce wraps, and the eggplant parmigiana (a little different than what we were expecting but good nevertheless). Tired and full we slowly meandered back to the room so that we could put our feet up, and put out baby down, for the night. Thankfully, he slept through the night in the strange room.

First Mother’s Day

My wife and I have both been looking forward to today and dreading it at the same time. There has been a lot that has happened since the last time that the calendar noted this holiday. There is a lot that we have to celebrate and a lot that we are missing on this day. To my wife’s credit, which says a lot about her strength, she decided to focus on the joy of the day and I did my best to make that a reality (even in the face of a few trying moments). Like many things these days, time is moving both fast and slow. It seemed to take forever for this day to come but it also caught us a little off guard.

For the past couple of months we had been anticipating the good and bad of the day. In an effort to focus on the former we decided to get away for a couple of days. I nearly dropped the ball on this one but managed to make it happen by booking a room early last week (more on the trip itself in my next post). It was also late in the week when I was finally able to order flowers for my mom (for which we got a call when they were delivered yesterday)... ProFlowers.com kind of saved me on that one. We both owe a lot to our mom’s and now that we have a son we understand even more the importance of this day.

We were a little apprehensive about the overnight stay at a hotel with the baby given that this was his first night away from home but, in the end, the entire trip went better than we could have ever hoped. There wasn’t a single moment of crying for much of the getaway and he seemed to be happy to explore a new place and simply spend time with his mommy and daddy. Of course, it could be that maybe our son is already learning that you don’t mess with mommy on Mother’s Day.

While we did our best to think of all the good things that have happened and the fact that it is the first Mother’s Day that we have celebrated with our son, I couldn’t help but think about the one thing that I couldn’t give my wife today. I didn’t buy a card or flowers as there wasn’t really anything that I could find that made sense… at least not this year. I could have bought a “First Mother’s Day” card but it was also a first for another reason… one that I couldn’t change. It was a hard day but a great day as well. I just wish that I could have given her the gift that she really wanted today.

Returning Home

This morning I woke up to the reassuring thought that tonight I would be home sleeping next to my wife and son. However, there was a long day ahead of me and a conference call that was about to start moments after I stumbled out of bed. During this postponed weekly call I couldn’t simply let the productive few morning moments pass me by so I used the time confined to my room to take care of a last blast of emails and packed my bag. With a few minutes to go I had everything ready and as soon as I hung up the phone I was out the door.

After returning the key cards to the front desk, I made my way across the street and walked through the Hilton on my way to the show shuttle. Before inspecting the line I swung through the gift shop in search of an item required for my return to the office tomorrow… a Chicago refrigerator magnet. It may seem odd but it had become tradition that each time we travel to a new place for work we pick up a magnet for the office fridge. We have put together quite the collection from across the country.

With the line for the shuttle painfully long which would have prevented me from making to the booth on time, I made the detour to the front of the building, hailed a cab, and was at the convention center with a little breathing room. Enough time to check my coat and bags and make my way to the booth before the first scheduled meeting of the day. I guess it is a good thing that I was busy this morning because it left me little time to think about getting back home to my family.

The morning flew by with a number of excellent conversations and introductions including an interesting discussion with a fellow brother that happened to be passing the booth. Immediately after lunch it was time to leave the floor and so I made my way, along with the CEO and his wife, back to the coat check and out to the sidewalk to catch the final cab of the trip. Thankfully the show was a success and the hard work that everyone put in paid off so the conversations during the 40 minute drive was of a great experience and looking forward to the show next year in Atlanta.

Everything went as smoothly as possible at the airport (unlike my departure on Sunday) and I found myself with a little extra time before the flight. With nothing else that needed to be done I found a little restaurant where I could sit down for a late lunch and called the office to give a little update and my wife to tell her how much I looked forward to getting back home. Before I knew it I was on the plane, propped up against the window, and fast asleep with my legs crumpled against my briefcase.

The flight landed on time with me waking up just before the wheels touched the ground. After a bit of a wait outside the baggage claim (for some reason we pulled into the international terminal) I was soon nested next to my son as my wife drove us away from the cluster of a pickup area. It was a great feeling to be home and finally reunited with my family. While I may have woken up in Chicago, I will be going to bed with my wife and son tonight. A perfect end to a business trip.

This Is Spring?

I took this picture as I left the office on Friday. 

As I drove to work on Friday I had to keep telling myself that spring was finally beginning and all of this will come to an end soon. The spring snow kept falling throughout the day seemingly more intense every time I picked my head up from my computer and looked out the window. Honestly, I was just thankful that it was happening on Friday rather than over the weekend causing some kind of delay in my travel plans.

When I arrived in Chicago yesterday I looked at the forecast to see what the temperature was going to be like over the next few days not thinking about the possibility of precipitation. Of course, they were predicting some more spring snow. It was going to be an interesting start to the week and to the trade show.

I woke up this morning wondering if the weather had blown through during the night. When I opened the blinds it certainly hadn’t blown through, it was still blowing. While there was only about 6 inches expected, the blizzard conditions coming off of Lake Michigan made for an interesting adventure just walking outside between buildings. The bus ride was interesting as well.

My boss took this picture from the bus as we made out way to ProMat this morning.

In addition to the disagreeable weather, the news was also reporting travel times of nearly 2 ½ hours from the airport to downtown. With the sideways snow still whipping through the air, we all anticipated at least a slow start to the show. While the expected inundation at the gate may not have come to fruition it was a surprisingly steady crowd and the morning saw a nice pace of interest at the booth. Of course, it makes me wonder what could have been had we been fortunate enough to have good weather.

With the snow having stopped sometime during the day, we all headed back to the hotel to put our feet up and relax for a few moments. After a few quick calls and several emails, it was time to head back down to the lobby to meet up for dinner. It is always a great feeling to get together at these moments with a client after a successful day and before I knew it we departed the delectable Park Grill and went our separate ways to reconvene in the morning.

Of course, as many of my days have lately, there was an interesting moment that concluded the night. As I was enjoying the surprisingly warmer evening (the temperature had actually gone up since the morning) I was approached by a rather gregarious man who was obsessed with my salt covered shoes. While apprehensive upon our initial encounter we were able to converse a bit and I eventually found out that I was talking with the Shoe Shine King of Michigan Avenue.

While I didn’t have much cash on me, only a couple dollars left from the day, he insisted that my shoes needed to be shined. So out on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, I put my foot on his knee and I ended up with shoes that haven’t looked this good in years. An interesting end to a day that had a rather interesting beginning. Hopefully, the shine lasts as long as the show.

Heartbeat

No, not that heartbeat!

We woke up this morning not having to go to work and no detailed schedule ahead of us but with plenty of things that needed to get done the first of which was to drive back home. After a quick breakfast in the lobby we packed everything up, got in the car, and slowly made our way from detour to detour the first of which was up the street from the hotel at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet in Shamokin Dam where we were able to again introduce my parents to someplace new. With a few bargains in our bags and water in hand, we made our way back to the highway so we could make some serious progress.

Having driven on I-80 earlier in the summer I knew we were about 2 ½ hours away from home but, with the only item on our calendar not scheduled until 6:30, we had plenty of time to stop again. This time we got out to stretch at Country Junction in Lehighton. While my wife and I had been their once before, this was again a new place for my parents. Sometimes it is the small interesting places that are the best to stop and stretch at in the middle of a long drive.

The rest of the drive was uneventful and uncongested and as we got closer to the final exit of our trip we made a split decision to go to a restaurant for lunch that we have ever been to, Avenue Kitchen in Villanova. While the food and service was good I couldn’t help but take note of the fact that the check for just lunch (and this was moderately priced for the Main Line) was more than what we spent for lunch and dinner combined the day before during our Knoebels adventure. However, we will be visiting this place again especially since they serve brunch every day until 4.

We got to my parents’ house by midafternoon with plenty of time for us to relax before heading over to the doctor’s office. While it was nice to sit down and just take a bit of time away from work for the day I found myself eager to do something while anticipating the appointment that evening. No surprise, we got to the office early and waited as patiently as we could to be seen. Without a doubt, while annoying, the waiting was well worth it as for the first time we heard the tiny (and fast) heartbeat of our child, a rhythm that we will not soon forget. And, while simple, it sounds much better than Don Johnson!

Last Call: Time To Head Home

After an exceedingly long night, I woke up an hour early to begin my last day in Atlanta. While the show seemed to be winding down a bit, the day was packed from end to end with meetings and potential meetings. With little sleep the past three nights I was at the point of nearly staggering to our morning breakfast meeting. But sometimes you just have to suck it up and make it seem like you just slept for ten hours and you are fully awake and rearing to go for a new day.

I made it to the restaurant in the hotel lobby right on schedule and immediately found a couple of people to reconnect with from Monday. While I am sure they are pleasant individuals anyway, the editors were very friendly and greeted me more like a long lost friend than simply a PR person who set up a meeting earlier in the week. This is the kind of meeting that really motivates me to go back to their publication with great stories. You can be sure that I will be talking with them again in the near future.

The meeting was, to say the least, productive and could potentially lead to many more trips down to the Atlanta area over the next year. Not sure how my wife will feel about this but it is a darn good business opportunity and I am glad that I was able to be a part of the initial conversation. After breakfast, my colleague and I headed back to our rooms, packed our bags, and dropped them off at the front desk so that we could pick them up later in the afternoon when we were finally ready to begin the journey back home.

We got back to the show floor just as the doors were being opened and it didn’t take long before we were pulled aside to speak with a few more reporters and analysts that decided to stop by this morning. This was the final push that put the event over the top and what finally allowed me to check this off as a success in my own mind. The total finally got into the double digits and met he expectations that have been constantly been running like a banner in Times Square in the forefront of my mind. Even though we were only on the floor for a little over two hours, it was well worth putting that extra effort in to the morning.

While all of this is happening, Classroom Day was in full swing as multiple groups made their way around the convention center speaking to those booths that decided to participate, including ours. When these high school students come around you can't help but wonder if years from now they will be at this very same show working for one of the companies. If that is the case, I hope that their stop at our booth played some small role in their life trajectory. Who knows, if could happen.

From the show room floor we made our way back to the hotel and into another meeting. This time we were meeting with an existing client that, while keeping us a little extra busy as of late, she has been a great person to work with and one that completely understands what we do (not everyone understands PR). Being able to meet the client does add another dimension of motivation when it comes to the daily grind that can sometime try to get the best of us. Knowing the person behind the projects makes you push a little harder and a little longer.   

After the lunch meeting we retrieved our bags, got in a cab, and returned to the chaos of the airport. We arrived a little earlier than we both prefer but it allowed us to take our time and not rush for the first time all week. After a slight delay that left my yawning in the US Airways waiting area, we boarded the small plane and took off knowing that the turbulence upon arrival was going to make this an interesting flight. Surprisingly, the landing in the rain was uneventful as my stomach decided to relax for once and allowed me to feel human as we disembarked from the cabin.

By the time we got to baggage claim my wife was already well on her way to pick me up and it wasn’t long before my colleague and I officially concluded our productive trip in high spirits and I was in the car on my way back to the apartment. Today I woke up in Georgia and went to bed back home in Pennsylvania. Tomorrow things will return to normal as my routine resumes with an early wake up and commute to the office. The difference being that now is the time to follow up on everything from this week rather than the past two weeks which has been focused on prep.

Weeks like this may be the most tiring part of my job but it is also part of what I love about what I do for a living. It is a time when I work hard without working. While I am sure there is a definition or at least a more concise way of expressing this sentiment but what really defines it is the experience which can’t really be conveyed accurately in a way that would be universally understood. It’s just one of those things that you know when you are in the middle of it.

Modex Day Two: I’m Beat!

Day one at Modex was a success and, while exhausted and walking slightly above a stumble, I was looking forward to day two at the show. Today was ‘stop by’ day when I was looking forward to meeting the media members who were not able to set up a specific time during the week but assured me that they would stop by at some point during the show. Actually, there was also a scheduled video interview in the early afternoon that consisted of preapproved questions and some uncomfortable makeup.

By the time we departed the booth in the early evening we had added three more media interviews to the six from yesterday. Having spoken to nine publications in the past two show days, we all made our way up to sublevel three to partake of unique cocktails and relaxing conversations. This, of course, extended our day well into the evening and we were all ready to head off as a team and enjoy what has been a, so far, successful event.

It should also be noted that the attendance at the show today was much greater than that of day one and the constant waves of people reverberated back and forth across the hall with many of them stopping at our booth to find out more about the company and the technology. It is actually commonplace for the first day to be the lead up and the event to peak over the second and third days but something else coming into play was the fact that it wasn’t raining when the doors opened at 10:00 am. It may have been cold this morning but it wasn’t wet.

Sitting around the dinner table, at a restaurant right near the hotel and show location, it was the first time since we arrived on Sunday that I began to relax. I wasn’t, and still am not, at the lean back stage but we passed the point today of all the work previously put in starting to pay off. The interviews were happening, the coverage was beginning to come to fruition, and the client seemed satisfied with our efforts. It was time to breathe just a little bit.

Maybe the best part of this all is that this is already at a point that it has set the new standard for us to surpass next year and we still have a half day to go tomorrow. While I don’t expect a lot more, it would be nice to check one or two more media members off my list. Tomorrow will really determine if I will be able to lean back on the flight or if I will be wondering what could have been done differently in order to get one or two more people in the booth. I wonder which one it will be.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Modex!

I woke up this morning in Atlanta, Georgia and the sun is nowhere to be found. Honestly, I didn’t realize that fact until I made it down to the lobby and walked into the restaurant to have some breakfast to begin the day. Not having an extensive track record with trade shows, I was quite nervous about the day and also eager to get things going. Of course, that might have been the lack of nicotine as well.

After a breakfast that was actually pretty tasty, I ran back up to the room to grab my badge for the event and made my way back down to the ground floor to try and ease my nerves. With freshly washed hands and a mint tingling my tongue, we gathered in the lobby and braced ourselves for the dash to the convention center next door through the bitter rain which seemed to plan its fall to coincide with the beginning of the show.

We were right on time in our decent below ground to the showroom floor and the closer we got, with each successive escalator, the crowd seemed to become denser and denser. The local weather combined with the natural events in other parts of the country delaying and cancelling flights, it was a shadow of the 25,000 expected to attend but it was still a healthy flow. Finally on the floor, we turned left and headed to the booth arriving just as the first of many scheduled interviews was to begin.

Without a wasted second, the introductions began as soon as my foot hit the booth carpet. That first interview set the tone for the rest of the day as everyone was on time, the conversations we all productive, and it left us with a great relationship that we look forward to building in the future. The sum it up, the media thus far have all been fantastic and I am looking forward to speaking with each and every one of them again in the near future.

With meetings booked throughout the day, from the 10:00 am open to the 5:00 pm close, the day was over before we knew it and we were all walking out of the convention center wonder where the day had gone. We all went back to our rooms to recover for an hour before reconvening across the street for some wings, burgers, and libations. The evening was filled with relaxing conversation and was a great opportunity to get to know everyone a little better.

I enjoy these times when I am able to learn a little bit more about those I work with each week. After two hours of entertaining conversations where we were able to find both differences and commonalities with one another, we finally called it a day. Time to go back to the room, get some work done, and try to sleep as much as possible. Day one done and things couldn’t have gone any better. The fact that we didn’t have to deal with Philly snow again was just a bonus.

Where Am I Going Now?

Anyone recognize the location?

Today was one where I struggled to stay on schedule. While my flight wasn’t scheduled until 2:15 pm, there were a lot of things that needed to be done before I could head out the door. I stayed up late last night in the hope that I could get everything done but I kind of knew going into it that it was more of a hope than a reality. So, half conscious, I got myself out of bed in the mid-morning and immediately started to get a number of pushed back projects done.

I am always slightly surprised at how quickly I am able to pack my ravel bag. It does help that I have gotten myself into the habit of only taking a carry on and my work bag with me but it doesn’t prevent me from trying to pack as much as I can into these two pieces of travel gear. While I was getting my clothes together and pairing down the overflow of paper in my daily work bag, my wife was busy in the office. She wasn’t working on any of her projects, rather she was making the copies of the briefing book that would be needed at my final destination.

We got out the door slightly behind schedule but still within a reasonable timeframe. Even though we spent the entire trek to the airport dodging potholes (at least most of them) and dealing with the countless drivers lacking in common sense, I was still getting out of the car at the US Airways terminal with about an hour and a half before takeoff. Thankfully the kiosk and security were nearly deserted and I was able to make it to the departure gate in a record 15 minutes.

Boarding was uneventful, even with my colleague having to backtrack in the airport to find her forgotten coat, and I was able to find room for my bags, take my seat, and prepare for one of my least favorite activities. While the line waiting to get on the runway resembled the traffic commonly found on the Schuylkill Expressway, we were up in the air in no time or that is what is seemed like as time seems to go by rather quickly when I am chatting up my fellow passengers.

There was a little turbulence in the air but, for the most part, I slept through much of the flight. Unfortunately, my neck and shoulders reminded me later of the fact that I had slept on a plane. Our arrival at the gate was delayed slightly by the refusal to push back by a departing flight but at this point he flying part was over and I was again talking with everyone around me. Once we got off the plane, we immediately headed to baggage claim (not everyone sticks to carry-ons), hopped in a cab, and headed downtown.

What was anticipated to be sunny and warm was anything but pleasant upon our arrival with the building disappearing in the sky. After checking in, grabbing our first meal of the day, and a quick meeting it was time to head to the room to get a few last minute things done and rest for the hectic week ahead. All the preparations now complete, the week was ready to begin. Here we go!

I Think I Found The Elephants In The Room

Photo by Sean M. Teaford

As soon as I walked into the Radnor Hotel and checked in at the desk to get my name tag I was immediately welcomed not simply as a member but as a friend. I had been looking forward to last night’s Commonwealth Club event for months as it was not only a chance to meet Governor Corbett but also to catch up with my fellow members that I only have the opportunity to see every once in a while. It is indeed a great group of people with whom I share many common interests and points of view. I was also struck with a great sense of irony that I was attending this event the week after visiting Gettysburg because, as you may recall, this is the Party of Lincoln.

For many, those viewpoints are not at all agreeable but, for me, they are in sync with my point of view both personally and politically. You see, these events are not about trying to find the elephant in the room because we are a room full of elephants. In case that wasn’t clear enough let me put it simply, this was a meeting of contributors to the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. While the financial contributions vary greatly among the attendees we are all proud supporters of our party.

As someone who spent many years affiliated with the Democratic Party, I can say from personal experience that, contrary to coverage that you may read in the media, this is the party of change. I have had greater accessibility, more level headed discussions, and seen more diversity in local candidates in this party than I did in my previous youthful years. This is the change that I had always been looking for.

In my experience, you can go to just about any political event around, regardless of party, and hear someone speak about their positions I have experienced a greater prevalence of one on one discussion in this party as I did with Governor Corbett last night. Everyone’s voice was heard regardless of positions held or the kind and level of support they have dedicated to the party. We may differ in some of our views, in what we think are high priorities and what are not, and sometimes what may be the best solution to a problem but, in the end, we are all have an equal voice in our party.   

Photo by Richard M. Trivane

While I will not discuss specifics on this blog as I do not speak for the Governor, the Commonwealth Club, or the Republican Party in general and I do not pretend to do so I will say that a large variety of topics were covered including (but not limited to) education (both students and teachers), pension reform, economic issues, natural gas, the job market, the state budget, and taxes. Finally, I will leave you with this final aspect about the event last night in that while numerous issues and topics were discussed and certain stances on current events were mentioned at no point was any person or politician attacked. Even in a room full of supporters both of the party and of the Governor, and during a time when he will soon begin his re-election campaign, no negative rhetoric was heard coming from the Governor.

This is the party of unity and change not of partisan segregation and recycled polities. This is the party of the future not of immediate gratification. This is the party of discussion not of accusation. This is the party of common sense and reasonable solutions not of over accommodation and knee jerk reactions. This is not the ‘grand old party’, this is my party.

The Thunder Roared Like Artillery Fire

My wife and I arrived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania late Friday afternoon looking forward to exploring the town and the battlefield. We had originally planned on visiting earlier this month but given the crowds for the 150^th anniversary we decided to hold off a few weeks. It had been some time since I had visited the site and, to her recollection, it was my wife’s first trip to the Civil War landmark. After checking in at the Gettysburg Hotel we meandered up and down the streets, in and out of shops, and enjoyed the time away as dusk devoured the remaining day light. 

It was a short evening for us as much of our time was spent browsing the book stores, taking a break for a casual dinner, and watching as cars continued to pour in from every direction... 

...converging on the roundabout.

 

It seemed like in every corner of the square there was something different from the others. What caught my attention was the Masonic building just across the street from our hotel.

 

By about 8:30 our energy was gone and it was time to head off to bed so that we could get an early start to our morning. We walked back to our room with the mix of century sounds in the background as the slow clopping of horse hooves accompanied the low grumble of engines and the hum of tires on the asphalt.

The next morning we arose to overcast skies and a forecast for late afternoon rain. Our trip was now on a deadline as we made one more quick stroll through town to grab a quick brunch and pick up a few small souvenirs. 

Back in the car, we turned onto the square where I glanced in the corner at a statue of President Lincoln who seemed to be bidding us farewell as we left the center of town. 

After a quick stop at Lee’s headquarters where pictures were allowed but not easily achieved in the small four room structure, we made our way down Seminary Ridge where we stopped at the old Lutheran Seminary to look around a little before heading off to the maze of battlefield roads.

From Seminary Ridge we continued straight onto Confederate Avenue where we drove across the Southern Line where you can see rows…

…upon rows…

…upon rows of cannons.

Along both lines, north and south, monuments to all the different states that fought in the conflict are staggered to reflect their positions during the conflict. One of the grandest on the southern side is that of Virginia which is topped by a statue of General Lee on his horse surveying the landscape.

 

If you take a closer look at the cannons throughout the national park you can get a sense not only of the open space between the lines but the power that each one of those pieces of artillery had on the lives of those on the other end. This is evident when you look down the barrel and see a monument at the other end such as the Pennsylvania monument off the muzzle of this Virginia cannon. You can also see one of the fence lines that crisscross the fields which played a role in the conflict in their own right.  

Weaving up and down some of the winding roads we made our way to what began the battle as a scouting position for the Union and was later the sight of some of the fiercest fighting during the battle, Little Round Top.

Behind the memorial to the 91^st Pennsylvania Infantry on this peak you can see a location which was a place of human devastation, The Devil’s Den.

Walking down the stairs you can feel the sense of loss and dread build within you.

Throughout the pile of rocks there are little passageways and both offered cover for those taking fire and concealment for those charged with taking lives.

In the middle is the spot which gave this formation its name. It was here that lives were taken by the sharpshooters who occupied this position.

The boulders on top of this strategic piece of topography allow you to understand and appreciate the importance that the cover here provided. You can almost see the imprints made by soldiers perched on these rocks for hours at a time.

By this time, the sky began to darken and rolls of thunder began shaking the earth under our feet giving an altered sense of reality as we scanned the rows of cannons on both sides of the field.

Soon after, the rain came down in sheets and tourists scattered in all directions in search of their cars or other forms of shelter. At this point we knew that our day was nearly over so we made our way to the cemetery in the hope that we might catch a break in the storm. To our surprise, that is exactly what happened.

In the middle of the cemetery is a tribute of particular significance to me. It is known as the “Friend to Friend Memorial”.

As is described on the plaque, this sculpture is one of the best illustrations of the bonds of the Masonic brotherhood.  

All around this tremendous tribute are the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers alike with the only difference between them being the words chiseled in the stone.

Of course, men of all ranks are represented and for some generals, memorials have been erected by the soldiers who served under them such as this remembrance of Major General John Fulton Reynolds who died at Gettysburg within a day ride of his home town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

As we left the cemetery I turned around and could see almost black clouds rolling across the sky overtaking the white blanket that had enveloped us all day.

And when I turned to head back toward the car the last vestiges of opaque light made a silhouette that summed up the haunting spirit of these memory laden fields just beyond the town of Gettysburg.