Winning at Gettysburg.

This morning, tired of oatmeal for breakfast, I heated up leftover fajita veggies from the Mexican restaurant and served them with two eggs over easy. Yummy!

I didn’t unhook again last night, so it was easy to get going. I refueled before I got back on the turnpike and was on my way.

I should have known the day would take some weird turns as soon as I turned off the turnpike to get on Rt 30, Lincoln Highway. I was tired of the turnpike and not eager to take the trailer through another tunnel although I did fine. The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental highway in the US started in 1912 and went from New York City to San Francisco. The portion crossing PA became known as Rt 30 when numbered Highway systems were introduced in 1926.

I knew it would be narrow, but I had to climb a mountain and come down the other side. It’s much steeper grades than the interstate. I told myself I should turn around but did not. I pulled over a few times to let cars pass because I was not going to stress my vehicle up the grade nor come down too fast and risk losing control.

I was finally nearing my campsite on some even narrower and twister roads when I realized I had accidentally put in for the KOA at Gettysburg and not where I was actually staying. I re-routed without having to turn around thank God.

I arrived at the correct campgroun just before 2p.m. Ready to set up camp and have lunch and then go exploring. Alas, that was not to be. They were having trick or treat for the kiddies and I was unable to dock until three. I was supposed to have gotten a call about it, but did not.

I was able to park in the entry but it was full sun and it was almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I grabbed my lunch and Buddha and went to sit at a table with an umbrella to shield us from the sun. Then I took Buddha for a slow walk but she is not a big fan of hot weather. We found shade again, and I gave her some water while I did some Greek on Duolingo to keep my streak going.

Finally, it was time and Sam led me back to my tiny little wedge of a pull through site. He was very sweet and helped me mine up the trailer with utilities. I was going through my checklist but I was unable to get my padlock off the hitch to release the ball. I double checked my combination. Nothing.

I went to the next trailer over and the guy there had all kinds of tools out. I asked him for help. He didn’t have anything to cut it off, but he was able yank it off. Not sure what that says for my padlock…. I thanked him profusely and then set to leveling the trailer. Sam had parked me way off front to back. I tried multiple blocks under the stabilizers and then decided I better get into town for another padlock. I would deal with that later.

I got to Ace Hardware before it closed and bought two padlocks so I’d have a spare. The talkativf man at the cash register recommended a few restaurants and a distillery. I drove around and they seemed packed with no parking so I decided to go over to the park until sunset when it closes.

The last time I had been to Gettysburg,I didn’t have much time and it was cold and raining. This time, I wanted to sit on the battlefield and just image the chaos and carnage. And I did. But it’s such a beautiful area, it’s hard to imagine it filled with armies of men and horses, guns and cannons firing almost nonstop for three days.

I climbed a viewing tower and was able to get a panoramic view from there and listen to a true Civil War buff explaining some fine points of the battle to his friends. From there I drove to the Little Round Top to make a short hike to the top. I initially took the wrong trail, but found an interesting rock formation. Once on the correct trail, there were random marble and granite monuments in the middle of the woods. I felt sorry for the mules and or draft horses that had to drag those things up the narrow path.

By now, I was starving and opted to try the distillery because I wouldn’t have to go through downtown and fight traffic and they had a decent food menu. I started with one of their whiskeys neat, and it was pretty smooth. I had a local IPA with my French onion soup and Ceasar salad. They try to source all their ingredients for both the alcohol and the food locally. Some Is grown on the battlefield where farms are preserved. There is a never ending push by developers to remove parcels from the conservation and develop them. I hope I was supporting maintaining the land and sustainability.

I read some articles on leveling during dinner and then watched one videos when I got back to my site. I was coming to the conclusion that blocks under the stabilizers don’t do shit to level. I had been led astray. With my head lamp on, I went to get my tools determined to get it right. A guy parked behind me asked if I wanted help. YES!

So, as I suspected the blocks did zippo for balancing. What I needed to do was adjust the tongue on the front of the trailer. And voila I was level. We also talked about attaching the water supply because I was just filling my fresh tank and using my pump

The manual talked about having a water pressure gauge to make sure the pressure wasn’t too strong. They didn’t seem to think that was a huge issue and said I could hook up to the water and not have to use the pump. I had already put in fresh water, so that will be something I try with my next site.

A little reading and lights out!