Later in June, I went to visit my brother and his family in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There was a new independent minor league baseball team in Frederick, Maryland, and because I had submitted a name, they sent me a free ticket to the day that the team would announce their name. They had been playing with no name, complete with a question mark on their hats and jerseys, until then. The team has since revealed their names as the Spire City Ghost Hounds.
The game was rained out, so after I arrived in Gettysburg, there was nothing to get ready for. So I changed my plans and decided to explore Hagerstown, which I had never been in before, and decided to check out their baseball stadium under construction, which would host a team that would be a rival of the Ghost Hounds. Their name has been revealed to be the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars.
A Strasburg Railroad train running through the Lancaster County countryside.
On my way to Hagerstown, I decided to check out Catoctin Mountain Park, a unit in the National Park System and where Camp David is located, but it was still raining too much to do a little hike.
A log house west of Catoctin Mountain Park.
Hagerstown
The stadium site has been cleared, as of late June. They say it should be ready for the 2024 season.
On the way back to Gettysburg, I drove through Catoctin Mountain Park, and just to the south is Cunningham Falls State Park. The namesake falls are a short hike from a parking lot.
THE NEXT DAY
Gettysburg Battlefield
Gettysburg
Abbottstown, Pennsylvania
My brother's family, and my sister's family, had tickets to ride Thomas the Tank Engine at the Strasburg Railroad (the same as the first picture). I didn't have a ticket, since I was not sure if I could go when they had to buy them, but I stopped by, since it was on my way, and took pictures from outside the train when they left. I was told by my nephew that this Thomas was "Party Thomas", hence the splashes of paint. Percy and Mavis were there as well.
Lancaster County farmland
An old farmhouse
The Gap Town Clock was built in 1892, and is located along PA Route 41. It is apparently unique in the United States as an extant roadside clock.