Long before we owned our E-trek, one of our favorite destinations through the years has been Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, MD. Located across the Potomac River is the town of Shepherdstown, WV, the location for the series “Ghosts of Shepherdstown,” which premiered earlier this year. Karl is a fan of the show, so when we were looking for something spooky to do for the unseasonably warm Halloween weekend, we thought Shepherdstown, described by some as the most haunted place in America, would be the perfect destination.
We departed Friday night and drove to our usual Walmart in Camp Hill, PA. Instead of using our MyJo Presto manual K-cup device to make our morning coffee, we brought along our beloved percolator, with pre-measured coffee packed in Ziploc bags. Before we had our battery balancer installed, we were unable to make coffee with our Keurig electric coffeemaker, which is why we bought the manual version, but really, we love using our percolator for the first cup of the morning. We had no trouble brewing a pot, and enjoyed our first cup of the day while the dogs had breakfast.
After coffee and feeding the dogs, we were on our way to the Cozy Canine, just south of Gettysburg in Fairfield, PA. Antietam is about another hour from Fairfield, so by 9:30 a.m., we were parked in the battlefield visitor center parking lot. The parking lot was considerably full, but fortunately, the three Bus/RV slots were available. There were a few tour groups already making their way around the monuments. Although it was a little brisk, the forecast for the 70s, and by the time we finished our 10-mile ride, it was quite warm.
As usual, I relaxed for a while in the E-trek while Karl continued his ride. When he got back, we had lunch in the E-trek and then walked around the cannons and monuments for a while. Our E-trek was still in view, and we noticed a man taking pictures; however, he was not photographing the E-trek, but Karl’s Elliptigo, which is always a topic of conversation. Many people noticed it as we road through the battlefield and asked about it.
After lunch, we decided to drive into Shepherdstown, WV, just a few miles from the battlefield. We wanted to see what the parking situation would be for the Boofest events we hoped to attend in the evening. We were planning dinner at the Bavarian Inn (also in Shepherdstown), so we did not know if we should just park there and walk to the Boofest, about a quarter mile. As it turned out, there was little parking in the town, especially a slot big enough to accommodate the E-trek, so we decided to park at the Bavarian Inn. I had brought along my old tavern dress costume, which I thought would be appropriate to dine at the Ratzkeller.
After an early dinner, we walked back over to the downtown area of Shepherdstown, where we met the cast of the “Ghosts of Shepherdstown.” Karl was even able to score a group picture before their official “meet the cast” event started at 5:30 p.m. There were a few haunted walks scheduled for later in the evening; however, the walk was a little more treacherous than we had hoped, since we had to cross a busy road, and the road leading back to the hotel was very steep and narrow. We decided to go back to the Bavarian Inn for coffee, dessert and a nightcap.
Sunday morning was very warm, and we arrived at the battlefield just at sunrise. We enjoyed a beautiful 10-mile ride and were on the road by 8:30 a.m. to pick-up the dogs. Karl was hoping to listen to the early game from London (Redskins v. Bengals) on the ride home: however, we were unable to use any of our various apps to stream the game, probably due to it’s popularity. When we arrived home at 1:00 p.m., the game was still in progress–in overtime, and eventually ending in a tie, so it was just as well that we did not have to listen to such a stressful game.
