Tiverton, RI to Hagerstown, MD

Monday, June 23—Tiverton RI to Hagerstown MD; 445 miles Hagerstown/Antietam KOA

We had planned on staying in Tiverton this day but somehow got the itinerary mixed up and Phil and Lois had plans, so we arranged an extra overnight and a day of antiquing and touring in Gettysburg.

After leaving Tiverton, we swung past Providence and found our way to familiar I-81 south, stopping at eclectic John’s Italian Restaurant for lunch—it had a little bit of everything—Chinese, deli, BBQ, burgers, etc.

When we got to Jeff’s hometown, Chambersburg, PA, we checked on his mother’s and grandparent’s graves. They were a bit dirty and the urn was empty, so we walked to a nearby florist’s where we bought an

artificial arrangement and a dove to perk them up. I took some pix, but was unable to get a photo of Betty’s marker that was not shaded by the tombstone before it. Jeff and I will clean the stones on our next visit or pay the cemetery attendant to clean them. 

After getting the gravesite settled, we raced to Olympia Candy Kitchen in downtown C’burg, getting there only minutes before closing. I wanted to take Jeff some candy from this landmark candy kitchen that

makes most of its candy on site. Jeff orders holiday candy to be delivered each year. It was really too hot to take Jeff his favorite butter creams, but I put six in a small box which we kept in the cooler for the remainder of our journey and they managed to make it in one (six?) piece. I bought mint leaves, some sour candies that Jeff likes, and some English licorice all-sorts for me. They are my favorite. Sarah treated each of us to a chocolate/toffee goodie from the many chocolates on display.

Then we were off to Hagerstown and the Antietam KOA. The campground was tucked way back in on the Conocheague Creek, which was very high. Our cabin was typical of KOA, identical to the ones we stayed in on our west coast trip. The only difference: On the west coast trip we were camping and had our camping gear and bedding with us. On this trip we were staying with relatives and in motels, so we had no bedding or towels. We paid an extra $10 for linens and pillows at the Antietam KOA, but this package contained no towels. None were for sale at the KOA store, so we drove to a nearby convenience store and bought a package of loosely woven blue hand towels, but used them only like washcloths at the sink, neither of us taking a shower. 

After getting ourselves organized and clean to the best of our ability, we asked for chairs, and sat at the little cabin table to eat a Philly cheese steak wrap leftover from our lunch at John’s Italian Restaurant and supplemented by our food stores. Then, we took a walk through the campground. It was quite attractively landscaped but the cabins were oddly placed . . . for access by the large RVs we guessed. One RV had a couple of guinea pigs in a pen outside of it. The creek was quite pretty and placid, and I imagine a good spot for fishing. There were Canada Geese and Mallards on it in places.

We were both travel weary after nearly two weeks on the road; thus, after this our second miserable “cabin” experience, Sarah rightfully said “No more!” and reserved a room at a Comfort Inn in Gettysburg, her treat. Sarah also wants to cut our two long days home from Virginia into three shorter days also. It was just dark when we crawled into bed to read and sleep.