up at 9ish • see Mum and Louise • pack up Roark & roll out at 10:40ish • arrive 11:10ish • chat with Syd and Zach • see Mary
Jax and I stop at Dave's for SD card & chat a bit in garage with Dave and Stacey 11:55-12:30
take PA Turnpike to Gettysburg • listen to Jim Dale Read Around the World in 80 Days (the first 2 hours 8 minutes) • "Lawn" rest stop at 2:20
reach the Getts Visitor Center 3:45 • gift shop (I can't go in with my backpack so Jax goes in for a brown teddy bear in a navy blue sweater with the American flag on it plus four postcards) • then I leave him with the bag and I go in for a $9 bald eagle and a Union cap for Jax and eight postcards • pix of Abe Lincoln on the bench 4:15
head to The Stone House (5680 Fairfield Road) built in 1850 at 4:45 • take pix - the house is next to a 2 lane road with a golf course behind it. Across the street is the municipal bldg with a lil' park and playground. The house id from the Civil War and is stuffy (at first), clean, little old lady Bed & Breakfast decor and when Jax sees the bedrooms - mine is w/king size bed and is okay but the one for Jax looks like it was meant to be a living room b/c it's open with 2 single beds and no door. He saw the box of dolls and declares that he "is NOT sleeping there!" He is instantly sullen (but not in a mean way) and I can tell he wants to leave. {Sidebar: when I was looking at places near Gettysburg for us to stay, I thought an old cabin would be cool, showed the photos to Jax and he said he definitely liked it. I think the creaking floors and stairs and that his room wouldn't have a door made him uneasy and he was very spooked.}
We chat a bit and go for a smoke and he plays at the playground at 6ish • back to the house for some Star-made naan pizza • FaceTime with Mum 6:30 • eat and watch Return to Oz • pause the movie to FaceTime with Jax's parents at 7:38 for about 10 minutes and discuss how Gettysburg is in PA and not VA* • after Return to Oz we start Gemma Correll puzzle and begin Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief on Disney+ • abandon the puzzle at about 10:45, finish listening to "Ghost Buddy From Zero to Hero" audiobook and chat • fill out our journals and postcards while listening to Getts playlist • out for a smoke around 12:30ish • we write a bit of SonDMI {our book} 1-2ish • up to bed • put on Toy Story 2:30 • I'm out by Buzz's introduction and awake again by the end • shut laptop and me and Jax asleep at 4am
post scripties:
• We try to list the things we like about the house:
Me: outside - cool horseshoe driveway & views, window over the sink, clean, cool pix on wall
Jax: decor, picnic table and outside features, spacious
• *People in school told Jax that Gettysburg was in Virginia, Syd told Zach it was Pennsylvania but he believed Jax b/c that's "something he would know." When we stopped to see Dave, Jax got out and said hi and Dave said "Why ain't you at school?" Jax: "We're going to Gettysburg. Do you know where that is?" Dave does his mock-shocked look and says "Did you just ask me that?!" (lol) Then Stacey (smoking in the garage) asks where it is and Jax {with utter confidence} tells her in Virginia. Dave explodes "DID YOU SAY VIRGINIA!?"What a perfect moment - hilarious.
• Sharing a bed with a kid can be the worst because they fling their arm in your face or hog all the covers or just invade your space. Jax and I took the blankies I had in the back seat and each had our own, and then took our stuffed pals and formed a line of demarcation between us.
• The Stone House's full bathroom is located in the finished basement and Jackson hated it. After one of my smoke breaks I left him in the kitchen with the laptop and went to go downstairs. He stopped me with "Where are you going?!!" "Uh, to use the bathroom. I'll be right back." "Why don't you use the bathroom here in the kitchen?" "Cuz I need to poo." He was insistent that I not go down there for any reason. He said he doesn't care if my poo is stinky, just don't go downstairs and leave him alone upstairs. He has a wild imagination and I think he was terrified to be left alone with his crazy thoughts.
• Jax was def uneasy about spending the night, which is why he couldn't fall asleep until four in the morning, and so I called his Dad to say we would be coming home the next night, rather than Sunday night. We'd lose a bit of sightseeing but I knew if I told Jax we only had to stay one night, his mind would be set at ease.
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