Rick F.

bobpun,

You're very welcome, and I'm glad you enjoyed the trip report. For me, half the fun is making the trip itself, and the other half is researching the places I visited and writing up the report for others to read. Of course, in the process I often learn of something else that I should have visited, and more than once I've gone back just to fill in a few such details. Like the Huyett farmhouse that I overlooked…

Ironically, I never cared for history in high school or college. Now that I'm old enough to be sort of historical myself, I can't get enough of it!

Rick

Rick F.

PAPA PA,

Great, I hope you have a chance to get out there soon and find something interesting! While some people might consider it foolish or risky to do automobile touring during a pandemic, I've found it to be the perfect way to avoid "pandemic depression" or stay-at-home boredom. Best of all, when you go looking for lost and forgotten places, it's automatically socially distant!

And what better way to explore than in an SL?

Rick

Lafourche1

Beautiful pictures. The drive over South Mountain from Frederick to Sharpsburg is one of my favorite trips. I have spent many hours on the hallowed ground of Gettysburg, as well (more there than at Sharpsburg). My last trip to The Burg was in September. A quick trip that focused on Day 1 activities of The Louisiana Tigers and Francis Barlow. They have done some nice restoration work to the mural at the Brickyard. It is now covered in glass. Here is a picture of an off of the beaten path marker for Strong Vincent. BTW, Fair Catch.

Did you happen to take a moment to venture over to Culp's Hill? Pap Greene looks commanding to this day.

Beautiful car. Great trip. Places that speak to me to this day.

bobpun

Rick, I've always had an interest in history and would have majored in it during my university years but I wasn't interested in teaching so chose a more practical discipline. I did manage to take a couple of Canadian history courses as electives. As you know the development of our two nations are a shared experience on many levels with interesting and unique outcomes on both sides of the border.
I guess I'm getting a bit off the SL subject so I'll return to discussing the car before I am sanctioned for getting way off topic. Unlike most of you folks who live south of the Macon Dixon line and in the south-west, I have to store my SL over the winter months. I purchased the vehicle last summer (2019) but haven't had many opportunities to drive it because of the restrictions placed on travel both here and in the USA. I'm hoping that as the vaccine rolls out in the US, travel restrictions will be lifted and things can return to some semblance of normal. Will take much longer for that to occur north of the border as our hapless prime minister delayed and dithered while most of the world was either developing or placing orders for a COVID vaccine. One of the advantages of storing your vehicle for 5 months is the pleasure one derives from not having driven the car for that period of time. For the first few drives in the spring it almost feels as though you a driving a new purchase. Although I just put the SL to bed a couple of weeks ago I can't wait until the spring rains wash the salt off our roads and I can get behind the wheel again.

Bob

Rick F.

Lafourche1,

I, too, have been visiting Gettysburg and Antietam for a long time. There are so many stories there, and it was such an important factor in the course of the Civil War.

I didn't visit Culp's Hill on my Fall Colors tour, but I did a few years ago when I was in pursuit of one of the most poignant stories related to the battle—see the story of Jack, Wesley, and Ginnie in Aston Martin vs. Ford Model T on the Lincoln Highway. Without Gen. Greene's fortifications at Culp's Hill, the Confederate Army might well have overrun the Union's right flank.

Thanks for pointing me in the direction of The Brickyard and the mural there. I was completely unaware of the mural (and will visit it soon), and I was only dimly aware of the fighting at The Brickyard / Coster Avenue on the first day, as the Union forces retreated through the city. So many heroic and tragic moments occurred at Gettysburg. The one battle serves as a microcosm of the entire Civil War.

I see that you live in Louisiana. On one of my trips this year, which I have yet to finish writing up, I learned a great deal about John Hanson McNeill, the leader of McNeil's Rangers during the war and a one-time resident of Louisiana. I managed to find the house he was born in, in West Virginia, although it took two tries! I also found his cousin's house, which is now a vacant, deteriorating, brick mansion.

So much history, so little time!

Rick

Rick F.

Bob,

I hope you can (i) get the vaccine soon and (ii) find a salt-free break in the weather, so you can get the SL out for a drive without having to wait for spring. I have a friend who lives near Toronto, and he tells me that the SL—with snow tires—makes for a very effective car in the winter. I generally enjoy driving in the snow, but I hate driving a really nice car on salted roads. My BMW 335i did fine in the winter, but I kept the Aston Martin in the garage until a good rain dispersed the salt. I haven't decided yet for the SL550, but I am going to get winter tires for it, so I can enjoy it on clear days in the winter.

Keep searching out that history!

Rick