It's on the way!

A little burst of Spring-like temperatures in early March had us racing to find gardening gloves and get our hands in the dirt a little bit! We had a great time raking up the remnants of the Fall leaves and aerating all the flower beds. Clearing away all the winter coverings let us see how many bulbs we have ready to spring any day.

We already have crocus and some jonquils blooming, and the weeping cherry tree we planted last Fall looks like it will give us a good show in a few weeks. The robins are back in the yard and the gold finches are just beginning to turn their namesake color. All things that make us realize that the "season" here in Gettysburg is almost upon us, and we'd better get our running shoes ready!

Your Innkeepers had a really restful and productive Winter. We managed to play "hookie" several times and visited New York City, Fall River & Boston, MA and Washington, DC not once but twice! In each place we had a good time seeing historical sites while visiting with friends and family. Christine is now OBSESSSED with the Lizzie Borden mystery after visiting the house in MA and has read two books and seen about three shows on the topic...be sure to "axe" her about the mystery if you're not familiar!

Most satisfying for us was getting to see not one but two versions of the Gettysburg Address, each written in Lincoln's own hand. At the Smithsonian Museum of American History we visited the Bliss Copy (which normally lives in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House) and at the Library of Congress we saw the Hay Copy, which is the copy that Lincoln finished writing while staying here in Gettysburg at the David Wills House. It was a really moving experience to see the documents first-hand. The excellent LOC exhibit also featured the letter which Lincoln wrote to General Meade after the Battle of Gettsyburg, expressing his frustration at Meade's failure to follow Lee and press for surrender. Lincoln decided to "sleep on it" for a night, and must have thought better of his words in the morning for the letter was never sent. This exhibit runs thru May so if your travels will take you to the DC area in that time frame be sure to check it out. You can get more info at http://www.loc.gov/.

With the coming Spring season we will welcome extended National Park Service hours. For those who will be visiting in the near future here is the schedule: as of April 1, the Battlefield is open from 6 Am to 10 Pm, and the new Museum and Visitor's Center will be open from 8 Am to 5 Pm daily. The Wills House will be open Tuesday-Sunday form 10 Am to 5 Pm.

On a final note, our Gettysburg family suffered a big loss this Winter with

the passing of Interpretive Park Service Ranger Gregory Coco on February 11th. Greg worked as a park guide and as a seasonal interpretive ranger at Gettysburg, where he was known for his development of the extensive two- to three-hour walks across the battlefield. He also was an NPS licensed battlefield guide for several years. Greg authored 16 books and 12 scholarly articles on topics related to the American Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg. He received national recognition for two of the above books. A Strange and Blighted Land: The Aftermath of a Battle, was voted number 12 in the top 50 Civil War books ever written, while another received an award from the Eastern National Parks and Monument Association.

During one of our first trips to Gettysburg as tourists we had the good fortune to attend a one hour program on Culp's Hill. When we arrived we found the tour leader Greg there, and we were the only attendants as it was a cold and rainy day. Greg took us to the top of the Culp's Hill tower to stay dry, and spent more than an hour with just the two of us, giving a detailed and passionate narrative of the action on that part of the Battlefield. Needless to say a love of and passion for Gettysburg history was nurtured in both of us that day. Greg was a very special member of the Park Service team and he will be dearly missed.