Where did the last 5 years go?

It's been five years since our beloved Michael left us. It wasn't his choice, but someone had other ideas and decided he was needed elsewhere. I can still remember the day in crystal clarity, the sounds, the smells, the screams. It was all so surreal, it couldn't be happening. Til this day, I keep expecting him to walk in through the door.

That morning, I was home alone waiting for the plumber to fix a clogged up pipe when my cousin Jeffrey called me to come to our cousin Kristen's house. I couldn't leave the house, but he was insistent that his mother needed Mom and me right away. There was something about his voice that made me know something was wrong. I called a friend to housesit for me, called my mother at work, picked her up and we raced to Brockway to see what was wrong.

We walked in the door and Judy was there. She looked fine, but Jeffrey's wife put her arms on me and said, "Michael Baxter was killed this morning." WHAT?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I looked over at his mom and she was just sitting there, not able to move with tears flowing. His sister was in her room screaming and crying uncontrolably. I drop to the floor. It can't be real. Why was she saying such a horrible lie? Michael is only 17, he can't be gone.

I hug Kristen for a minute then go back to find Jessa. I just held her until she calmed down a bit, then I had to find my kids. Nobody would give me the keys to their phone, so I called my mother-in-law to please get my kids and bring them to me. She agreed and I called the schools to say she would be picking up the kids soon and I had no idea when they would be back. Then I had to call the rest of the extended family and Randy at work to come for me. Jeffrey ran to pick up my dad.

I can still hear the screams as each new family member was brought in the house and told what happened. Then the funeral home director called and said he wouldn't recommend an open casket and felt we shouldn't even see him. How can that happen? We never got to see our beautiful boy again? It can't be real. Please, let me wake up now. This nightmare has to end soon.

I've written about the horror many times over the last five years on here and it's pretty easy to find them. I'll never forget what happened, how can I? We're not supposed to bury our children. I don't know how Kristen keeps going. Her three girls are her life and now she's finally found a wonderful man who loves her and the girls. She's smiling again. Yes, she still cries a lot and always will, but is able to live again. She's so strong.

To remember the day, the family got together at his favorite Chinese restaurant. I wasn't able to go because it was senior day to take your parents to school. Randy went in my place.

I know we'll all be together again some day. My religious views might not be the same as yours, but I think everyone agrees that a child goes straight to Heaven, Summerland or the Happy Hunting Grounds. It's a straight shot there with no stops. He's no doubt watching me now, shaking his head and telling me to stop crying, he's fine and it doesn't hurt. I can even see him.

Until we meet again, Michael, I'll love you forever and a day.

Gettysburg Vacation

As anyone who reads here regularly knows, I have a deep love of the town of Gettysburg in the Southern portion of Pennsylvania. Randy and I have spent our anniversary there every year for the past several years. I just can't get enough. It's one of those things I'll never be able to explain fully, but when I get there, it feels like I'm "home." We arrived there Wednesday, August 11 and left after breakfast on Saturday, the 14th. It's never long enough for me. We visited our favorite spots, including: Sachs Bridge, the Pennsylvania Memorial, Devil's Den and the Virginia Memorial featuring Gen. Robert E. Lee and his horse Traveller, as well as trying new things during our stay. We toured the Jenny Wade house, did a ghost hunt and took a battlefield bus tour with a professional guide, all for the first time.

We tried a new bed and breakfast - The Dobbin House at 89 Steinwehr Avenue - this year. We love the food and the rooms looked gorgeous, so we stayed our three nights, had our lunch in their downstairs tavern one day and had dinner in the library for our anniversary night. The food was incredible! I'm sure I had to have gained at least a couple pounds. To show you how friendly the people are in the area, the couple seated beside us at dinner wanted to buy us a glass of champagne in honor of our 22nd anniversary. I can't drink alcohol, so we had to decline, but it meant a lot to be asked. We're complete strangers and had just made small talk with them. I'm sorry I didn't get their names.

After dinner, we walked to our room and saw a horse-drawn carriage in the parking lot. We have always wanted to take one of those trips, so we asked the driver to wait until we changed. I really enjoyed that ride. When it was over, we went out to Devil's Den to sit and reflect until the park closed at 10 p.m.

We went on two ghost walks and a ghost hunt at a near-by abandoned house. The group had all sorts of neat toys to play with. Even though we didn't get so much as a photo of an orb (or dust mite), it was still a fun way to spend an hour. The ghost hunt was scheduled to be from 12-2 a.m. on Friday the 13th. The group was late starting it and it took too long to hand out the toys and drive there. By the time we got to the house, it was already 1 a.m. and we had to be out by 2. The other major problem with the hunt was they had way too many people. There were 32 of us. With four "lead investigators", we were split into two groups of 16 each, with two pros. There was the house and barn to check out. The only remotely eekk filled moment for me was when the bat buzzed me in the barn. The group didn't really help the newbie hunters, so most of the time, we looked like a mob. I want to give the pros the benefit of the doubt and say they didn't realize how hard it would be to investigate with that may people and not just the money (most expensive in Gettysburg) they were receiving from each person.

The house hadn't been lived in for seven years, after the last two family members died in the home, so it was in bad shape. The floors and ceiling were in horrid shape and I'm not sure how safe it was for that many people to be walking around in it. One of the pros told Randy and me to make sure not to be in the attic with more than 5 people for that very reason. Bad part, they forgot to let everyone else know the same info. The steps to the basement were in bad shape. The equipment I had measured electrical charges. In one room, it went crazy. OK, the pro came running. I explained why it was going off - the wall was where the power came into the house. The woman in charge was also excited, until I explained that, too.

When the hunt was over, they did a quick debriefing and gave us each a nice printed certificate for participating. That was a nice touch. One of the other women on the hunt was excited because she had the same reaction from her equipment and was sure it was paranormal. The woman in charge explained what had happened. That was something some groups would never had done, they debunked. The hunter didn't want to believe it and left sure she had found something paranormal.

We were up and ready to leave early Saturday morning. After breakfast, we headed off to Ohio to see my best friend and finish up our trip. I'll be back in Gettysburg over the Labor Day weekend for the HorrorFind Convention. Of course, I'll be on the battlefields as much as possible. My daughter is a high school senior this year and I'm taking her senior photos while we're visiting. I can't imagine a better backdrop than Devil's Den or Big Round top at sunrise or sunset.

Back from Gettysburg

We got back from Gettysburg last night and I'm slowly getting the hundreds of photos and video downloaded. I want to write down some of the highlights of the trip, so I remember everything.

As most everyone knows, hubby and I go there every year to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We've been going there for about a decade now. The last two years, we've gone without our teenagers.

We had talked about going to NYC this year, but something just called me back to Gettysburg. I can't explain it. When I get there, it's like I'm finally home. I sit on top of Devil's Den at night and just get recharged. The witness tree there is like an old friend. I can close my eyes and see the town and battlefields like I was still there. We didn't push ourselves to see and do everything. It's not possible for two nights and three days. We know the things we like best and did them. I needed to lie down a bit when the pain hit real bad, but I didn't let it keep me from enjoying the trip. We hiked up Big Round Top and the three look out towers as well as the Pennsylvania monument.

We discovered a new resteraunt this time - The Dobbin House. WOW! The food is absolutely incredible! We had dinner there the first night and had lunch at their Tavern (which is only lit by candles) on our way home yesterday. It looks like something out of a fantasy novel. They also have a bed and breakfast, so we'll be staying there next year.



We stayed at the Farnsworth House again this year. Our first night wasn't very restful. We were in the house and the room had a "smell" that was not very pleasant. Reading the book written in by other guests, they felt it was ghosts doing it. I think there was just a problem with the plumbing. I was kept up by the banging and stomping in the attic. Sounded like a chest was being dragged all over, even though it was locked and nobody was there.

Our second night, we stayed in a room in the garden called the Belle Boyd Room. It was an adult's only room and we thought it would be the perfect place to celebrate our 21st anniversary. OMG! It was incredible, but VERY cold. There was a two-person hot tub and a walk in shower in the bathroom that looked like a Grecian bathhouse. The bed was soft and huge. The bedroom walls were covered with paintings of the Birth of Venus, Aphrodite and Cupid and little naked cherubs. We kept the fireplace going all night. After soaking in the tub, I was so relaxed, I fell asleep and didn't wake up til the alarm went off the next morning.



We took a ghost tour with Ghosts of Gettysburg Wednesday night. It's the only ghost tour in town we'll ever do. We've tried others and they were not very good. At one, I won't name names on here, but email and I'll be happy to give more details, hubby leaned under and took photos and found hidden speakers! So very lame! I don't expect to see ghosts on the tours, I enjoy the stories and history. There's no reason to fake things!



Thursday morning, we got up and took a double decker bus tour of the battlefields. We do this every year, too. It's a two-hour tour that gives an overview of the three-day battle and some history of the town. Well worth the minimal price. We sat on Devil's Den til the park closed at 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Usually, it's my favorite part of the trip. Unfortunately, this time, a bus load of kids were there screaming and swearing and running all over. Can't enjoy something like that. Some parent had his two little kids on top of the rocks and let them run all over in the dark. I was sure they were going to fall off. SIGH! What is wrong with people? Seeing where mutants had carved their initials into the rocks made me cry. Then when we got to Sachs Bridge, it was awful. Why is it acceptable to write and draw all over historic places? Why ruin things? I'll never understand why people feel the need to destroy.



I miss the town and people already. We met quite a few new people this year from all over the United States and Canda.

The shops are very friendly. My absolutely favorite is the Quartermaster's Daughter, who runs a little jewelry store and I can't recommend it enough. I bought a new charm for my bracelet and she added the charms I had picked up in Salem and Boston for free. She even replaced a broken clasp for me. Never charged me a penny for all her time and material. I'll be back again next year to add a new charm. :)

Ghost hunting with Gretchen

As everyone who knows me or regularly reads these posts knows, I LOVE ghosts and the paranormal. Halloween or Samhain, depending on your beliefs, is my absolute favorite holiday. I read all the books, watch the TV shows and go on all the tours and hunts I can drag Randy on. Every year for Halloween, my family adds another witch or some sort of themed item to my collection.

Today, we celebrate our 20th anniversary and decided to do something special for it. We stayed at a reputed haunted bed and breakfast called The Farnsworth Inn. We checked in around 3 p.m., set up the video camera to scan the room while we're out and went off the see the sights. I had set up two stuffed animals on the bed because there are reports of a little ghost boy named Jeremy who plays with things in the room. I haven't watched the discs yet, but will do that tonight after hubby leaves for work.


We also went on a tour with Mark Nesbitt's Ghost of Gettysburg Tour. We had taken one before and loved it, so we wanted to try another of his tours. It was great, as usual. I'd never go on any of the other tours in the town. We've tried several and were always disappointed. One was downright fake to the hidden speakers Randy managed to capture on film by sticking his hand way back the hall. Anyway, I did capture a face at one of the stops. There was nobody in the store at the time because it was 10 p.m. It could have been something else, but we can't figure out what it might be.

We set up the camera to record over night in the room again, so I hope to have something to show for it. I was kept up all night by loud bangs from upstairs. That's the attic where the Louisiana Tiger sharpshooters were stationed during the Civil War. There was nobody up there. It's locked and padlocked. Randy never heard a thing. I asked everyone else when we were on our way to breakfast. Only the people right next door heard it. The mother said she hadn't heard a thing, but her teenage son heard one loud bang. Guess I just got lucky?

After we checked out, we did a double decked tour of the battlefields. We were on the top in the front seats. We had take the tour before and loved it, so had to do it again. :) After that, we drove around to see Sachs Bridge and an old paupers cemetery that is still in use today. It was so horribly sad to walk there among the stones. Many were broken off, uncared for and many had Unknown man.

By then, it was getting late and we wanted to spend a couple hours at Devil's Den. The park allow visitors on the battlefields until 10 p.m., so we sat on the rocks taking photos and EVPs until then. I haven't listened to those yet either, but will get them all done tonight. One really strange thing that happened while we were sitting there, we smelled very strong pipe tobacco beside us. There wasn't anyone else near enough to have caused that. One other person a few rocks down said the same thing.

It was eerie to be in a place where so many hundreds of young men and boys died in such agony. If any place is haunted, it would be there. These boys hadn't even begun to live and were suddenly gone.


The only time I had any, fear isn't the right word, but the only time I paused was when Randy asked me to step inside the den for a photo. I did it, but quickly jumped out as soon as the photo was taken.

It was truly a wonderful trip and I can't wait to go back again. Something about Gettysburg just calls to me and it feels like "home." Does that make sense?

Off Ghost Hunting

Randy and I will be leaving for Gettysburg in just a bit to celebrate our 20th anniversary at the historic and reportedly VERY haunted Farnsworth Inn.

We'll see the sights, then hopefully catch a few ghosts on film. We have enough electronics packed to make TAPS proud. :)

Talk to everyone on Wednesday and hopefully, I'll have a real killer ghost photo to share!