Guess where I am?
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania!
When I found out about the wonderful opportunity to head to Baltimore for FitBloggin’ thanks to GNC, I immediately thought about how close I would be to both of my grandmothers who live in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I really wanted to see them but wasn’t sure whether or not it would work out since I was still a solid 90 minutes from their houses and neither of them are comfortable driving long distances.
Then my grandma who I call Mimi (the one you guys loved in our wedding video) had surgery last week and my mom flew in town to be with her. Since my mom was able to make the drive into Baltimore, she picked me up on Saturday night after FitBloggin’ and we drove back to Mimi’s house together to spend the next few days with my grandma and my Aunt Laurie who drove in town from North Carolina.
The four of us have not stopped chatting away since the moment I arrived. It was so nice to sit around the table and sip hot coffee out of my grandma’s mug and talk for hours on Sunday morning.
I love family time!
My Aunt Laurie made scones for breakfast using the most delicious orange scone mix from Harry and David.
I topped my two scones with a bit of butter and jelly.
And then I took care of those nasty chipped nails you see in the above picture!
As we sat at the table talking away, my Aunt Laurie and I painted our nails and then repainted the ones we smudged because neither of us can sit still for long enough to let our nails dry properly the first time.
Lunch was leftovers from dinner that my mom made.
Linguini with shrimp and feta cheese warmed my belly.
Gettysburg Battlefield Walk
After lunch, my grandma took a little nap while my mom, aunt and I drove out to the battlefield to walk around.
We spent a couple of hours walking around and picking wildflowers to bring home to my grandma.
The weather was in the 60s and the cool, crisp air told us fall has officially arrived in Pennsylvania.
Leaves are beginning to fall off the trees and light sweatshirts were necessary. I bet it will be another two months before we get this kind of chill in Florida!
I wore my new heather gray Reebok jacket that the company sent me last month and was grateful for the warmth and soft, cozy fabric.
And the finger holes! Why do finger holes still amuse me!? 
When we arrived back home, we took some time to relax before breaking out some appetizers and beer before dinner.
Blue Moon with an orange slice for me!
On the dinner menu for the evening: Grilled chicken, rice casserole, baked peaches with currant jelly and spinach salad.
I cleared my plate in no time and refilled it with more rice casserole and two peaches. A fantastic dinner!
We spent the rest of the night watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel that my mom rented. The rest of us had never heard of the movie, but we all thought it was really cute and liked it a lot. Perhaps we liked it even more because we watched it while eating York peppermint patty ice cream bars. Everything is a little better with ice cream!
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That’s so great that you were able to see your family after your GNC conference! It looks like y’all had a great time. 🙂
I love finger holes, too!! I know it’s silly, but it makes those shirts seem more cozy. 🙂
That is so sweet that you got to visit your grandma. I love her fairy grandmother mug, how cute!!
she has the best mugs. i’m using another fun one this morning! 🙂
Oh my God!!
Where did she find it?
It’s my g-m’s birthday really soon and that seems like the perfect gift 😀
Oh my God!!
Where did she find it?
It’s my g-m’s birthday really soon and that seems like the perfect gift 😀
I’m in Canada, though…
What a fun time! I’m sure Pennsylvania is beautiful this time of year! For the record, I am the WORST when it comes to smudging my nail polish. I swear I can’t sit still for longer than 2 seconds!
You are in the same state as me! 🙂 The temperature is perfect here right now. I’m loving the chilly weather. That is really great that you are able to spend time with your grandmom and family. Have fun!
Sounds like such a fun weekend with the family!! I live in the northeast so i know what you mean by needing a sweatshirt!!
I absolutely love family weekends like this!! Most of my relatives live farther away so I only get to see them once or twice a year. It’s always so comfortable and relaxing when I do get to spend time with them!!
same here! all of my relatives (outside of my immediate family) live far away, so i am really cherishing this time together!
There’s got to be something special about eating icecream bars with grandparents…mine always have Klondike’s in their freezer!
It’s awesome that you could go spend some time with them and all the logistics worked out.
I’ve always wanted to go to Gettysburg. Everyone learns about the historical significance, but notany get to visit and appreciate it.
Haha I LOVE finger holes! And that’s so great you get to go spend some time with your family, every time I go home to Kansas City I try and make a point to see my grandparents at least once if not a few times. I love spending time with them and catching up, right now they’re in Europe! I can’t wait to hear about their trip!
I love being with my mom, aunts and grandma and hearing all of their stories from when they were growing up! I love that sweatshirt and I love the thumb hole sweatshirts have these days, they are truly amazing and I dont even know why!
Loving all the love for Grandmother’s on here today! Is there a recipe for the baked peaches with jelly? thanks!
I never understood why athletic gear had those finger holes, until like a week ago when I was riding my bike on a cold morning – it kept my knuckles nice and warm!
Finger holes are up there with pockets on dresses for me!!! Love them both!!
Oh btw did you know it’s illegal to pick wildflowers? I won’t tell on you though
I was going to mention that about wildflowers to since you probably didnt know…it’s illegal to pick them in all National Parks. Just something to keep in mind!
oh my gosh, we had no idea. thanks for the head’s up. i’ll spread the word to my family, too.
Love! I visit my family in Gettysburg every year. My uncle and aunt run the athletic program at Gettyburg College. You should go to lincolin square and pose with Mr. Abe there. 🙂
Looks like you had an awesome weekend!! Fun! Your mom looks like such a great cook. 🙂
I have a similar jacket from target with the holes lol…
Btw I love OPI nail polish…what color is that one?
japanese rose garden.
My dad’s a big history buff, so I’ve been to Gettysburg a few times; I was really little, though, so I don’t remember a lot of it. Those baked peaches look delicious! When The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was in theaters, I saw it with my grandma, mom, and sisters–it’s such a good “girls night” movie. 🙂
LOVE the mug. I went to Gettysburg when I was younger and thought I was going to be haunted by ghosts the entire time. SO frightening. haha
Finger holes amuse me too haha I always feel awkward using them!
Nothing is better than family time — enjoy! 🙂
How wonderful that you were able to pull off a family visit while you were traveling for FitBloggin!!
One of my good friends lives in Pennsylvania and it is one place I really want to visit in the Fall. Actually, I would take any of the Northern states with crisp cool air and changing Fall leaves to visit!!
Aw, family time is the best! Sounds lovely 🙂 I had a Blue Moon with an orange slice on Saturday night – always a good choice! Although I am looking forward to some seasonal ales with the cooler temps. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
What a great weekend! Love family time! And I want that sweatshirt!
I LOVE your purple shoes! Purple is my favorite color!
I thought that movie was pretty serious and thought provoking. You can tell I am closer to retirement age then you are. Although, I am still really far away. 🙂
Sounds like the perfect weekend! I love family time like that :).
What a wonderful time! I’ve been to Gettysburg twice and really enjoyed the experience both times. It’s such an important place in our American history, and standing on the battlefield thinking about everything that happened there is so impacting.
I’m also a Florida girl, and my thermometer read in the low 60’s this morning! Definitely light sweater weather! I’m sure it will end up in the 80’s later today, but cool mornings are a good sign, right?
that makes me so happy to hear!!! yay for cooler weather!
That is so strange. We were just talking about Gettysburg. I looked at the college there and DH did something there when he was in the boy scouts.
The Kidless Kronicles
Gettysburg was the last trip that we took with my Mom and I hope that one day I can get back up to that area and explore it again. It was a great trip!
Looks like fun! I’ve been wanting to go there 🙂 Love that jacket!! I must find one haha
Family time is the best 🙂 So glad your having a good trip! I really want to go to Gettysburg…we’re thinking of going next summer for the celebration of the 150th anniversary.
It is such a small world! I’ve never commented before, but I feel obligated to now that we not only share the same birthday, but I’m a student at Gettysburg College! I started freaking out when I saw this post, it made my day! I hope you had a good time, it’s a great place.
Love your blog!
oh my gosh, that’s awesome!! i’ve been sleeping in a gettysburg college sweatshirt for as long as i can remember!
Love that you got to spend time with family and experience some fall temps! Where are your leggings from?
they’re casall and i LOVE them.
it was actually (fairly) cool this morning here in orlando! 68 degrees!!!! 🙂
Sounds like a wonderful visit! I love family time. Glad you had a good time. I also love sweatshirts with finger holes; when I was in high school (before pre-made finger holes were big), I used to cut some into my sweatshirts so that I had some.
I was wondering the same thing? Haha. I have no idea how much rental cars cost though.
Whoops. I meant to reply to the comment below this one
You couldn’t rent a car?
YUM loving your eats!
Awww too cute! This makes me miss my grandparents soo much! Mine are all the way in Australia! Along with every other member of my family. I miss family times!!
Scones are the best:)
And Gettysburg is gorgeous!! Why is it that places like battlefields and cemeteries are so peaceful to visit?!? My friend went to college in Gettysburg and loved it there!
I live in Gettysburg, just 2 blocks from the square 🙂
That shrimp and feta pasta looks SO good! I’m also loving that hoodie-thumb holes are always a plus for me. Enjoy your time with your family!
Wow, Gettysburg, so cool. You’re only about 3 hours from my house!! It was a chilly weekend in PA, but the pretty trees make it a little more bearable.
I’ve never been to Gettysburg! It looks so pretty. I love spending quality time with the ladies in my family, so fun!
Yay, you’re in my state. 🙂 I’m not very close to Gettysburg, though. It’s definitely been quite cold here. Not a fan of the cold AT ALL but I do love my hoodies with the finger holes! Enjoy seeing your family!
My grandmother used to live in Gettysburg too! (RIP). My aunt and uncles still live fairly close and PJ and I were just visiting there last September. We took the double decker tour since I had not been on one since I was a little girl. 🙂 So, next time I visit my family, can I come to your grandmother’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?? haha!
Those ice cream bars sound AMAZING! Yay for family time & delicious food & fun events. I’ve never been to Gettysburg, but would love to go there at least once to check it out. Enjoy the fam time!
Awh lovely end to your weekend! Love getting to catch up with family. Oh and thumb holes are just funny! I remember in school we had to wear a uniform and some girls actually created holes in their woolen knitted jumpers!
How fun! I went to Gettysburg when I was a kid because my dad is a history and war buff. I never understood the appeal (but then again, I was like 7 years old). That’s awesome that you got to spend some time with family!
Gettysburg is awesome! I totally cried like a baby visiting the battle site! The pasta looks delish, would your mom mind sharing her recipe with us?! 🙂
This was the first Fall-feeling weekend here in good ol’ North Carolina and I’m loving the cooler weather!
I’m also so jealous you visited Gettysburg – Hubby and I are huge history buffs {read: nerds} and look forward to a trip up that way.
And wow, those peaches and scones look incredible! What are the chances you’d share the peaches recipe? 🙂
Just went to Gettysburg for the first time in June! Glad you got to.go. Plud, it’s one of the places on the list you posted a few months back of places you have to see before you die. Cross that one off!
ooo good thing you didnt’ get caught by a park ranger… I did a history teaching workshop at Gettysburg this summer and they told us that there are strict park rules about removing ANYTHING from the park, even a stone.
I’m glad you were able to visit:) It is such an emotional and humbling experience..