For the next 5 days, Shepherdstown, West Virginia is my home base. I’m encamped in the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center for a work-sponsored leadership thingy-dingy. I am taking this forced retreat as an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of early fall.
The above photo was taken at a scenic overlook along I-270, just before Frederick, MD. I got into Shepherdstown just past 6 pm , with a good chunk of daylight left to explore my surroundings.
I had grabbed supper on the way up, so ice cream seemed like the natural conclusion. My satellite navigation system, affectionately known as Map, said there were 3 places nearby – McDonald’s, Nutter’s Ice Cream and Dairy Queen. Hmm, such a hard choice!
Driving 4 miles along Duke St., crossing the Potomac from Shepherdstown, WV to Sharpsburg, MD, I ventured back into time. It seems that every other person in the area had the same idea as me! While I sat on the front porch lapping at a pumpkin cone, I counted no less than 50 people out for a Sunday ice cream. I watched families with little kids, couples, old people, teenagers – seemingly everyone in Sharpsburg – taking a break for Nutter’s dairy specialties.
“You ate ice cream?” you ask. Well, yes I have been eating low carb-ish this week. But, life is just too darned short not to eat homemade pumpkin ice cream at dusk in Small Town, USA.
With my belly full of sugar, I drove a little further past Sharpsburg, across the Antietam Battlefield. I’m not a huge history buff, but it was interesting to stop and snap a few photos.
See the first round of photos from my Shepherdstown trip on flickr.
Technorati Tags: country, ice cream, small town, tradition, travel
