I don’t believe in ghosts.  Let me just get that out of the way from the start.  The idea of lingering souls and spirits from people long dead has never really made sense to me and I am convinced that most ghost sightings are merely tricks of the eyes, mind and David Copperfield illusions.  If you believe in ghosts or supernatural phenomenon – go right ahead.  I will not hold that against you.

If you do in fact believe in ghosts then Gettysburg would be a good place to build on those beliefs.  The battlefield and it’s history has spawned the idea that this is the most haunted place in America.  Ghosts tours are big business and Lisa and I have actually been on a few of them – but for us it was merely entertainment and good for a little history and humor.  Others, I am aware, really take it seriously.

Since Lisa’s assignment has been extended at least through the month of October – we are interested in seeing how they will commemorate Halloween in this most “hallowed” and “haunted” ground.  And now a funny story about all that:

There is a man named Paul who lives here at Round Top Campground full time along with his wife and pomeranian dog.  This is the same dog that will bark at you when you leave – not as you are approaching – which we found amusing.  Lisa and I talked to Paul earlier this week and he told us some of the ghost stories famous here in the campground.  He told of one camper whose bed shook without explanation every night at 3:00AM.  It would then stop also without cause and it was finally decided that it was ghosts of Gettysburg doing the shaking.  He went on to tell other stories about things happening here during what he called the “bewitching” hour of three in the morning.  Lisa and I laughed at all this and said no more about it.

File all that away for now.

I suffer from sleep apnea and use a c-pap machine to help me sleep and breath through the night.  The device requires me to place a device over my nose that blows air in to keep my airway open through the night.  It works.  It also keeps me from smelling anything but the water vapor being blown into my nasal passages. 

Lisa does not have sleep apnea and could smell a hummingbird fart three campers down.  This past Monday night I was nudged awake by Lisa telling me there was an awful smell in the camper that made her unable to sleep.  I tried to lay real still as if I did not hear her complaints but finally I had no choice but to try to fix the smell she smelled.  Defunkify the funk.  RV’s do have a tendency to conjure up smells from the holding tanks that is not pleasant.  Most of the time it is not noticeable but on occasions an odor will waft up that only Ed Norton could appreciate.  This is the smell we dealt with on Monday night.

So I rolled out of bed and groped my way outside to empty our waste tanks and pour deodorizer in both our black and gray tanks.  What are black and gray tanks?  Lets just say they hold black and gray stuff respectively.  Don’t make me explain further.

So I did what I could do to sweeten the air and as I climbed back into bed I realized it was three o’clock in the morning.  Lisa and I laughed about it the next day as we were reminded of what our neighbor said about that bewitching hour here in Gettysburg. 

I still don’t believe in ghosts.  But if there are ghosts here in our campground – let me just say it this way – they may not say “Boo!” – but they smell like “Poo”.

Take Care!

Steve and Lisa