Civilian Symposium 2016 Day 1

I'm here! Finally, after an agonizing few days at work and a hellishly long car ride, we have arrived. I realized a few things for this trip. First, that my anxiety made me pack a lot of things I didn't need. Second, driving through the mountains at night in a rain storm terrifies me. My Mom has never been to Pennsylvania, so this trip was a necessity!

Bright and early (lol 9am) on Thursday I attended the Seed Bead workshop with Kay Cogswell. She did an amazing job! Her research was well-organized, and her presentation pieced together a puzzle I've looked at for a few month. I didn't take pictures while working; her originals stole the show! The following are from Kay's collection:

And this is her interpretation draped over a 19th century periodical

Later we drove to Gettysburg to see the Button Baron. Janet Smith is incredibly helpful, and my Mom enjoyed looking at the wares. If you couldn't tell I like to be in front of the camera, which prompted an impromptu  photo shoot. I left with books and a lighter pocketbook! 

 We toured Gettysburg after that, visiting souvenir shops and marveling at the historical everything. As this was my second trip, I enjoyed watching my Mom enjoy it all. We toured the Soldier's National Cemetery, Little Round Top, and Devil's Den. I didn't realize just how hectic our lives are in this moment; while we stood on land over which men shed blood, all I could gather was a sense of peace. An eerie, noise-less calm. Cue the deep, catch-the-feels photography.

This was a terrifying photo and I am never doing that again

 By the time we returned to the hotel, we were both pretty exhausted. I stayed for the Welcome to the symposium, meeting countless names that had before only existed in my mind as Facebook profile pics. The social included music, songs, poetry, and at least a smidgen of bawdiness. I managed to snap a few pictures of the ladies in their wrappers before heading off to sleep. I haven't slept that hard in a very long time!

The giggles/laughter made it difficult to photograph these ladies. For some I'm sure it's the only time of year that they can see dear friends. Based on my assessment of the conference so far, I plan to return and contribute to the general mirth. So much love of history squeezed into one room!

I'll be publishing a post for every day that I am here. Tomorrow we've planned some activities...

~Kristen