A Sidetrack on The Ride to Gettysburg

 So after I spent a leisurely early morning in Frederick I decided to head out.  Cyclists were expected there about 1 PM and I wanted to explore a little in Gettysburg before they arrived so I was on my way.

Along the way, I see a sign that says Lady of the Lourdes Grotto site so I pulled off the highway to check it out.  Can you see that tiny little statue in the middle of that top photo?  Yeah, well that's behind this pretty church (which was locked) and the house on the property.  I didn't walk up to it because it felt like I was in the owner's yard.  BUT I was a little unimpressed with the advertised Grotto.

 So I head back down the highway and up against the hill is this gorgeous campus with a glorious church so I had to make another pit stop.

 I wandered a bit just to look at the gorgeous rock buildings then spoke with a student who told me it was private Catholic university which has many areas of study but also has an on site seminary.

 This one was open!  I love sitting in the quiet of a gorgeous church.

The seminary

 Their auditorium has the rock finish on both ends to tie it in to the rest of the campus.

Love this scripture

Nice dorms, huh?

 So, I'm just getting ready to leave and I see this huge gold virgin Mary up the mountain behind the cathedral.  I ask another student and she tells me it's the......you guessed it, The Lady of Lourdes Grotto!!  So I hike up the hill on stone steps until I come into this gorgeous area that looks out over the valley below it.

 So this is the Grotto itself where people were sitting quietly, some praying and others lighting candles.  But the whole place is just surrounded with trails that lead to more gorgeousness!

This area is down a little trail from the site and there was a line of people waiting to fill jugs of all sizes with the yummy Spring Water.  Wished I had brought along my water bottle.

 There's a very tiny chapel on another trail and this is Ann Seton on the back of it. She developed a religious community there for the care of children of the poor. There was a whole other shrine further down the highway for her but I was out of time and couldn't stop.  I'm definitely going to do some more research on her though!  This is the front of the little chapel which houses 4 small pews and an alter.

The doors

 The alter and a stained glass window of Ann Seton.  Another quiet little place for prayer and meditation.

 Turned down another trail that was completely lined with these stunningly beautiful Italian mosaics depicting the life of Christ.  Oh my gosh!  The shading and detail was just gorgeous.  Reminded me of cross-stitched linen.

Had to get a photo of Tom's mom's favorite Saint!

It's kind of hard to see but the baby Jesus is lying in the little manger next to Mary.

This is right outside that statue

 There is an overlook and this sign is there.........

 So, yes I was impressed the Grotto after all and glad I didn't wander into that backyard earlier.  My luck, some old farmer would have come out and found me snapping photos of his yard ornament!

  Ending up spending a couple of hours there..... I felt like I had been at church and couldn't think of a better or more gorgeous way to spend my Sunday.

Didn't have time to do anything in Gettysburg but track down the farm where the race was ending.  But after the race Tom and I did a quick drive through, stopped for ice cream and made plans to definitely come back!