I never did come back and tell you all how I did on my genealogy trip. Well, as Dickens would have said, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times." I hope that some of my experiences will help other out-of-towners. Most of the "worst" was a direct result of having the bad luck of scheduling my trip for what turned out to be one of the hottest few days of the year. It was brutal. The heat impacted my health negatively, and stopped me from doing some planned stuff (walking around graveyards.) The first day, after arriving in Baltimore, I swung through Hagerstown and Chambersburg before arriving in Mercersburg to the bed and breakfast I had chosen, only to discover, as I set the parking brake, that my travel purse was missing. It was back in Hagerstown, where I had left it on the back of a bathroom door. Why? The floor of that restaurant bathroom was filthy. I didn't put the purse on the floor as usual. Should have hung it about my neck! It had my Kindle, all my travel money, my wallet, my ID, my iPod, my checkbook everything but my cellphone. What a disaster. To say I was panicking was the understatement of the century. Said cellphone did not work at all in Mercersburg, in spite of what the T-Mobile map claimed. Not inside the B&B, not out on the street, not all at. The very kind owners of the B&B let me use their cellphone to call down to Hagerstown, when in a stroke of incredibly good fortune, someone had found the purse and turned it it. So back down to Hagerstown I went, incredibly relieved. I never lose things and it was an unpleasant experience. Day 1 of research was Chambersburg day. I had a great time, minus the 100 degree heat which was just horrendous. The courthouse was disappointing. Other than land and probate records, everything "burned" or so I was told. I later spoke to the archivist who admitted that they really didn't know what they had (were still going through old stuff stored in old barrels as priorities permitted) and pretty much, when they didn't know, they just claimed that the stuff had burned, whether it had or not. Note that both the archivist and the kind employee that led me to him were most helpful, taking time to try to help me. This was a crushing blow, as I was hoping for Quarter Sessions records or other court records. And I suddenly had extra time. Now what? I wanted to head to the Franklin County Historical Society, which didn't open 'til 5. Coyle Library to the rescue! What a treasure! They had a whole room of genealogy books. I had no problem filling that extra time. The Historical Society was fun too. I had no luck, but enjoyed looking and they also had helpful, friendly staff. A cozy group sat around a table researching along with me. Unfortunately, this is where, incredibly, the bad luck gremlin struck again. Something got lost again and I never got it back. My checkbook, with some travel money tucked away (I usually split any cash I carry) was lost. I absolutely cannot believe I lost something TWICE. I'm guessing the heat and my health made me plain stupid on this trip. Because of the checkbook/cash lost, I wasn't able to purchase any books as I had planned to do. Day 2 was Fendrick Library. Amusement of the day "Oh, you're the lady who lost the purse." LOL. I kind of cocked my head and looked at her and she started to apologize and I laughed, reassuring her that I wasn't at all offended, but I was reminded that I was in a small town where one would easily become known. I had fun in the library, minus two things. They keep their A.C. as low as they can, meaning it was hot and humid in there. It literally made me sick and I had to leave for a while to cool off. Plus - you can't go in where they keep their genealogy books, they fetch them for you. I'm not a fan of that system. Who knows what I missed? But the staff was patient and kind and again, friendly. Highlights of Mercersburg were finding exactly where my ancestor had lived (down the alley from where I was staying in fact) and confirming that "King and Riny" were really "Ring" as I suspected. I also loved looking at the old houses and in the early evening, when the heat wasn't quite a blast furnace, I walked around town a bit, including the one cemetery (in bad shape, alas) near where I was staying (Lutheran/Reformed one). I never could sync Jim Houpt's index to the cemetery books I saw in both Fendrick and Coyle, so the burial places of two or three that I wanted to known will remain a mystery, alas. I'm not sure where in Mercersburg those people were buried. The indexes to the cemeteries and other places were quite handy though and they helped me a lot. The last day it was down to Hagerstown to the excellent library there. I was also going to the courthouse for a half hour just to scope it out around lunchtime, but discovered I couldn't go in when I got there. Why? I had a cellphone with a built in camera and that is not allowed. Grr! It was another 100 degree day and it was just too hot to walk all the way back to put it in the car and then return to the courthouse, so instead, I took a break for lunch and went back to the library, where I spent a fun afternoon digging through many books. So it wasn't really a successful trip and it was rather stressful, but I loved seeing the area from where my ancestors came. The libraries were excellent; the people helpful and friendly (don't get that down here!). I learned my lesson about July or August genealogy trips and won't do that again. I'm glad I went, but future trips will be in the late spring or early autumn. Thanks to all who helped me in preparing for the trip as your tips were of great help; from where to go to where to park to where to eat. And if any of you know where a Methodist would have married between 1825-1830 (Hagerstown-Funkstown-Mercersburg) or a Presbyterian marriage in Hagerstown around 1790, please let me know! I never could find any records for those times in that area. German records galore, but not that. Bonz