Emmitsburg and Thurmont are small towns in Frederick County, MD. They are located just below the Mason-Dixon Line (PA-MD border). Emmitsburg is about 8 miles south of Gettysburg. Union and Confederate armies both camped in Emmitsburg and Thurmont before and after the battle of Gettysburg. Camp David, the presidential retreat, is located in Thurmont. The Cozy Restaurant has a museum of Presidents and famous people.
We stopped first at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Seton, but unfortunately, it was closed. It's the second time we have missed it. The church is quite large. There are tours, if we come at the right time.
Shrine
We had better luck seeing the Grotto of Lourdes which is right behind Mount St. Mary's University, a seminary where many young men study for the priesthood. The gold statue of Our Lady is visible from Route 15. We arrived just before they closed for the day, but we were able to take the grotto walk to see the Stations of the Cross, the chapel, and the "place of prayer". It was a lovely walk by the staues and stations. We stopped to say a prayer in the chapel.
Back to Route 15. We went off road briefly to explore Roddy Creek Road, site of the smallest covered bridge in Maryland. The bridge was built in the 1850's and is in excellent condition, due to good maintenance.
By this time, it was getting dark, so we didn't explore Main Street of Thurmont or Catoctin Furnace. We'll save those for another day. We stopped in Thurmont to get High's ice cream, which I haven't tasted in more than 30 years. What a treat!
We took pics and will post soon.
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