The hottest day of the year, and I decide to spend over an hour and a half exploring a cemetery.
I returned to Prospect Hill Cemetery, this time prepared — I had a backpack filled with fluids so I could hydrate as I went. My plan was much the same as it was the first time I went once I’d found Lefty George — walk to the main entrance on George Street from where I’d parked. I got to within sight of the gatehouse, so I consider that achieving the goal in spirit, if not the letter.
It was really fucking hot.
While I have many, many photographs to sort through — and there’s a lot more things there still to see — for the moment I want to share the photo above.
I reached a point where I could hear the crowd at the York Revolution baseball game. And that kept me going, as I’d reached a point where I could have gotten lost in just looking at individual markers. Then I crested a hill and downtown York was there before me. I could see where the baseball stadium was.
The next half hour — which took me to the cemetery offices and the Civil War monument — didn’t give me any better vantage point on Peoples Bank Park. I could hear the PA announcer, though not well enough to understand what he was saying. And I could hear the crowd roaring at times. But minor league baseball parks aren’t very tall as a general rule, and there’s a lot of stuff — especially trees, lots of trees — between Prospect Hill and the ballpark.
There was a mausoleum uphill of me, closer to George Street, and I wandered over that way, not so much to see the baseball stadium but to see what else I might see. While there wasn’t a great view of downtown from there — the angle on downtown was awkward — if I went downhill a little in the direction of downtown then I had a better view.
The baseball stadium isn’t obvious in the photo — I know it’s there, but you might find it difficult to make out — but it was a lovely view of the city.
You can see downtown York from Mount Rose Cemetery, but it’s more distant and the angle, not to mention the trees, makes seeing downtown much more difficult. I’ve taken binoculars a few times, and you can make out Prospect Hill Cemetery from Mount Rose Cemetery with binoculars, but Peoples Bank Park has completely eluded me. I know it’s there, but it must be behind something.
The Revolution were playing the Lancaster Barnstormers today, and as I mentioned I could hear the roar of the crowd a couple of times. Based on the time and the roars, I suspect the photo above was taken during the bottom of the third inning. On my way home an hour later I had the game on in the car, where I found out that Telvin Nash and Nellie Rodriguez had back-to-back homers in the third. I didn’t hear the report of the home run cannon, but that could be a matter of the acoustics.
All in all, it was a good visit. I took a shower — a little bit on the cool side — when I got home and drank even more liquids. I have to sort through my photos as well, and that always takes some time.
Before I sort out those photos, though, I should buy a ticket to Lancaster’s baseball game Tuesday night. They’re running a sale — $7.17, in honor of area code 717. Let me get on that.