Gettysburg, PA

9/6/14

We headed on I 76 towards our goal of Gettysburg, PA. Our Lazy Daze friends Mike and Vicki contacted us and said they were in Gettysburg. So we decided to head there a little earlier than planned and catch up with them.

It's been a challenge driving on the interstates in Ohio and PA with all their toll roads and different rules. Not only that, but the interstates really need lots of work done on them because they have a fair amount of pot holes and bumpy roads.

It was a beautiful drive through rolling hills covered with hardwood forests. It was hot and humid for the last few days and we will enjoy getting to some cooler weather. We appreciate that all the parks, private and state, have electricity so we can run our air conditioners.

9/7/14

We spent an afternoon and evening catching up with Mike and Vicki. It had probably been 5 years or so since we had last seen them in Death Valley. They are our friends who traded in their sailboat for a motor home,and instead of sailing around the world, they are doing the U.S. in their Lazy Daze.

We are thoroughly enjoying our stay in Gettysburg. Even though we had visited this area twice before when we lived in Washington, D C., we are rediscovering this special place. The new visitors center is well done with an excellent film, museum, and cyclorama painting of Picket's charge during the battle of Gettysburg. It took 5 years to restore the 42 foot high painting that was done in 1883-84. It is extremely detailed with paintings of actual soldiers who fought in the battle.

The entire National Military Park surrounds the town of Gettysburg. There are bus tours of the area but we chose to buy a CD and travel the park on our own. It is very easy to follow the roads and get a full description of the battle as it unfolds. There are 1,328 monuments and memorials scattered along the route that honor states, battalions, and individuals. It's inconceivable that 51,000 soldiers were wounded, captured or killed in three days of fighting from July 1-3 in 1863. That would amount to 6 million deaths in today's time.

Talk about a small world. Larry and Barb from Kalamazoo, MI checked into the same RV park that we are staying in. We had spent some time with them in Apalachicola, FL, and then ran into them when we were in AZ on a different trip. It is fun making friends with people from all over the country.

Sister Jane and hubby Terry are spending 5 days with us. It's been fun touring the battlefield with them. Each day we've covered a different part of the battlefield. Terry drives the car, John plays the CD and Jane and I sit back and enjoy.

The entire battlefield has been restored to what it looked like during the battle. The nonprofit Gettysburg Foundation has purchased all the land and farmhouses that were involved in the three day battle. It's quite a memorable trip to relive what happened here.

Jane, Terry and myself took a ride to Lancaster, PA and Amish country. The visitors center was very helpful in recommending a route to drive and see Amish farms and farmhouses. It was particularly interesting to see the Amish horses and buggies going down the road as they tried to stay out of the way of all the cars.

John stayed back at the motorhome and did some work on the rig and enjoyed some quiet time.