Sep 6, 2012 - A Day Spent Going Back In History

From Beacon Hill Camping – Intercourse, PA What a long day this turned out to be. Left around 8:30 a.m. and drove about 70 miles to Gettysburg National Military Park. Had called yesterday to inquire about pets in the park and was told “OK” just not in buildings or the cemetery so Cody accompanied us today. When we made our plans to visit this region of Pennsylvania we had checked and decided that 70 miles to Gettysburg was doable. Today however with the route going through several small towns each having several traffic lights and then...

Aug 27, 2010 - Gettysburg

John is not doing well. His joints are aching and swelling, but sitting in the coach doesn't seem to be a solution. We decided to drive the Gettysburg, PA. The Gettysburg National Military Park is an awesome place. A driving tour takes you through all the battlefields. They cyclorama recreates the three day battle, which was the turning point in the Civil War. Or as my brother-in-law, Charlie, says, "where the south lost the war". The drive over and back was wonderful and we saw much of the Maryland country-side.

Jul 6, 2010 - The start of the U.S. History fieldtrip!

TUESDAY, JULY 6TH Day 1 Hello Washington! 6 a.m. leave Pittsburg and drive to Fort Necessity 9 a.m. arrive Fort Necessity and tour 10 a.m. drive to Gettysburg 12 a.m. arrive Gettysburg and tour 2 p.m. leave Gettysburg and drive to D.C. 3 p.m. arrive D.C. and check into Embassy Suites (Chevy Chare) and check into hotel 6 p.m. National Mall walking tour 7:30 p.m. walk to 18th & T to LAUROL a Great Mexican Restaurant! (boy what a walk!) Destination…..WASHINGTON D.C. We can all recall standing on the spot where some historical event occurred...

May 10, 2009 - Gettysburg National Battlefield

It was once again time for a roadtrip. Today's destination was Gettysburg National Military Park. They have a brand new visitor center here which contains not only a museum but a movie and cyclorama. These three activies provide an excellent overview of the events that occured here in July of 1863. After completing all the aforementioned activities we boarded the bus for a tour of the Eisenhower National Historic Site. This site contains the only home the Eisenhowers ever owned along with the families ranch. It is located just outside the...

Oct 9, 2008 - Gettysburg, Pa

We arrived here Wednesday about noon. Had lunch and then went to the Museum and Visitor Center, thinking we'd be there about an hour. Four hours later we were leaving. Inside the visitor center you could get a ticket to see a movie regarding the battle and then to the Cyclorama theater that was something else. The museum portion had an area that went through the 3 days of battle, the artifacts they have there and the displays. You could just get lost going thru each one and seeing everything. But the most impressive thing was the Cyclorama....

Sep 9, 2008 - POLITICS OF WAR

I didn’t know much about Gettysburg.  Every time I attempted to read the popular books about the 3 day battle, the focus was always on troop movements and military strategy.  The kind of stuff many of you like but makes my eyes glaze over and I begin to think about taking a nap.  Our visit to the Gettysburg battlefield had quite a different effect on me. In 1863, the Civil War had been raging for over two years.  The Confederacy had been quite successful, under the guidance of General Robert E. Lee, in thwarting the Union troops.  The...

Aug 1, 2008 - Gettysburg, PA

We had another emotional day at Gettysburg seeing the battlefield where one of the most decisive battles of the Civil War was fought over a bloody 3 days. We all know the Gettysburg Address by Lincoln. This famous 2 min. speech was given at the dedication of the National Cemetery a few months after the three day battle where 51,000 Americans were killed, wounded, captured or went missing. On July 1st and 2nd of 1863 the Confederates, under General Lee’s direction, were taking it to the Union Army. Finally on July 3rd following a two-hour...

Jul 27, 2008 - Lee's Chapel on Washington & Lee University

There were many historical sites to see but the one that AAA said was the "GEM" is the Lee Chapel and we are glad we did. We found out some interesting facts. Robert E Lee and George Washington were related through a marriage in the families. Lee and Washington believe in education thus the colleg. Lee went to speciality built chapel everyday but the service was over in 15 minutes. Lee also wanted education for everyone but not too much for some people. When women had a higher educational building built for them, that was not liked by the...

Jun 28, 2008 - Our First Day at Gettysburg

We have been lucky that we’ve found farm stands near every RV park so far, but the Gettysburg park had a truck farmer who drove around and sold the campers fresh fruit and veggies right from the back of his pick up. How’s that for service? Today was a full day of touring Gettysburg’s battlefields. Just after we learned the number of casualties at Antietam, we learned that during the 3 days of Gettysburg, there were over 51,000 casualties! We knew of course that Gettysburg was both a bloody and pivotal battle, but I do not remember ever...

May 11, 2008 - PA, Gettysburg- KOA Rain Rain Rain Getting better backing "Rig"

Rained all the day from VA to PA, hope it clears tomorrow so that I can get some pictures. Monday-still raining and under flood watch - think I will move on up the road and get into NY as the weather is not going to get better for a few days. As you all know, I am not a great backer of my "Rig" normally hit something. Last night I checked in in the rain and had to back into this spot by myself, after a few times I did pretty good. Could have hit rocks on all sides. Took the shots this morning about 8:00 still raining and park roads are...

Nov 10, 2007 - Daytrip to Gettysburg

In the late morning we depart for Gettysburg via Hwy 30. It is about an hour's drive, and the scenery is not as nice as Lancaster county where we are staying. There are a lot of buildings and houses that have seen better days. Once we get to Gettysburg though, things change. There are houses and buildings there from the Civil War days that are in excellent shape. Evan cannot believe there are signs on the houses that tell us the dates they were built and lots of them are dated around the 1860's and some even earlier. It is much busier here,...

Oct 20, 2007 - GETTYSBURG

Yesterday (Friday,19th) we had to move the coach to a different site. That took most of the morning. In the afternoon we went grocery shopping and did a few chores. Went to bed early so we could get up early today and head for Gettysburg. The trip is about 69 miles, but the traffic around Lancaster is pretty dense and takes a while to get through. We got away a about 9 and got there about 1030. The weather was beautiful..sunshine and a little windy, after the rainy weather blew thru last night. Our first stop was the visitor center, where...