Well, with the wedding behind us we decided to become tourists. Cody & Casie needed and wanted a little time to themselves, so the families took off for Gettysburg this morning after breakfast.
The trip took us through some beautiful mountains. The color on the trees has turned even more since we arrived just a few short days ago. And after getting slightly turned around in Gettysburg (who knew the Visitor Center was different than the Military Visitor Center?) we found ourselves, tickets in hand, for a new film about Gettysburg. This is the grand opening weekend for the new visitor center and museum. They have a new film called The New Birth of Freedom playing at the museum. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this film captures the events leading up to the Battle at Gettysburg and the significance of this battle in about 20 minutes. I learned so much! If only you could see something like this in High School American History class. It talked about the financial and political risks taken by Lincoln and the Union to fight for the freedom of slaves. Truly remarkable.
After the film we headed out of the visitor center with our newly purchased guide book and started following the signs for the Auto Tour. This tour, accompanied by our CD's took us to fifteen different significant sights on the 24 mile trip around the battle field. It really was such a wonderful experience. The roads created for the tour take you mainly along the battle lines between the Confederate troops and Union troops. You can look to your left and right and see monuments built to honor all the infantries and brigades from each state engaged in the battle. It helped you get a sense of how many men from as far south as Florida and as far west as Minnesota were involved in this war. I'm not sure I can put into words what it was like to stand in the same place as these men who fought so fiercely for what they believed. In many ways these fields have not changed significantly since those July days in 1863. Yet, as we drove, we wove in and out of the town. It made you realize that this battle didn't take place somewhere outside in a field...but literally right in someones back yard. In fact there is a museum in town that was once a house and the site of the only woman who died during this battle. She was killed by a stray bullet while baking bread.
The trip took us through some beautiful mountains. The color on the trees has turned even more since we arrived just a few short days ago. And after getting slightly turned around in Gettysburg (who knew the Visitor Center was different than the Military Visitor Center?) we found ourselves, tickets in hand, for a new film about Gettysburg. This is the grand opening weekend for the new visitor center and museum. They have a new film called The New Birth of Freedom playing at the museum. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this film captures the events leading up to the Battle at Gettysburg and the significance of this battle in about 20 minutes. I learned so much! If only you could see something like this in High School American History class. It talked about the financial and political risks taken by Lincoln and the Union to fight for the freedom of slaves. Truly remarkable.
After the film we headed out of the visitor center with our newly purchased guide book and started following the signs for the Auto Tour. This tour, accompanied by our CD's took us to fifteen different significant sights on the 24 mile trip around the battle field. It really was such a wonderful experience. The roads created for the tour take you mainly along the battle lines between the Confederate troops and Union troops. You can look to your left and right and see monuments built to honor all the infantries and brigades from each state engaged in the battle. It helped you get a sense of how many men from as far south as Florida and as far west as Minnesota were involved in this war. I'm not sure I can put into words what it was like to stand in the same place as these men who fought so fiercely for what they believed. In many ways these fields have not changed significantly since those July days in 1863. Yet, as we drove, we wove in and out of the town. It made you realize that this battle didn't take place somewhere outside in a field...but literally right in someones back yard. In fact there is a museum in town that was once a house and the site of the only woman who died during this battle. She was killed by a stray bullet while baking bread.
After our three-hour auto tour we were hungry and ready for a bite. We found a cute little Italian place and enjoyed a lovely meal of Stromboli, manacotti, and lasagna. Sufficiently full, we headed home.
I am looking forward to a great night of watching What Not To Wear, blogging, catching up on emails, and enjoying the peace in this house for one more night. Tomorrow, we are going to visit the crash site of Flight 93 in Shanksville and then maybe head toward Hershey, PA and see if we can find some Amish shops along the way. It should be another great day as tourists!
I am looking forward to a great night of watching What Not To Wear, blogging, catching up on emails, and enjoying the peace in this house for one more night. Tomorrow, we are going to visit the crash site of Flight 93 in Shanksville and then maybe head toward Hershey, PA and see if we can find some Amish shops along the way. It should be another great day as tourists!
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