"To Disney & Beyond" ~ Road Trip 2010 ~ Final Drive & Final Thoughts

[Spartangirl]

Thursday, August 5, 2010
So much history & so many lives lost...

In the gift shop, they offer a narrative c.d. to go along with a 16 stop, 24 mile, self-guided auto tour around the battlefields. Since we were doing a segway tour the next day with narration, we decided to skip the c.d. and explore on our own. Turns out we really didn't need one anyway because my "history buff husband" pointed out and explained many of the key things along the way. We also stopped to read many of the memorials and descriptive plaques that we came across. The auto tour took us a little over 4 hours beginning at stop #1 and ending with stop #16. We also veered off track a couple of times to check out a couple of stops that weren't on the official auto tour. I took MANY pictures along our journey, but I'm going to share some of my favorites!

This is at McPherson Ridge...not too far from here is where the battle began.

At Oak Ridge...

This is the Virginia Memorial...this is the Confederate side where Pickett's Charge began.

Near Pitzer Woods...

On Little Round Top...

Looking up to Little Round Top from Devil's Den...

At Devil's Den...

The Pennsylvania Memorial...

Spangler's Spring...

Taken from Culp's Hill...

East Cemetery Hill...

High Water Mark...Focal Point of Pickett's Charge...Center of the Union Line...

I was BLOWN AWAY, standing on the hallowed ground of the carnage that resulted in 51,000 casualties...so morbid, yet a place of such historical significance.

Up Next: Lincoln stood here!

 

[KGGJT]

Great report.
Thanks

 

[Aburns8]

Great pictures! It is nothing like I imagined. That is the great thing about PA, MD and VA, there is a lot of history around here!

 

[Shannon84]

Those are beautiful pictures!! That is nice that you could have a "husband guided" tour and he could share his knowledge with you

 

[redsox721]

Two great updates, again with amazing pictures. The building with the bullet holes was great. Thanks again for sharing.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Wow! Beautiful pictures of the battlefield! It's hard to believe that such an idyllic place was the scene of so much!

 

[Tracy161]

Amazing pictures! It's hard to believe that a place so incredibly beautiful was once the scene of such horror and bloodshed!

 

[mandas08]

I jsut got all caught up on your report. I have to admit, I am very envious of your trip . It looks like you two got to fit so much in!!

 

[Spartangirl]

Great report.
Thanks

Thanks so much and thanks for reading!

Great pictures! It is nothing like I imagined. That is the great thing about PA, MD and VA, there is a lot of history around here!

Thank you! It's funny you say that it is nothing like you imagined...I thought the same thing while I was there!

Those are beautiful pictures!! That is nice that you could have a "husband guided" tour and he could share his knowledge with you

Thanks! I loved my "husband guided" tour!

Two great updates, again with amazing pictures. The building with the bullet holes was great. Thanks again for sharing.

Thank you so much! That building was unbelievable...I can't even imagine what happened there...

 

[Spartangirl]

Wow! Beautiful pictures of the battlefield! It's hard to believe that such an idyllic place was the scene of so much!

Thank you! I agree completely...it's beautiful now, but the pictures of the past have such a horrific story.

Amazing pictures! It's hard to believe that a place so incredibly beautiful was once the scene of such horror and bloodshed!

Thanks! I know! When standing on the battlefield, I tried to imagine the things that happened in the past...it's so very sad.

I jsut got all caught up on your report. I have to admit, I am very envious of your trip . It looks like you two got to fit so much in!!

Yeah...we tend to pack in a lot on our vacations. I guess our philosophy is to live life to the fullest and to try to experience and see as much as we can. You never know if or when you'll be back!

 

[Spartangirl]

Travel Tree

Ok MeMom...you requested it, so here's our Christmas travel tree!

Here are a few pictures of some of our "travel ornaments" up close!

Two from this past trip...Myrtle Beach and WDW!

A cruise ship (we cruise a lot) and Washington D.C.

Alaska, Hawaii, and St. Thomas

New York, Bahamas, & Turks & Caicos

Las Vegas (love that one) & Barbados

Michigan State (my college home) & Cancun

You know where!

I'll be back with a regular-scheduled TR update tomorrow!

 

[pooh'smate]

I am just joining in, I came over from MeMom's tr. I love your report. Walt Disney World (obviously) and Civil War history are two of my very favorite things. My gift from my parents for graduation from HS was a trip to Gettysburg. We also stopped there for a week on our three week honeymoon. We ate at the Dobbin House too. Did you go upstairs and see where they used to hide the slaves going through on the Underground Railroad? I am looking forward to more from your wonderful report.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Love all the historical sites! Amazing how many lives were lost

You have a great travel tree! We've been getting a special dated ornament every year - usually from a vacation - getting pretty full, we've been married 30 years now! I just bought an orament like your Cancun one in Cozumel!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh my goodness! I love your travel tree! So many great memories stored up in those ornaments!

 

[MeMom]

Ok MeMom...you requested it, so here's our Christmas travel tree!

I did....
and how fun is that?!?!?
You guys are really seeing this big old world, aren't you?
What rich experiences for you to treasure!

 

[redsox721]

Great Gettysburg update. You actually made it look like fun. As like the other updates, your pictures are wonderful. I especially love the one of you peeking from behind the tree.

 

[redsox721]

I love your Christmas tree. What a wonderful way to preserve your memories. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Shannon84]

What a great tree, I love the ornaments from your travels, Christmas is a good time to reflect on all your fun experiences!!

 

[Spartangirl]

I am just joining in, I came over from MeMom's tr.

Welcome and thanks for coming over!

I love your report. Walt Disney World (obviously) and Civil War history are two of my very favorite things. My gift from my parents for graduation from HS was a trip to Gettysburg. We also stopped there for a week on our three week honeymoon. We ate at the Dobbin House too.

Glad you're enjoying my report! Wow...a three week honeymoon must have been amazing! Where else did you stop besides Gettysburg? I'm always looking for new trip ideas! Wasn't the Dobbin House incredible? We loved our experience there.

Did you go upstairs and see where they used to hide the slaves going through on the Underground Railroad?

WE DID! I was so intrigued by the whole thing!

I am looking forward to more from your wonderful report.

Thank you...more on the way!

Love all the historical sites! Amazing how many lives were lost

It was incredible to see the battlefields...but so sad to think about what happened in the past.

You have a great travel tree! We've been getting a special dated ornament every year - usually from a vacation - getting pretty full, we've been married 30 years now! I just bought an orament like your Cancun one in Cozumel!

Thank you! I bet your tree looks fantastic too! I'd love to see a picture! It's so fun to look at the ornaments and think back on all of the special memories.

Oh my goodness! I love your travel tree! So many great memories stored up in those ornaments!

Thanks! It's so fun to bring out all of the ornaments at Christmas time and to reflect back on all of our trips!

I did....
and how fun is that?!?!?
You guys are really seeing this big old world, aren't you?
What rich experiences for you to treasure!

We're trying! The hard part is trying to get ourselves to visit new places...we tend to have our favorites and want to keep visiting them!

Great Gettysburg update. You actually made it look like fun. As like the other updates, your pictures are wonderful. I especially love the one of you peeking from behind the tree.

Thank you, thank you! We really did have fun in Gettysburg!

I love your Christmas tree. What a wonderful way to preserve your memories. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! I've found that it's quite fun to see the "different" types of ornaments from the many places that we've visited. Plus, I love looking back at our ornaments each year and thinking about the wonderful places we've been to.

What a great tree, I love the ornaments from your travels, Christmas is a good time to reflect on all your fun experiences!!

Thank you! I agree...I love pulling out our ornaments each year! It's fun to think about the great memories we've made together.

 

[Spartangirl]

Thursday, August 5, 2010
Lincoln stood here!

Chris and I made our way to the 16th and final stop of the auto tour, Gettysburg National Cemetery.

We wanted to make a point to find the spot where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address in 1863.

There were rows and rows upon tombstones with numbers on them showing the many nameless fallen soldiers from the battle.

We also noticed that there was a grave marker for each state noting the number of soldiers who died from that particular state.

In the spot where this monument stands is where Lincoln stood to give his Gettysburg Address. We were literally "standing" on a monumental piece of history.

We made our way out of the cemetery and after four hours of exploring the battlefields, decided we were a little hungry. The Appalachian Brewing Company was calling our name!

Here we started with pretzel logs with a homemade Dijon mustard...yummy!

Chris had the switchback burger which had applewood smoked bacon, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and rootbeer BBQ sauce. He said it was delicious!

I had the turkey panini which had turkey, provolone cheese, coleslaw, bacon, and tomato. It was very good!

With our bellies full, we made our way outside and took immediate notice of the gorgeous sun in the sky. We had about 20 minutes until sunset and we decided to head out to the battlefield to watch it. The sunset was simply spectacular. We couldn't have ended our day anymore perfectly. I'll leave you with these pictures...

Up Next: I WANT a Segway!