A Trip To Our Nation's Capital - Day 2 - Gettysburg!

Day 2...

Bright and early Thursday morning, the real vacation began!  After a quick bite to eat at the hotel, we drove to the parking lot and waited on our bus to arrive.

"Here she comes!  Here she comes!  Everyone ready for some fun?!"

We were the last to board, so we got seats all the way in the back.  That was okay with us... more room to stretch out in the leftover seats.

Here are our travel mates (well, the backs of their heads anyway).
Dave and I were probably the youngest on the whole bus!

And, we were off... complete with WiFi on the bus!  Sweet!  I took advantage of the WiFi access and found myself a nifty little app for my Nook so I could take some notes about our adventure because I knew I'd forget little details - like the tidbit below - if I didn't write them down.

A short ways into our drive, just inside Ohio, we passed field after field of wind farms.  They just seemed to go on forever... and I am just fascinated by them!  The bus driver passed on a little tidbit about them... the tips of the blades, when going full speed, can travel at over 300mph!  Now that's FAST!!!

We stopped for lunch in Cranberry Township (sounds like a nice place to live), Pennsylvania, at a place called Eat 'n Park.  I found the name odd because 1) it seems backwards to me... shouldn't you park, then eat? and 2) it wasn't a drive-in as one would imagine from the name... you go inside to eat.  Why don't they just call it Park 'n Eat?  Anyway, it was a fun place with good food, good waitresses, and smiley faces everywhere!  They are apparently known for their smiley face cookies.  They even advertised that you can now order them to be shipped anywhere.  I couldn't resist their pretty colors and bought myself a purple one... and was glad I didn't buy anymore... they weren't really all that good after all.  But, at least the cookie poster in the lobby was cute...

A couple hours down the turnpike we stopped for a walking/stretching/potty break... and decided that life needed a little frosting...  Mini Cinnabons anyone?  Yes, please!

A few hours down the road and we arrived in Gettysburg!  As we drove through town towards the hotel, I couldn't take in all the historical buildings and scenery fast enough... it was like stepping back in time.  I loved it!

Gettysburg Hotel in Lincoln Square

Lincoln Square

Lincoln Square... One of these buildings (I believe the one just visible on the far left) is where Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address.  Unfortunately, we didn't get time to walk around and explore this area.

 
We learned that any of the buildings with small plaques on them were among those standing during the Civil War.  It was fun to search for and find them.

After checking into our hotel and freshening up a bit, we were off to dinner at Gettysburg's oldest building, The Dobbin House.  It was built in 1776 for Reverend Dobbin, his wife, and NINETEEN children!  During the Civil War, Dobbin House served as a hospital for both Union and Confederate soldiers.  For our dinner, they served a wonderful buffet of chicken, ham, stuffed pasta shells, potatoes, carrots, rice, salad bar, and a variety of desserts.  The room we ate in was a modern addition, but we were allowed to explore some of the older parts of the home.  There was a hidden room in the stairway where slaves were hidden as they traveled along the Underground Railroad!  And, there were even some remnant bullet holes in the windows!

 

I thought this window made a very pretty picture with the sun shining through.

A bullet hole in an upstairs window.

Dave peeking into the cubbyhole in the stairway where runaway slaves were hidden away.

After dinner, we had a little time to explore some of the local shops.  Most were already closed for the day, but we did find a few still open.  I couldn't resist a pretty little bracelet and some Kilwin's fudge!  ;-)

This was on the side of a building in a skinny little walkway between two buildings.

While waiting on the others to get back on the bus, we saw some soldiers in the alley behind the restaurant...

Dave agreed to pose for a picture.  Hmmmm... that's not exactly what I had in mind!

Once we were on our way again, they took us to Soldiers' National Cemetery so those of us who wanted to could take a quick walk and some photos.  This was the sight of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.  How awesome!!!  It was an amazing experience made even better by the setting sun...

 

Although anytime would've been good to visit the cemetery, doing so at sunset seemed extra special for some reason.

Such a serene place...

Rows and rows and rows...

This is the monument that marks where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.

Thank you, soldiers...

One of the few trees in bloom on our whole trip.

After a very long, exciting day, we were once again dropped off at our hotel with strict instructions to be ready and waiting in the lobby bright and early the next morning so we could visit the battlegrounds.  After enjoying a little Kilwin's fudge, surfing the net, and watching a little tv, we all fell sound asleep to re-energize for the next round of fun to come...