Our first stop was Gettysburg. We went to the visitors center there and watched a film about the battle that took place here. We also went to see this amazing cyclorama pictured below. It is a 360 degree painting done by an artist a long time ago, but they have updated it by adding a small light show and narration that makes you feel, to a small degree, like you are there in the battle of Gettysburg. Very cool!
After seeing the cyclorama we went to the museum they had there. I've been reading a biography on Abraham Lincoln (by David Herbert Donald) which I am enjoying very much. It's interesting to read and learn more about this incredible time in our nation's history, as well as have a greater grasp on the intricacies of the decision, politics, and people of the time. Another thing that helps is that I've been giving tours of the Capitol, which requires me to know at least something about history. :) The Capitol was being built and expanded during the Civil War period, so it's great to have that context, too.
One of my favorite parts of the museum was the American flags. The flag on the right was the Confederate flag and the one of the left was the Union flag. Notice that that Union flag includes 38 stars, one for each state including the states that had seceded. I love the faith the people had that the Union would stand, despite so many indicators to the contrary. Some people just wanted to let the South secede and start their own country - how grateful I am for leaders like Lincoln that had the courage and fortitude to sacrifice and fight to preserve the United States!
I LOVED this apron! 38 stars here as well. I think I may be making one of these for myself in the future. :)
Me and Honest Abe - what an incredible man! Interesting fact about Lincoln - did you know he kept his notes in his stovepipe hat?After the museum we were off to the cemetery and battlefield.
One of the highlights for Jeff was going to the top of one of the observation towers in the area to get a better view of the land. He was so excited! One of the reasons was that being on the East Coast it is sometimes hard to get above the treeline and get a lay of the land. The other reason goes back to when Jeff visited Gettysburg with his family as a teenager. At the time Jeff really wanted to go the top of the observation tower but wasn't able (his parents were probably wondering how they would get all 6 kids up to the top!). So we joked about how Jeff had waited for this moment for 14 years, haha!Here are some pictures of the cemetery where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address.
So cool to think the Lincoln was in this same spot!After Gettysburg we headed east to Lancaster, PA to see the Amish. Being country kids we of course loved being in the wide, open spaces in farm country. Lancaster has definitely been commercialized some, but we still got to see some authentic Amish people, houses, and farms.
Gorgeous! At one point we saw an Amish man plowing his fields with a team of mules, while in the background there was a modern-day farmer in his tractor. Quite the contrast.After a delicious homestyle buffet lunch and some shoo-fly pie we went to a few little shops in the area. One of these was "The Outhouse," a funny little souvenir shop. There were all sorts of fun things in there, as you'll see below.
Me and Jeffrey. But we're not the funny things. :)
This, on the other hand, was. They had all sorts of things like this around the shop. We may or may not have paid a quarter to get a view of the "man eating chicken."I got a big kick out of the mirrors!
Itty bitty!
Not so itty bitty.
Speaking of mirrors, this was just a random bathroom mirror at the restaurant that made me look I have severely misproportioned hips.After that we went on a journey to find some covered bridges. Jeff had found directions about how to get to 4 in the area. We drove through more beautiful countryside to get there.
I love East Coast houses! So classy.
Here's one of the bridges. I loved that it was red.
Here we are going through one. They are all narrow and one lane only. Going through these bridges took us back in time a bit.And after that it was home again, home again, jiggity jog. Time together, fun filled explorations, tasty food (including this yummy whoopie pie), and even a stop at Wawa on the way home so Jeff could get one of the sandwiches he loves so much. Not to mention that we made it home in time to see Jimmer and the BYU gang win, putting them into the Sweet 16. That's what I call a good weekend!
