Back East: Gettysburg

One of the places I was most excited about showing my kids was Gettysburg. My family really enjoyed going there when I was growing up, and my boys like war history. They have a beautiful new visitor's center, and although I was surprised at the high entrance fee, it was worth it. Actually, it was cheaper to buy the annual family pass, so it ended up being pretty reasonable. 

 Some cool old musical instruments.

And of course lots of guns.

So first we saw the movie, which was narrated by Morgan Freeman. It was well made and had a very nice, brand-new theater. Then we were escorted to the cyclorama. It was made in 1865 from boat sails, and it's the largest cyclorama in  North America! It's longer than a football field (which was really hard to believe - it didn't seem that big) at 42' x 377', and had a great little presentation with lights, sound effects, and a narration of the 3rd and final day of the Gettysburg battle.

We stood in the center of the round room, and the props on the floor blended right into the painting.

The painter put himself into the painting, as well as several of the people he interviewed who were actually in the battle. 

After the cyclorama presentation, they led us into the museum; it was very well done! In fact the boys said they enjoyed it more than the Smithsonians.

 Tons of artifacts and personal stories. 

One could spend all day there, reading all the labels and watching all the History Channel videos.  

 Then we headed over to the gift shop.

We lured them out by buying them candy sticks. 

Then we drove around the auto tour of the actual battlefield. We didn't have enough time to see too much of it. In fact we only made 2 stops: Little Round Top and Devil's Den.

 I remember having fun climbing on these rocks as a kid. Of course my kids loved it too.

Dave's mom came with us. She didn't remember ever visiting Gettysburg before, and she enjoyed it. 

They're standing on the top of the highest boulder, with Little Round Top in the distance.

Then we went to my favorite restaurant: The Dobbin House. Built in 1776, it's the oldest house in Gettysburg and has an amazing history. I went there for special occasions, like high school and college graduations.

It was part of the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. In fact you can see the crawl space where the slaves hid. After the battle of Gettysburg, it was turned into a hospital for wounded soldiers. 

It's like stepping back in time. It's been restored and renovated to look just like it did over 200 years ago, and all the servers are dressed in period clothing. 

There are dining rooms upstairs, but we always eat in the cool candle-lit tavern downstairs. The prices are reasonable (but it was definitely our most expensive meal of our trip!), and the ambiance can't be beat. The only disappointment was that they didn't have ribs on the menu, and that's what I always ordered there. But everything we had was delicious! Another fun memory to share with my kids!