We just spent a long weekend in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It's one of those places that I have always wanted to visit, but never made the time and was never in the vicinity.
Rolling hills and lovely farms surround the borough itself, where a traffic circle marks the intersection of two major routes. The 18-wheelers mix with small and large cars and navigate the circle skillfully. It was fun to just sit and watch the hustle and bustle right thru the middle of town.
We shopped little stores up and down the streets and enjoyed a nice lunch right on the circle. Lots of American crafts and hand made items to choose among, as well as art and antiques. There was a wide variety of things to see, including a wine-tasting room. It would be terrible to not support the local grape growers ... don't you think?
No gardens to visit, but the town center was filled with flowers and fall decorations - all adding to the overall feeling of a fall festival. There was a First Friday event that evening with lots of the boutiques open with specials and serving this and that. Sadly, we were committed to a conference dinner.
Oh. I forgot to say that we made this journey to attend a conference. Mitchell and I both made all the obligatory appearances and then disappeared to shop or to visit the battlefields. I didn't even try to photograph the battlefields - the scale was just too large for my little point-and-shoot. Instead I took pictures of the orchards and vineyards.
A nice place to visit and a good place to remember the terrible war that was fought there. Perhaps fitting that we were there a week before Veterans' Day. Wish we could put that war behind us, but we don't seem to be able to do that yet. A pity. We need to find a way to heal those wounds and come together - sooner, rather than later.
Next week: our big purchase!
What a wonderful opportunity to be able to see Gettysburg and of course the wine tasting. - I know what you mean about putting the war behind us...Sometimes I think some people keep picking at that scab just to make sure it never heals...maybe it's just my frustration talking. xo
ReplyDeleteI can't wait until we are stationed at Ft. Lee so we can do these trips! I had to do some of it on my own when Neal was in training last November but we both love history and I think he would have loved Colonial Williamsburg. I was reading the 5 most haunted places on CNN last week and, of course, Gettysburg is at the top! Ya didn't see any ghosties, did ya? I mean...before the wine. ;-D
ReplyDeleteIt seems we have spent so much energy romanticizing the Civil War period we find it hard to get over it and move on. My hope is it continues to fade with each generation. It is our history, lets study it and learn from it. Gettysburg sounds like a lovely place to visit. Love the pictures.
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