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!
