Gettysburg

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The drive from Lexington through eastern Kentucky, into West Virginia, the top (Panhandle) of Maryland and on to Gettysburg, PA is beautiful, especially in spring with redbuds in bloom on the hillsides and Bradford Pear, apple, and Japanese cherry trees in abundance. It's a little rugged in spots (some 6% grades); but nothing the Schooner and Wes couldn't handle. The black dots along a route on AAA maps indicate scenic byways and we were plenty dotted! We dry camped behind a Cracker Barrel in Cross Lanes, W. Virginia. This is a time when chain restaurants come in handy - there was a TGI Friday's almost adjacent to where we were parked. In Gettysburg we camped at Gettysburg Camp Ground on Fairfield Road. It's a nice park on the banks of the picturesque Marsh Creek. We visited three venues at Gettysburg that were not open when we were here only a year ago. The year old Museum and Visitors Center at Gettysburg National Military Park is absolutely wonderful. The collection is extraordinary; and the presentation incredibly interesting and well done. There are several films and interactive displays that are truely engaging. An added bonus is a moving 22 minute film, "A New Birth of Freedom," and the restored Cyclorama, a 360 degree painting of the Battle of Gettysburg with spectacular lighting and sound effects. We moved on to the charming center of town and the David Wills House. The Wills House, located right on the town square, is where President Abraham Lincoln stayed when he came to town in November 1863 to deliver the Gettysburg Address at the opening of the National Cemetery. We learned that the speach was two minutes long (ten brief sentences), that Presidents seldom left DC during this era, and that Tad Lincoln, the president's only remaining son was back in Washington quite seriously ill. Mary Todd Lincoln got a note to the President that Tad was doing better; which helped the President get through his speech. At Gettysburg, we had dinner the first night at the Dobbin Inn, a very old Gettysburg mainstay. Next day, lunch at Cafe Saint-Amand, formerly called The Spot, we practiced our French as we read the menu at this new restaurant with limited hours. Dinner that night at the Springwater Tavern downstairs from the Dobbin Inn.

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