I'm not sure how to put today's experience into words. As i reflect on our visit to Gettysburg, I feel overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of information and emotions that I have yet to fully assimilate.
We started the day by checking out of the Red Roof Inn in Harrisburg and driving to Gettysburg. It was around 1 pm when we arrived at the visitor center. I examined the CD audio driving tours and settled on a two-hour dramatized tour that I hoped would bring the battlefields to life for the kids. Before taking the driving tour, we visited Cemetery Hill and took a 45-minute tour guided by a volunteer Park Ranger. She did a great job of providing an overview of the history of the cemetery as well as providing a few anecdotes that helped us understand the site in greater depth.
Thousands of gravestones. One-third of them were marked "unknown". Monuments all over the place. Beautiful landscaping. And a memorial to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the only memorial ever built to an American speech. It was an awesome site and it helped set the stage for what we would see next.
Next, we hopped in the car for the driving tour. I never knew that there were SO many permanent memorials and monuments on the battlefield locations. As it turns out, there are over 1300 monuments in the city, the most in any American city.
The audio tour described what we were looking at throughout the two-hour drive, indicating where we should park the car and spend a few moments to look around. Dramatized vignettes took us through all three days of this incredible battle. The sound effects of battle brought home the brutality of war in a very impactful way.
I could probably go on and on about our visit to Gettysburg. But it is late and I am now sitting in my Washington, DC hotel room, overwhelmed with how much there is to do here. I need to start making phone calls and planning out the next three days, so forgive me for being brief.
I will say this. I have a much greater appreciation for those who gave their lives in the Civil War, as well as a deeper understanding of the various motivations which gripped the hearts and minds of the various parties involved. I hope the kids are getting even at least a fraction of what Mary and I are getting on this trip.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
October 29, 2003 07:41 AM
Been enjoying following the trip! Don't forget to go online and reserve your Washington Memorial tickets ahead of time online. That is another place where they give out tickets early in the morning and then they are gone very fast.
Also we just went to Washington over the summer and went to our rep's office and were given a personal guided two hour tour of the capital building. We had not reserved ahead of time, so it was great! It taught our kids a valuable lesson..."it doesn't hurt to ask, all they could do is say no"...lucky for us they said "yes".
Enjoy the rest of the trip.
October 29, 2003 10:44 AM
Joel, I have been following your trip - and am very glad to see you documenting it all on line. I am sure it has been a long trip - but one you'll most likely never forget either. Keep up the good work!
Jason