Gettysburg

My 40th (yikes) birthday present was a weekend at a B&B near Gettysburg. We stayed at the Shining Dawn B&B in Hanover, a few miles away.

Hanover is the home of the Utz Potato Chip company. We didn't get a chance to visit the factory but will go there with the kids.

The new Visitor's Center at the Gettysburg National Battlefield opened earlier this year and the famous cyclorama by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux was re-opened for viewing this past December. It is an amazing painting: its size (360ft), detail, and topic.

The auto tour of the battlefield was organized by day and the accompanying CD of the tour was invaluable. Throughout the battlefield were columns and monuments showing the organization and layout of the different US and Confederate groups during the flow of the battle. Approximately 100 cannons and artillery from the Civil War-era are all over the field to add impact.

We were lucky because we were there for the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Many Union and Confederate reenactors were marching to the monuments for the army groups that they represented. A few Union bands were playing, too, at battle locations like Little Round Top and the Devil's Den.

You feel so overwhelmed with the vast layout of the 3 day battle. You can picture the various attacks and could almost sense what the soldiers felt.

On Saturday we at at the Dobbin House Tavern right in the town and, on Sunday, we just *had* to stop at the Appalachian Brewing Company to sample their offerings. Yummy!

I definitely recommend a trip to Gettysburg.