Ed's sister lives with her family in Virginia and we managed to meet up with Cindy and her son David (missing: husband Gerry and daughters Sarah and Rebecca/Ben) in Gettysburg, PA for lunch. My parents joined us at Dobbins' Springhouse Tavern for some Civil War-era atmosphere. It was great to see them (after too many years) and we traded Spain travel stories. We loved San Sebastian/Donostia, but we were surprised to hear that Cindy, who has lived in Pakistan, India, etc., considers the Spanish beach town her favorite city. We also toured Gettysburg's incredible museum, which offers up context, texture (lift the soldier's 45 lb pack by the gun barrel!), and multiple points of view to what were the worst 3 days in July. Then there is the movie narrated by Morgan Freeman--I sobbed through most of it due to his moving explanation of how our country found itself so broken and why Gettysburg was both so crucial and so painful. And finally there is the vast battlefield tour--audio, guides, etc. It's astonishing that these bucolic fields could have been so bloody. We're going to have to come back when the kids get a little older but here are some panoramic shots of Little Roundtop, Devil's Den, and the Copse of Trees for all you history buffs.
Our time in Gettysburg made this sign, on Market Street in my hometown of Camp Hill, that much more meaningful. It marks the northernmost skirmish between the Confederates and the Union. I always knew that was part of Camp Hill's history--made all the more amusing one summer when my mom looked up from her gardening to find 3 Civil War soldiers (reenactors, of course) on horseback and sorely in need of instructions back to Route 15. How they intended to get back to Gettysburg (an hour away by car) via the highway was anyone's guess but my mom just wishes she'd had a camera handy.
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