Today was so super colossal it gets its own title. And we all know how sequels turn out.
Ok, enough fun and on to the dreary slog through one of my interminable vacation post.
Today we visited the Gettysburg National Military Park which pretty much surrounds and penetrates the town of Gettysburg. We started by walking a couple of miles near the (closed) visitor center which pretty much covered the union lines on Cemetery Ridge. Then we got in the car and drove the 16 stop auto tour which was many miles long – I couldn’t find out how long but let’s just say the first place we looked for afterwards was a gas station. At most stops we (and by we I mean me as the better half was more judicious) got out and clambered around. The battle itself took 3 days and was a sprawling affair.
I have noticed that children never walk when they can run or one of their parents want them to, so in an effort to be younger I ran to catch up to MBH or when she remained behind in the car and I got out. It was time effective but I did get some looks.
There are 1320 stone monuments of various sizes that mark the location of every unit on a given day as well as every event that happened plus some for leaders who did important things (including dying) plus this, that and the other thing. Apparently in the 1880s the idea was to provide a way for future generations to understand the battle. I admit at first I thought they got more than a bit carried away with stone markers literally everywhere but one I read the sign that explained the intent I understood even if the result is a little crazy. Ok, more than a little.
The big monuments did come in handy because they helped you see the scale of the battle. For instance when you are standing where the Confederates started Pickets Charge and you can see the largest Union Monuments on Cemetary Ridge you just shake your head and wonder.
There are also a lot of cannons, I mean a lot of cannons, but they were helpful because they oriented you to how the lines faced.
After a very late lunch we visited the Eisenhower National Historic Site but we could only walk around as every building is closed. The joys of a vacation in the time of COVID.
