Gettysburg

They say "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain"....BUT Mike and I know it really falls in Gettysburg!!!!!! We had a horrendous storm last night that has carried into today. Lost electric in the wee hours and finally got it back early this AM. But despite the weather it has been an interesting week. We started out at the new visitors center, which has a great display, outlining the civil war from its beginning, and of course focusing on the Battle of Gettysburg. Next came the driving tour..which takes you through each day of the battle..close to 1400 monuments and markers dot the landscape of the 6,000 acre battlefield..165,000 soldiers fought here and more than 51,000 were either injured or killed...it is unimaginable, to see where and how these men fought, and the question that runs through my mind is "what about the civilians caught up in this town " when you look at the fields of battle....they run through farms and lands that were occupied by the townsfolk...Unfortunately, not much has ever been written or followed through on that aspect of the war. We spent a day wandering through the downtown area, and seeing many of the buildings that are still standing from that era. Mike took me to dinner at Dobbins House, a wonderful period restaurant, that was the home of the Reverend Dobbins and his 2 wives and 19 children!!!! It was also one of the stops on the underground railroad for fleeing slaves, and during the battle served as a hospital for both Union and Confederate troops. We are camping at Artillery Ridge Campground, which was actually the rear of the Union lines, and it is the home of the National riding stables...and before you ask NO WE DID NOT RIDE THE HORSIES!!!!!!
Tomorrow we head back to Biglerville to get the tire replaced...and hopefully that will be accomplished with a minimum of angst!!!!! Then off to Kinzers, PA and the Amish countryside..
From the road,
Jan and Mike