Gettysburg, PA part 1

Our trip to Gettysburg started with dropping the dogs off at the kennel early Monday morning. We got all the way to Pennsylvania before the first problem showed up. After stopping at the PA welcome rest stop the RV didn't want to start, but it eventually did.

We stopped for lunch and gas at the next exit. Someone noticed that something was leaking from the RV. It turned out to be gasoline. Since we were at a major truck stop I walked over to their garage and asked if they could help me. Of course that was out of the question but they suggested McAdoo's, just up the hill a ways and on the left.

We made it there with a little stream of gas behind us all the way. McAdoo's had to call someone from their other shop to come help us. It was the gas line. The verdict was they could fix it temporarily but we should go straight to a Ford dealership and get a proper fix done. So we went.... The boys sat in the sales room, Willie gave them a guitar concert. The waiting room seemed to be filled with elderly watching a soap opera.

The Ford repairman had to call McAdoo's to find out what they had done. I don't really think the Ford guy did anything but verify the fix. After I complained about the wait for the paperwork we were on our way again.

We arrived at the campground by 7:30 which was good as the office closed at 8:00 and the site they had reserved for us didn't exist. It was the computers fault, the site was still in the computer even tho it was now a road. So we picked another site and were soon settled for the night, just before dark.


We didn't find our cable TV hookup the first night so the boys were reduced to playing a game of battleship.

The next morning I rested and recuperated while the boys scoped out the campground p00l and gameroom. In the afternoon we went to the Gettysburg Visitor Center and Museum. The boys were inducted into the military and were given some training on the spot. It was trickier than they expected to hold the guns just right. They got to lift a real one and were impressed with the weight of it.

There was a film and lots of interactive displays. We spent about 4 hours there and could have spent more time but you can only absorb so much at a time. One of the favorites was the different bugle calls and what they meant.

On Wednesday we were picked up at the campground by a shuttle and taken to the tour bus center. We took a personally guided bus tour as opposed to one on a recorder.

About 20 years after the battle there was a reunion of the soldiers who were there. They came back to the battlefield and identified where their regiments had fought, they dealt with the owners of the land for bits of the fields and raised money to put monuments on their positions. That's about as accurate as it gets.

Jake got volunteered (by his cousin Willie) to help the guide demonstrate something. The guide was nice enough to help Jake and Willie find the monument erected where their Great Great Great Grandfather, Jeremiah C. Woodyard, had fought with Ohio 73rd Infantry during the battle.

Here is Willie at the monument.

The boys were determined to get their picture taken with a cannon.

On Thursday the boys got a day of play. The picture below is the water slide. It was $10.00 to use the slide for a day. I think they actually paid only about 10 cents a ride down the slide, they used it so much. I think the splash at the bottom is Willie.

This is Jake at the bottom about to make his splash

After all the sliding they had to check out the kiddie pool with the raining umbrella.

They made some new friends while at the pool. They came back to the campground to visit and exchange cell phone numbers. Kids used to be pen pals - not anymore. One night their friend, Derrick, brought over his guitar and he and Willie exchanged techniques.

Where did the girl come from??? I'm too old for this!!!

I'll do a part 2 tomorrow or the next day, but we did make it home just fine so don't worry.