Gettysburg, Day Two

And here I sit at the end of a long day.

Sure, he's cute... but is he well-behaved?
We started the day simply enough by raiding the hotel's complimentary continental breakfast for bagels and milk. Somehow, we managed to get the baby to go back to sleep, and we dozed until mid-morning.

Stephen Stalks a Fuzzy Caterpillar
Today's activities? Well, we roamed the battlefields some more, which is probably the best part about Gettysburg. There are a lot of really great monuments here, not to mention houses, and historical sites. It's imperative, besides, that we go out and let the boy run about, so that he can expend some of his boundless energy. Otherwise, he complains and whines at having to sit in his car seat for extended periods.

One Of the Many Monuments of Gettysburg
We ended up finding a local grocery store so that we could pick up some drinks and snacks, and then we ate lunch at the Gingerbread Man, a local eatery off of Steinwehr Avenue. The food was mediocre, and the service was quick but it felt somewhat rushed. Like a lot of other places around here, there were both smoking and non-smoking sections in the restaurant. We sat in the non-smoking section, but the scent of smoke was still pretty strong.

Stephen Takes Stock of Confederate Cannons
To be honest, we would have preferred to eat at the Dobbin House, which is a restored Colonial-era house. We didn't, though, since we weren't sure how suitable it would be to Stephen's mercurial moods. In retrospect, we should've gone there.

Stephen Patrols the Confederate Breastworks
After eating, we walked over to the Regimental Quartermaster, a sutler a purveyor of Civil War reenactor gear. We picked up some trinkets: a trio of brothel tokens (which I thought were funny), a couple of wooden swords for the boy, a hat pin for Amy, and a container of Pecard's leather dressing.

A Big Freaking Observation Tower
We went to tour some more battlefield sites, but Stephen nodded off in the car. I decided to climb a massive observation tower while Amy and the sleeping boy remained in the van. After about 100+ stairs, I made it to the top. My legs like rubber bands, I snapped a few pictures before returning to the ground.

"Can we go home now?"
The boy was still asleep, so we made our way back to the hotel room. We didn't accomplish much more than that. It feels like it's been a long day, despite the fact that we slept in. Tomorrow morning, we'll check out of here and begin the three-hour drive back to Ligonier. The forecast says that it will be raining, so it's liable to be an exciting drive.

Wish us luck!

Hello From Gettysburg

So, here we are. Our first official vacation as a bona fide family. It's had some ups and downs, but overall, we're doing quite well so far.

The View from Helen & Paul's Drive
We started the first leg of our trip in Ligonier on the 12th, just in time to experience Fort Ligonier Days. It was unseasonably cold and windy, with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees most of the day. I'd really only prepared myself for 50-60 degree weather, so it was somewhat chilly. I never thought I'd miss the California heat.

The Bandstand on the Diamond in Ligonier
Friday the 13th, we checked out some crafts, and I loaded up on too much kettle corn. The following day (Saturday, duh), we sat on "the Diamond" (Ligonier's town square) and watched the Ft. Ligonier Day parade. It was a two-hour event, and the place was packed wall to wall with people. It was a good parade. Half of the parade was comprised of Shriners, which I didn't expect. Still, it was enjoyable.

Stephen Plays with Fallen Leaves
This morning, we woke up late and prepared for our drive to Gettysburg. We took the 30 all the way from Ligonier to Gettysburg in a little under three hours. Not bad time, and it was a very pretty drive. Stephen slept for about an hour or so on the road, which was good. He needed the rest.

The Parade is Nothing if not Patriotic
Amy and I had determined to go out for dinner tonight, but the boy was tired and cranky so we're ordering pizza instead. Tomorrow, we plan to walk Steinwehr Avenue and browse the shops. We'll hit one of the restaurants there for lunch, and later in the evening we'll be going on a walking ghost tour.

So that's the news at present. More later.