The Epic Vacation, Days 10 and 11

Day 10 – We hauled ourselves out of bed and got ready to go see Gettysburg.  I have never seen a place so covered with monuments.  Katie and I hung out with the kids while I let Jeremiah see the film and the museum in the visitor’s center…I knew that the kids wouldn’t have the attention span for it and I didn’t want to fight them.  But I asked him to buy the Auto Tour cd, which is like a tour guide for your own drive through Gettysburg in your own car.  You follow the little signs all through and around Gettysburg and the cd tells you all sorts of stuff.  It was perfect for me because my foot was really tired and I didn’t have to herd any kids. 

I had had no idea how spread out the battle of Gettysburg was.  There were so many different hills and ridges key places…it was an eye opener for sure.  And like I said, there were monuments everywhere.  Monuments for all the different infantries, monuments for different key leaders, even a monument to the Irish chaplain that made up a new ritual so that he could give “conditional absolution” to 2,000 soldiers before they marched off to battle.

 And of course the whole area was so beautiful.  I would love to see it again in the fall…

We came home and had pizza and after we got the kids in bed I gave Katie a foot zone.  We stayed up way too late, again, but it was good.  It was a good zone but mostly it was good to visit and be together.  I love my Katie!!

Day 11 – Jeremiah got the car loaded back up and we set off to see Valley Forge and Philiadelphia.  Funnily enough, our first stop was at a big grocery store called Wegmans, and Jeremiah and I could have easily spent an hour or two there. ;)  I’ve never seen a store with such a big produce section, and they had all sorts of specialty cheeses and breads and the “deli” was more like a whole restaurant…we like food and it was a cool store, so it was fun. 

But the first real stop was at Valley Forge.  Like Gettysburg, it was massive.  Miles of driving massive.  We met Jeremiah’s “adopted sister” Rachel there and had a picnic lunch while Jeremiah and Rachel caught up.  We drove around a little bit after lunch and saw the little tiny cabins soldiers lived in, and the house that was George Washington’s headquarters.

Philadelphia simply is not a place to spend just a couple of hours in.  I told Jeremiah that we need to go back someday for our anniversary.  Then we can have more time to see things, and read and learn without the kids getting bored. ;)

We did get to see the Liberty Bell, and that was fun.  I learned that the Liberty Bell evolved as a symbol of freedom over the years.  It may not even be true that they rang it on July 2, 1776.  Abolitionists and suffragettes both used the bell as a symbol for their causes.  Next to the Liberty Bell visitor’s center is the location of the President’s House where Presidents Washington and Adams lived.  Some of the foundation is excavated and on display, and they also have brick and marble to represent where fireplaces, doorways, and walls were.  It was neat.

To see Independence Hall you have to have tickets, and although they are free they are always gone by 11:00 in the morning.  Our 3:30 in the afternoon arrival meant we were out of luck for this time around, but we walked around a bit and looked at the buildings.  It’s such a pretty area, and has so many awesome historical sites.  I can’t wait to go back. 

Getting out of Philadelphia was easier said than done.  There was so much traffic that we got off the freeway and found a 7-Eleven where we could microwave some leftovers and eat dinner sitting on a patch of grass.  When I used the restroom I found great comfort in the instructions posted there for employees so that they would know what to do in the event of a robbery.  Honestly, in all the gas stations we’ve visited I’ve never seen anything like that before.

On our way to the hotel we stopped and looked at the Washington, D.C. Temple.  We got there after dark so we got the full effect when we came around the corner on the freeway and saw the temple in front of us, all lit up and towering over the freeway.  We exited the freeway and drove up through the trees to the temple and visitor’s center.  Everyone was tired and it was late, so we didn’t get out and walk all over the grounds, but Jeremiah got some pictures and we drove up close to look at the stained glass windows.  It’s a massive (and beautiful) temple.