Gettysburg
We got a little lost looking for the visitor’s center, so we ended up purchasing a tour from a local operator. The guide was fantastic, how he could keep the entire battle straight is beyond me. (Although, if I talked about it all day everyday, it would probably become second nature to me as well.) The biggest problem was the bus only stopped once. I think I would have preferred to keep looking for the NPS center and get the audio driving tour, so I could’ve stopped and taken pictures everywhere.
On Little Round Top there is a castle-like building and we went in, climbed the stairs and looked out. Then we looked down, and at the base of the tower was a rock making the place of death of a soldier. Gettysburg is awe-inspiring. To walk the grounds where the most important battle of the civil war took place is near overwhelming, to think of those who lost their lives, and have it seem real. That real people ran through the town, firing muskets. That those are real bullet holes, and cannon ball damage, that these buildings in front of you, they were here, they witnessed the battle.
One word of caution, do not visit the Hall of Presidents unless you have need of serious comic relief. It’s awful.
Monticello
I originally thought we’d come, we’d see, we’d move on to the next thing, but Monticello was spectacular. The gardens were blooming, the day was beautiful, and the view was awesome. The house tour itself, was too short...maybe 5 rooms, but the guide was funny, and good at involving the whole group (we had a couple of pre-k’s in the group), and using anecdotes to share the information.
After the tour we walked through the “secret tunnel” and looked at the quarters, storage, and other facilities beneath the house. It was about then that I was really regretting not springing for the audio tour, and not having enough time to hear the garden and plantation tours.
Definitely should be on the list...one of the best views I’ve seen for a long time. Plus, I love history and visiting Monticello made it come alive.
Obrycki’s
I don’t really eat seafood; I’m allergic to shellfish actually, but Obrycki’s was on The List, so Obrycki’s I will visit. My traveling companions (my sister JL, and her daughter Louise) both LOVE! seafood. They both started with soup, JL had the tomato shrimp bisque and thought it was good, but spicy. Louise had the clam chowder and she liked it quite a bit. JL and I thought the bread was delicious.
I had a perfectly delicious turkey club with crispy bacon and potato chips, JL had the shrimp scampi, and Louise had something she really didn’t care for, too spicy. (Her night ended with a Wendy’s drive thru.) It really looked like the lid had come off the seasoning jar and it spilled in a big pile in the middle of the dish.
I had hoped they would order something that involved getting a wooden mallet to beat the hell out of dinner with, but no such luck.
Regardless, we all had a good time, and it was a fun place to stop after a full day of traveling.
My lovely 11-year old niece was accepted into a Leadership Training Program in Washington D.C. Since my sister (JL) didn’t want her to fly alone, I volunteered to escort her to and from, drop her off, and be close by in case something major happened. “There are plenty of things on The List to see and do in the area,” I said, “it won’t be any trouble at all.”
So I started the planning and the more I spoke with JL about my plans, the more interested she became. Until finally she just asked if she could tag along. So, the planning continued and we fly out next week. Our schedule will be jam-packed, but with quite a bit of flexibility to stay longer and leave earlier. And I’ll need a vacation after this trip. Luckily, I have one planned.
Here are the places/things from The List we’ll be visiting:
Obrycki’s
Chesapeake Bay
Monticello
Shenandoah
Gettysburg
Pennsylvania Dutch Country
Independence Park
Philly Food
Winterthur
New York City
Historic Downtown New York
Washington DC Mall & Monuments
The Smithsonian
Here is my travel wish list for 2008; my goal is to visit 20 places from the list each year.
Barnes Foundation
Black Hills
Chesapeake Bay
Colonial Williamsburg
Denali National Park
Gettysburg
Historic Downtown New York
Independence National Historic Park
Inn at Little Washington
Inside Passage
Kenai Peninsula
Mesa Verde
Million Dollar Highway
Moab
Monticello
Monument Valley
Museum Mile-NYC
New York City
Obrycki’s
Pennsylvania Dutch Country
Philly Food
Pike’s Place Market
San Juan Islands
Shenandoah
Smithsonian
Telluride
The Badlands
The Homestead
Washington DC Mall & Monuments
Winterthur Museum
