If Gettysburg is on your bucket list, please go!  The Park is open year round, with restricted hours November through March- check out the link for specifics.  The battle did happen July 1-3, so it is certainly an authentic experience to go in the middle of the summer and sweat it out.  I still absolutely cannot imagine marching, let alone fighting in such close quarters with thousands of others all wearing wool in July.  Not to mention the unimaginable stench of the living and dead on that field.  So with that in mind, I’m glad I did see Gettysburg for the first time in the heat.  But I am very eager just the same to plan a trip back in the fall or spring, when I can take full advantage of ALL the outdoor talks, walks, horseback rides, hikes, and demonstrations the park service offers with the enthusiasm of comfort.

Duration: Keeping in mind the truly vast area of the Park (5,989 acres- this battle was fought in and around an entire town, not on one ‘field’) I would recommend allotting at least three days for your visit.  We had a day and a half and that was not even close to sufficient.  We got a good overview, but did feel very rushed, and left wishing we’d been able to take advantage of much much more.  If you are drawn to a spot like this, you’ll want to have time to really take it in.

Getting There: Seeing as I am an enthusiastic traveler, and Philadelphia is on the way to Gettysburg from Boston, and I had never been to Philly before, we stopped there first (more on that to come) and then rented a car to drive to Gettysburg.  It’s about two and a half hours point to point through some really stunning countryside.  It’s almost 3 and a half hours from Pittsburgh by car, so Philly might actually be your best bet if you are flying (or training) to Pennsylvania specifically for Gettysburg.

Accommodations:  I would actually go back again just for a longer stay at the Battlefield Bed and Breakfast Inn.  This place was amazing start to finish.  We arrived earlier than check in, but were enthusiastically greeted, given the run down and let into our room, named for The First Texas Infantry 🙂  We did choose that particular room on purpose, being from Texas, but they do offer other multiple-bed rooms and suites if you are traveling en famille, as well as more romantic accommodations for those looking for a more cozy visit.

When we returned from our first afternoon’s excursion, dripping and exhausted with the heat, we were met with a pot of iced lemonade and fresh homemade cookies in the den!  We also had our own window unit in our room so we were able to sleep nice and cool in our amazingly cozy, comfy four poster beds.

Every morning at the Inn begins with an (optional) history talk at 8am.  They have a different speaker each morning, and gather sometimes in the gorgeous sunroom and sometimes in the more cozy den.  The one morning we were there, our host, dressed in a Union soldier’s summer kit, taught us about the life of a Civil War soldier.  Where he came from, why he joined up, what life was like in the camps and on the marches, what they ate, how their shoes (brogans) were not cut for specific feet, and how the weapons on each side differed depending on what was available.  The North had access to newer technology that was able to shoot farther and more accurately than did most of the soldiers from the South, giving the Union a distinct advantage in traditional face-to-face fighting.  After the talk, he took us out to the pasture and gave those interested the opportunity to shoot his musket.

At 9am comes breakfast, taken communally at the large tables in the main room, with each room assigned a seat on little placards offering the history of the unit in question. We ate scrumptious heaps of french toast with potatoes, bacon for those who wanted it, and fresh orange juice and muffins.

Tea and coffee are available (all day!) at a small serving station by the window, where you can watch the comings and goings of the Inn’s pack of charming cats (just don’t let them inside, please!) while your water boils and then enjoy your beverage from one of a collection of miss-matched mugs and teapots.  There is a delicious wrap-around porch with comfy seating for mild mornings and evenings, and inside overstuffed furniture around fireplaces with ample reading and board games to while away the evenings.

We were out early on our second and final morning, so missed the talk and the sit-down breakfast, but our ‘evening host’ the night before very generously put together to-go breakfasts for us- greek yogurt and heaps of fresh fruit with an english muffin- perfect sustenance before a drive.

As I said, for the hospitality, the comfort, the food, the history, and the chance to more fully enjoy all the house and the grounds have to offer, I could almost make this a destination in itself.  The fact that it is a mere 10 minute drive from the Visitor’s Center, right on the edge of the Park, only adds to its charm.  If that somehow does not sound like your cup of tea, there are many more options to choose from.  We did pass many more Inns and B&Bs as we drove around the town, as well as mobile parks for the RVs and regular motels.  But the Battlefield Inn gets five stars in my book and I will go back there without hesitation.

Transportation: You will need a car for this trip.  I believe Gettysburg has public transportation, and the Visitor’s Center does offer shuttles to and from places like the Eisenhower Farm and the Spangler Farm as well as bus tours of the battlefield, but from what I saw, if you want the freedom to explore at your own pace, a car is a must.  Also, upon leaving Gettysburg heading towards Fallingwater, we found ourselves very quickly passing signs for Antietam.  If you come with enough time and a vehicle, you could easily fit both in to one trip!

Food:  To start with, PEACHES!!!  We found this peach stand by following slightly cryptic, hand-written signs off the highway, and what a joyous find!  I haven’t had a good peach since I was back in Texas during the summer more than two years ago-heaven.  Aside from those and the delicious breakfast at the Inn, we mainly subsisted on munchies in the car as we drove around the Park.  The visitor’s center does have a ‘cafe’ where we were able to find some yogurt and hummus, but which also serves up your standard American fare of pizza and fried chicken and such, if that strikes your fancy.

Not that there are not many more options for eating in Gettysburg if you are traveling slowly enough to pause for lunch.  Famished on our first night, we did peruse the visitor center’s guide and were immediately roped into a reservation at the Farnsworth House due to the promise of peanut soup.  I know peanut soup from Colonial Williamsburg, and if you have never been there, that’s another place you should hasten to visit- (especially at Christmas- go anytime, but really, go for Christmas).  It is heaven in a bowl, and really would have proved to be a sufficient meal in itself, but we were also brought spoon bread (numnumnum) and pumpkin fritters!!! and sweet potato pudding!!! and salad and then our actual meals, which ended up as dinner the next evening instead.

The Farnsworth House is also an Inn and is said to host many ghosts and certainly many ghost tours.  I fully intended a ghost tour for this trip, but we just didn’t get around to it.  We turned in early after our lovely dinner, and I have to say with the heat (I really just don’t do well in the heat) and all we had already taken in, that was a good choice.  I do have a bad habit of trying to fit too much in and then burning myself out, and I do mean seriously burning out.  But perhaps the merits of traveling more slowly is a philosophical reflection that merits its own post.

The experience of the Gettysburg battlefield itself also merits its own post, so to prepare you, I will leave you with this tidbit about the 1st Texas Infantry, courtesy of the Battlefield Inn, and shall return within the week, with stories and pictures from Gettysburg itself.