Gettysburg Today!

Today we all met up with Martha VanLandingham, a friend of Mom's from way back. I'm talking WAAAAY back like from when my Auntie "C" was only 3. We all went to the Dobbin House Tavern. (Click on the pink link, Grandpa, to read all about it's history.) It was founded in 1776. We had to go down some stairs to get to the eating part. It was nice and cool, probably because it was underground like a cellar would be.

I napped under the table (as usual), and the ladies had lunch. From what I could hear, it was all pretty good and worth the visit. The Tavern makes their own desserts. Mom had cheesecake with cherry topping, Martha had pecan pie, and Cailin had mint chocolate chip ice cream.

After lunch we went down the road to see the Battlefields at Gettysburg. There are arrows that tell people where to drive and see the memorials to all the men who died, were wounded or went missing. Mississippi, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania....and more. I can't remember them all. All in all, maybe 450,000 men died in the Civil War.

Seeing the battlefields, and reading the progress of that battle which started July 2, 1863 (on roadside signs that tracked the timeline of the battle) made it seem very real. A little ways into the tour both Mom and Martha got sort of teary and choked up. And they got goosebumps. It was a very somber experience (Mom said). Probably everyone in the country would benefit by visiting Gettysburg and feeling the spirit of the Civil War and how it affected our country forever. Not one family was spared ... fathers, sons, husbands, uncles, neighbors....all fought for the rights and the freedoms we have today (Mom also says).

Personally, I know the experience was very personal for Martha,Mom and Cailin, and it was for me, too. I just kept looking out on all those fields and all those trees and thinking what a great place to go for a run. Yesssssssss!! (But that's just what I say!)

Love,

Mary-Margaret "The Tourist" O'Brien