Massachusetts to Gettysburg, PA – Wednesday, July 24, 2024 (Author: J)
We woke up early on July 24, packed the car, hugged our dog and cat goodbye, and hit the road by 6:30 am. (Pro tip: Have just 1 kid. It leaves extra room in the backseat for road trip snacks). The early start was essential because we had a 7.5-hour drive ahead of us. I confess that I selected Gettysburg as our first destination because it was somewhere that I had wanted to visit ever since my US history nerd elementary school days. I figured that P and D would not have much interest in a Civil War battlefield. But I also figured that they would not have much cause to complain since no one wanted to drive the 11 hours to Shenandoah without stopping somewhere. And Gettysburg is certainly somewhere.
The first 3 hours of our drive passed uneventfully. Then, we missed an exit somewhere in New York. At that point, D realized that turning on the sound on the navigation was a good idea. That way he could ignore both the image on the screen and the verbal instructions telling him where to go. (Sample dialogue: “It’s not my fault I missed the exit. The instructions were confusing.” “How is ‘take the next exit confusing!’”) This added about 30 minutes of driving and several minutes of carping to our drive. (Sample dialogue: “I don’t understand why the GPS sent us this way.” “Maybe because you left it no choice when you missed the exit, and then the next exit, and then ….”).
At this point, P expressed disappointment in his decision to join us for the trip. This was our signal that it was time for lunch. We decided to picnic at one of the lovely rest stops on the Garden State Parkway. I say this without any hint of irony. I am a Jersey native and fierce advocate of Jersey style rest stops with free bathrooms and copious food options. (This one even had *oh joy* a cake slice vending machine).
After lunch, we finished our drive without incident. As we reached Pennsylvania, I queued up an episode of the Addressing Gettysburg podcast that promised a high-level overview of battle for noobs. What it delivered was an in-the-weeds look at the battle for Civil War fanatics. Not quite what I hoped for, but I still learned some interesting factoids about the foreign policy implications of the Emancipation Proclamation. Happy times. We switched back to D’s road trip playlist without finishing the podcast.
We arrived in Gettysburg around 3 pm and quickly located our hotel, the Hotel Gettysburg. It’s located in Lincoln Square right in the heart of town. We found parking in the municipal lot near the hotel; paid using Pay by Phone, the same parking app our hometown uses; and headed inside to check in.
The Hotel Gettysburg is in a historic building from the 1700s, but it was recently renovated. While the lobby and common areas preserve some period touches, the rooms look quite modern (in a non-descript hotel renovated in the 2020’s type of way). We had a suite on the 3rd floor, which was ready when we arrived.
After dumping our bags and moving our perishables from the cooler to our in-room fridge, we decided it was time for that most pleasant of road trip activities: snack time. Thus, we set out on foot in search of junk. After rejecting a chocolatier’s wares as too melty, we wandered into Sweeet!, a retro candy and soda shop. Sweeet! has an extensive selection of everything from penny candies to the hair of once and future presidents. We selected some taffy, an assortment of moon pies, and some local sodas, then settled on the bench outside for some people watching while we ate.
Then we headed back to our room to stash our candy and rest before dinner. P is usually a fan of long rest breaks, so I was surprised when he suggested that we head out for further exploration just 20 minutes later. I guess 8 hours in a car was rest enough. We decided we would visit Cemetery Ridge and then continue on to the Dobbin House when we were ready for dinner.
Cemetery Ridge, a ridge located just south of town, was one of the Union’s primary defensive positions during the battle. It is an easy 20-minute walk from the Hotel Gettysburg. We took a bit longer to get there because we stopped and read just about every historic placard we passed along the way – and there were plenty of placards.
I decided to lighten my load during our walk by carrying only my camera and leaving my cell phone in the hotel. (Yes, I have a camera that does not send text messages). This was a mistake. I had downloaded the National Parks app on my phone before we left home, and I quickly realized that the app would have been great to have as we wandered around on the ridge. Even without the benefit of narration, though, Cemetery Ridge is an evocative place. After reflecting on Cemetery Ridge, we popped into Soldiers National Cemetery. The cemetery is the final resting place for veterans of multiple wars, not just the Civil War; we poked around a bit reading the grave markers of those who served. When the heat began to get to us, we knew it was time for dinner.
We had dinner at the Spring House Tavern at Dobbin House, which is inside the oldest standing structure in Gettysburg. The Dobbin House also has a fine dining option, the Alexander Dobbin dining room; we selected the tavern based upon its menu. We enjoyed our meal, the historic rum punch (for education purposes, of course), and the tavern ambiance. After P and D shared a slice of cheesecake, we hoofed it back to the Hotel Gettysburg for relaxation and bedtime. The trip was off to a great start.
Travel Monkeys 