Gettysburg

 Our last stop was Gettysburg.  My dad is a history buff and has done lots of reading on the Civil War.  Last year I read the book, The Killer Angels, which provided me with at least some foundation on different leaders and battle events.  Nate finished reading the book the night before we got to Gettysburg, so he was all refreshed and informed for the days events.  

 This is the only place we could convince my dad to take a solo picture.  He loves Abe. 

 Our morning start fairly early with the film presentation and the "Gettysburg Cyclorama"--a very impressive, HUGE painting. 

We then took a guided tour of the area, with a guy whose name we can't remember, as our guide.  We all crammed in the mini van with tour guide, a definite war fanatic, who told us lots and lots (and lots and lots) about the battle.  :)  This guy was unbelievable.  He studies the Gettysburg war for fun and even is a member of a club that reenacts battles.  We used to make fun of the 1242 club in high school that would reenact medieval wars, but I would love to see this grown man and his buddies in their 1860's army get ups and nerf guns plotting strategy out in the countryside.  I would pay $20 bucks to see that.

By the end of 2.5 hours, we were very well-informed (though not all the info was retained) and kind of freezing.  The last couple of stops, Emmett and I stayed in the car (Grandma and Beth joined us) while we watched the animated gestures of our guide and the trying-to-be-interested nods from my husband.  :)

We ate lunch at the Dobbin House for lunch.  It was definitely one of the best meals of the trip and worth the wait.  It was a good way to wrap up tour sight-seeing and prepare us for our 5 1/2 hour drive to Durham.