Traveling and experiencing new places, cultures and food is one of my favorite pastimes. I only wish I was able to do it more. As I begin my Sweet Travels series you’ll notice I have a shot glass to represent every place I’ve visited. Don’t worry, I’m not an alcoholic and have never drank from ANY of these glasses. They are simply my collection of travels and memories.
To kick off the series, this post is about my most recent travels to Gettysburg. Shane and I went on Veterans Day. How fitting to visit on such a patriotic day. Unfortunately, November is “off-season” for Gettysburg especially since the Battle of Gettysburg took place July 1-3 and the town was very quiet. That didn’t stop us from experiencing Gettysburg and making the most of our two-day vacation.
Warning – I am not a history enthusiast or a history buff. In fact, I’m not particularly interested in American history as, say, I am in the Renaissance and European art. American history is 100% Shane’s domain. This trip was a birthday present for him and an escape from reality for me.
Day 1 – November 10th
We headed out on a beautiful Thursday morning for a three-hour drive to Gettysburg. Not only was the sun shining, but also the weather has been unusually warm this fall. No complaints there! It was perfect weather for walking around and exploring Gettysburg, which is exactly what we did.
Shane and I arrived too early to check into our hotel so we continued on to explore Historic Gettysburg. It’s a very small town and very easy to navigate. Most places revolve around the town center, which is a roundabout with four exits. If you head a block or two in any direction you’re pretty much out of the “hustle and bustle” of the town. After driving around the circle a few times (and getting dizzy), we chose one of the exits and picked a place to eat lunch. But first, we had to get a picture with Abe…
We had lunch at Blue and Gray Bar & Grill. When you first walk in you are in the bar area. Just past the bar are tables and booths to sit down at. The entire restaurant is open to the kitchen so you can see the food coming out. Since it’s just the two of us, we like to sit at the bar for a more social atmosphere. Shane got the General John Buford burger and I had the Mediterranean Pita. Both meals were pretty good.
Even the burgers are patriotic!
Our waitress/bartender was extremely nice and even went out of her way when she overheard me mumble to Shane that I wanted just a few sweet potato fries instead of an entire side order. She brought me a small plate with “just a few”. I don’t know if it’s because of the area we live in and what we are used to or if it is Gettysburg, but being “nice” is something that I noticed a lot during our visit. It’s a little sad when I realize how nice everyone is in Gettysburg and we don’t typically experience that at home.
After lunch we walked around town. One thing I love about visiting a place like Gettysburg is the architecture and the history of the buildings. So many storefronts and homes on the main streets are historic and marked with a plaque.
These homes have such a quaint charm to them. I find it amazing that these buildings are so old and have endured so much (a battle to name one thing, among weather and time). The buildings themselves have so much history within their walls. These are the things that interest me whereas the history of the battle and the war are more of an interest to Shane.
Something I found funny is that the buildings now are either gift shops, ice cream shops, tattoo parlors or ghost tour providers. There wasn’t much of a variation and I wonder how all of them stay in business when they are all very much the same. It is also such a weird mixture of businesses.
After resting at the hotel for a few hours we were ready for dinner. Shane chose the Appalachian Brewing Company. This restaurant is typical of the places we go out to eat at home. We like the sports bar/pub feel and Shane, of course, loves to try new beer. The beer and soda are all made on-site. I wish I took a picture of all the food we ate! Silly me only got a picture of Shane’s beer.
For starters, we had the Tomato Panzanella, a brioche bread bowl filled with heirloom tomatoes, garlic and balsamic dressing. It was delicious. I only wish it were a little larger as the picture on the website is a little deceiving. Our entrees were Asian Pork Belly Tacos and Rockfish Tacos. We both agreed our dinners were very spicy and left a little sting on our tongues, but enjoyable nonetheless. To top it all off, we shared the Elephant Ear for dessert. I wish this were larger, too, because the cinnamon sugar on fried dough topped with ice cream was gone in two seconds. I’m glad we did a lot of walking today because we both had food comas after that.
Day 2 – November 11th Veterans Day
Since we walked through most of Historic Gettysburg the previous day we decided to sleep in and explore a few things before our scheduled tour in the afternoon. We had breakfast at The Ugly Mug Café. Looks are deceiving here. It is definitely worn down inside and out and is in desperate need of fresh paint and some new furniture. It is located next to Gettysburg College so it draws in a student crowd. The food, however, was surprisingly good. Shane ordered a Reuben and I ordered a veggie egg sandwich. It was just the perfect amount to get our day started.
We walked through town again and visited Gettysburg Souvenirs & Gifts where Shane bought two Civil War era bullets that were fired during the Battle of Gettysburg. I made fun of him (in a loving way of course!) because they will probably sit in his drawer collecting dust but it is definitely the history loving nerd in him that gets excited about these things and if he’s happy, I’m happy (even if I don’t get it).
Next on our list was the Gettysburg Diorama & History Center. This is an impressive replica of the battlefield in miniature form. With over 20,000 hand-painted soldiers, horses, cannons and buildings, the diorama depicts the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg. There is a half hour video you can pay to watch (and we did) that takes you through each day while lighting up the specific parts of the diorama. I’ll be honest; I didn’t listen to half of the video because I was so focused on the diorama. I thought it was so cool to see all those miniatures and the details that went into making this display.
The last venture of our trip (which probably should have been our first) was a personal guided tour. We met the tour guide at the information center and he drove our car around the battlefield sites while explaining the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg. I really liked the one-to-one experience of having a guide with us versus taking a bus tour in a larger group where you may or may not hear and learn everything. It was especially interesting to be standing on the grounds while the guide spoke and to see the perspective of what the Union and Confederate armies saw. The battlefield is much larger than I could have imagined.
Fire away!
View from Little Round Top.
If you’re interested in a trip to Gettysburg I recommend looking at Destination Gettysburg. We looked at this site to do a lot of our research and planning. One thing we didn’t do that I would have liked was a ghost tour. Gettysburg is one of the most haunted places in America because of all the deaths that occurred during the battle. Another thing to consider is the time of year you visit. We went during off-season and there wasn’t much going on or many people about. If you travel there during the summer (especially July 1-3 when the Battle of Gettysburg took place) you’re more likely to experience other events and possibly witness reenactments.
