Saturday, May 31, 2008

Gettysburg For The Grismores

I got a comment for a previous post about the bad time Lisa and I had at Gettysburg. It was from my brother's best friend and college room mate, Gary. I've known Gary for a long time and have been trying to steal him for my own best friend for awhile now, that is to say I really like Gary and his wife, Amy. I responded to the comment with a long explanation but while taking a shower I got to contemplating like I'll do in the shower and started feeling bad. Gary commented that he was disappointed to hear about Gettysburg because the Grismores were going there for vacation. Crap! I really put my foot in my whiny mouth this time. I feel bad that I put even a seconds doubt in someone's mind about something they are looking forward to. While I'm sure Gary doesn't hang on my ever word as Gospel I would feel better if I clarify a little.

First, the town and the National Historic Park reek of history. The downtown is gorgeous and filled with great little shops and restaurants. It's an easy place to walk around. There are a few different ways to see the park as it's stretched over a few miles and winds through town and the country side. There are several tour companies and quite a few Haunted Gettysburg tours too. You can buy a self guided tour audio CD at the park gift shop for $20.00 also. It's a little pricey for something you'll probably get use out of only once but it may make a nice souvenir.

Second, the visitor's center is big and spacious so even though it's crowded it doesn't feel cramped. The biggest problem we had was the exhibits and museum. From what we could tell, they had a lot of relics on display but we didn't feel like going through the crowd to get in. I think it all had to do with our mood and the fact that we've been through about ten civil war battlefield parks in the last year.

And lastly you get to see cool things like this -

2 comments:

Gary said...

Thanks for the post Brian. Yeah, I don't hang on your every word as gospel, but I do think you have earned your status as a National Park guru, so your comments are valued. We were going to go anyway (something has to go in the "Historical Interest" slot on our itenerary), but your clarifications make it sound like we could even possibly enjoy it! Just to be sure we're in the right state of mind I'm going to force the boy to read up on the battle before we go (and fill me in).

And hey, I've got no problem being your best friend too. I'm a real whore that way.

Brian said...

YESSSS!!! Score!