Gettysburg -- Thursday July 3rd

Our best friend became the Magellan GPS that my boss, John & Judy sent with us on our trip. I almost didn't tell Bryan because I thought it was something complicated. It was a lifesaver and eliminated any "discussions" regarding driving directions for Bryan and I. Thanks John and Judy for lending us your GPS. It truly made the trip stress free. We had no problem navigating through Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania!!!

The next picture is our "lovely" rental car we picked up before our trip to Gettysburg.

It was a mint green kind of. We lovingly called it the Green Machine! It was just a color of green we were not used to. I'm certainly not complaining. We were very thankful we were able to get a rental. It allowed us to see so much more and we didn't have to depend on anyone else. We love our little car!!!! :0. Thanks to the National Rifle Association membership, Bryan also got a discount!!

I've tried to tell my family, friends, and John & Judy what it was like to be at Gettysburg and do the auto tour. Believe it or not, I'm almost speechless. :) I cannot describe how it felt to be on those grounds. I cannot come up with the right words. It was amazing! It was humbling. It was sorrowful to think of the thousands of men who died. At the same time, I was honored to stand where many great men and leaders stood. You must go there some day! There is a HUGE museum in the visitors center that Bryan and I spent 2 hours looking at and left off 1/3 of it just due to time!! Since Bryan loves guns he especially enjoyed looking this exhibit over. These were guns used during the Civil War times. Since our trip Bryan has decided he will begin collecting Civil War officer buttons from their uniforms and he wouldn't mind a gun from that time period. However it may be a while before he gets the gun. We saw one in a Civil War Relic museum that cost more than our entire trip!!!! We did buy some true pins from a soldier's uniform while in Gettysburg. Those were less expensive!!!

Pictured below is Robert E. Lee on the right. Since we were there during the 145th anniversary we saw a lot of re-enactors which made the experience even more real.
We ate lunch in the Visitors center and Bryan was excited they had hardtack. It was the type of food some of the soldiers ate during the war. He was excited to try it. I looked like unleavened bread to me!!
Bryan and I bought the auto tour. They said it should take about 2 - 2.5 hours. We started at 2:00 p.m. and finished at 9:00 p.m!!! We took a long time!! We really wanted to take our time and let each stop sink in and tried to picture the soldiers and each event. I will try not to narrate after each picture simply due to space and trying to shorten my posts. There are over 1,000 monuments/memorial throughout Gettysburg.

General Reynolds was the highest ranking officer killed in the battle. This spot marks the area where he was shot and killed.
Can you imagine hundreds of soldiers marching across the open fields in the background?

There were authentic cannons all over the battlefield that were used during the Battle of Gettysburg. You can't see it very well but I thought it would be appropriate I wear my NRA t-shirt to Gettysburg!! :) More to come on Gettysburg! There is so much to tell and so many photos to search through. I intended to go to bed a long time ago.