We left the lovely Bed and Breakfast at Oakland Green and headed for Gettysburg.
The Gettysburg battlefield is so big that you have to take a 2 hour bus tour just to see it all.
We were whisked to the outskirts of town to all the strategic points of the three-day battle that took place here.
The town of Gettysburg remains mostly unchanged since the days of the civil war.
If you look closely you can see the musket ball and canon ball holes in the sides of the buildings.
Sorry this picture is blurred. I took this from the bus. I loved the old streets of Gettysburg. It's a very pretty place.
Just like at Anteitam, the peaceful, picturesque farmlands hide the tragic events of the past.
We had a wonderful guide who was an ex-military strategist and archaeologist. He was able to explain how the battle progressed and the reasons why this strategy or that failed or succeeded. He lined us up in places to demonstrate in real terms how it would have been.
These canons are not replicas, by the way. They've long since been disabled, but they stand as reminders of the smoke and noise of the battlefield.
Geoff posed by this statue and then we discovered the "Please do not touch the statue" sign right in front of it. Oops!
Now here's an interesting photo. I was standing on the spot where quite a few young soldiers died. The photo was clear when I took it, but look how it turned out. Wow! It looks like I was moving fast and there's a plasma flash - a ghost in other words.
Beautiful stone and bronze monuments are dotted around the landscape in honour of all those who fought and died here.
We were bussed back to the main complex after our extensive tour. There's a museum there and the most spectacular circlarama. The circlarama is a magnificent oil painting something like 30 feet high and hangs right around the circular room.
We stood in the centre and watched the painting come to life with the light and sound show depicting the entire Gettysburg battle. It was astounding, spectacular... words fail me. I've never seen anything like it.
At the end of the tour, after seeing the museum and the circlarama, and after buying copious amounts of souvenirs, Geoff found a familiar looking gentleman to sit and have a chat with.
