The battles of Manhattan and Gettysburg!

Next on the agenda is the one child left to visit - my daughter Jennifer who lives in Kentucky.  She just took a new job in New York, so we are meeting her on her way east, in New Jersey where she will be our first over-night guest in the RV.

We stayed at Mahlon Dickerson Campground in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey where we met a lovely couple who lived nearby while they were dumping their tanks at the campground dump station. We talked for awhile, and then they invited us back to their house after dinner for desert and coffee.

 Norm and I quickly had dinner and went over. When we walked in, the woman was on the phone being admonished by her daughter for having strangers in their home for coffee! She assured her that we weren't murderer's or thieves, but would call her when we left to let her know they were OK. We all laughed and agreed on the sad state of the world when we all need to be so careful these days.

 After spending several hours comparing life's stories, we headed back.  Hopefully they will look us up when they come to The Villages to see relatives this winter; they were very nice people.

The following day I drove about 45 minutes north to meet Jen coming in with her life's possessions loaded in a Budget truck, and pulling her car on a flatbed trailer.  God bless her for the courage to do that alone!  She was putting it in storage while she went for a few month's training for her job. We returned her rental truck and trailer, then headed to Home Depot to figure a way to get her car up the 8" cement lip into the storage unit.  Thankfully I had experience with the RV's that I could apply here. Lumber! Home Depot gladly cut the lumber in the sizes that we wanted, and voila - problem solved!

We had learned while RV'ing that lumber works as well as those fancy ramps to get your vehicle's tires raised.  This worked out perfectly!

Jen and I went back to the RV to spend the night. Norm spent the day doing a few "man chores".
It was certainly great getting to spend some time with Jen.

NYC was a nail-biting experience!

The next day we drove Jennifer to LaGuardia Airport, and oh my goodness!  The traffic was crazy, with cars cutting each other off at unnerving speeds. Every car sported a least a dent or two, and I could see why!  After having a nice lunch together we dropped her off and headed back to New Jersey.  Norm and I were pretty stressed by now, so we were very thankful the traffic was not nearly as bad on the return trip. I was certainly glad Norm, (who used to drive in Boston everyday) was behind the wheel.

Cocktail hour was certainly needed!

Norm and Jen at Liberty Park Campground in New Jersey. We were checking it out to see if we could bring the big rig here. Norm wasn't convinced he wanted to.  Too much construction and traffic.  Too bad, because the location is perfect. 

Monday, September 19th 


Still driving the back roads, we arrived at Artillery Ridge Camping Resort to spend the night, and to get an idea what this historic town is all about.

This campground was just down the street from the Gettysburg National Military Park and it's Visitors Center, so we decided to run over there before it closed.

I hate to admit it, but I am not much of a history buff, and must have been passing notes while the Civil War was studied in school.  It didn't hold much interest then, but now, in my mature years, I am much more interested in learning about such an important time in the history of our country.

I was having a little chat with Lincoln, telling him not to worry, the United States of America will be just fine... we are just going through another "rough patch" and we will figure it all out. We just need another great President like him!  Not likely to be in the next four years!

At most large National Park Visitor Centers there is usually a movie that will acclimate you to that park.  This one was no exception, except you had to pay for the privilege.  Morgan Freeman narrated the fabulous film about the Civil War, explaining what lead up to it, the different battles, and what happened historically afterwards.  It was terrific, and gave me a whole new understanding, and with it the desire to see the actual battlefields around the area.  It would be great if this film was shown in the schools,

This painting, hundreds of years old was so incredibly realistic.  

Our purchased ticket also included a cyclorama oil painting "experience" of the Battle of Gettysburg. This 360 degree painting originally was 377 long, and as tall as a four-story building, weighing a whopping 12.5 tons.  ( for more information on this artwork click on this link)

We were so fortunate to be the only ones here.  Without hundreds of people all over the viewing area, we were able to clearly hear the recounting of the Battle of Gettysburg and to see the painting unobstructed. It was terrific!

This historic painting survived fires, leaks, and years of display in hot dusty halls.  To squeeze it into exhibition spaces, the canvas was sliced into panels.  More than 15 feet of the sky was cut away.  By the late 1990’s parts of the painting were nearly beyond repair.  Conserving Philippoteaux’s masterpience was a six-year multimillion-dollar international effort.

In the foreground are actual rocks and some historic artillery and natural grasses. By doing this (and the fact it wrapped 360 degrees around you) the viewer felt totally immersed in the painting... feeling as if you were in the battle itself. I never dreamed I could be so moved by a painting!

Since it was late in the day, and a little off-season, Norm and I had the unbelievably good fortune of being the only ones in this huge hall experiencing the narrated sound and light show in this cyclorama. We stood in the center of the circular room, marveling at how the painting's realism depicted the mayhem of the battle, making us feel like we were actually in the center of the fight. Actual grasses, wagons, and miscellaneous battlefield accouterments were realistically placed at the base of the painting, making the view wonder just where the actual painting began, and the soil stopped.

A recorded narrator came on the sound system and relayed the events of the Battle of Gettysburg. As we heard the explosions of cannons, the end of the cannon barrels on this canvas, centuries old, would suddenly light up, and their ensuing puffs of smoke would light as well afterward. It appeared so real!  Sunrise and sunset would come to life as mysterious lighting behind the painting would bleed through the canvas.

Had there been hundreds of other visitors in the room, (which I would guess it often is considering the size of the parking lot ) I am sure it would have been an entirely different experience.

Unfortunately it was time for the visitor's center to close, plus we have a long drive tomorrow, so we will leave the museum and the auto-drive tour for another visit, which is now added to our "must-see and spend-some-time-at" destinations.

Our trip south from Bar Harbor to Gettysburg. Most of these roads were less traveled. The downside of the quiet and solitude was the lack of rest stops.