Travels to Gettysburg PA

Yesterday Paul and I left Winchester, Virginia and traveled on to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  It was a great day for a drive on mostly secondary roads through the countryside.  We arrived in Gettysburg about 10:30 a.m.

 

 

We checked into our hotel, The Country Inns and Suites which was located practically in the parking lot of the Outlet shopping area.  Paul went off to visit the Civil War Museum and I enjoyed a little quiet time at the hotel.

 

Country Inns & Suites

  

 

Once Paul returned from the Museum, we decided to do the auto tour of the battlefields.  It was a scenic drive with all the trees in bloom, but it was also very busy with bus loads of school children on tour.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished our day with a meal in the local pub downtown, a walk about the outlet shopping area and a glass of wine in our hotel room.



Colonial Williamsburg

Paul and I spent a second afternoon touring Colonial Williamsburg. Our first stop was the Capital Building, the center of political and social life of Virginia for most of the 18th Century. The original building was constructed in 1705. At the beginning of the American Revolution it was used by British forces and later dismantled for its materials. This period-dressed lady gave us a very informative tour of the Capital Building.

Although the building has been restored, this is the original Governor's chair from 1750.

It was a warm, sunny Spring day so we continued our stroll along Main Street.

Another building that we toured was the Apothecary. In colonial times the Apothecary was more than simply a druggist and practiced as a doctor. Paul and I both enjoyed the history of Colonial Williamsburg. But we must confess, we especially enjoyed our trips to The Peanut Shop. There were so many samples available - yum yum.... We did buy a few treats to bring home.

First Visit to Williamsburg, Virginia

On our journey home, Paul and I decided to spend a week in Williamsburg, Virginia. We had heard it was quite an interesting place to see and it was. On the first day of our visit, we were fortunate to see the Fifes & Drums March from the Capitol along Main Street of Colonial Williamsburg. This area is a restored Historic area of the city and was the centre of political events in Virginia leading to the American Revolution.

While touring the historic area, you travel back in time to the late 1700s and all volunteers and workers remain in character of that period. This lady was sitting outside the milliner and tailor building and another sitting in the window doing her stitching.

One of the weavers gave us a demonstration of how to spin yarn. It made me think of my school friend Linda, who is a current day weaver and lady of yarn. Some crafts don't change over time. Of course being Spring here in Virginia, the gardens were of great interest to me. We visited the Colonial Garden to enjoy the colourful blooms. This is Bruton Parish Church, which is still an active church, with a service every Sunday and housing special events. The history of this church was interesting with rules such as having to attend a service once a month or be punished. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson attended this parish.

Paul and I also took a tour of the Governor's Palace. Our tour guide was giving us a little history lesson before we enter the Palace.

At the entry was quite a large display of weapons which was very ornate.

The building was quite lovely with large sills, a crystal chandelier and ornate woodwork.

To end our first day of our visit in character of the historic period, we had dinner at the King's Arms Tavern. Although a pricey meal we enjoyed the total experience.

At the Visitor's Centre you have the opportunity to rent period costumes and many of the children do. Here outside the Tavern is a couple in period costume, waiting for their reservation.

The Tavern was quite lovely inside and Paul was reading the story of its history.

We were offered an appetiser of chopped Virginia Ham, corn relish and pickled watermelon rind, which was delicious.

Virginia is well known for its peanuts. There are 250/350 million pounds produced annually in the USA so when I saw peanut soup on the menu I decided to order it. Although delicious and I enjoyed my first experience very much, I found it quite rich and would limit my diet.

Our main meal was Virginia Ham, chicken breast with fruit sauce, corn stuffing, sweet potato and beans. It was an awesome meal.

While we enjoyed our meal, we were treated to music by a fiddler, who played a couple of Scottish tunes.

Yes there was also dessert included with our meal but we smartly took it home with us and enjoyed the pecan pie and rice pudding the next evening.

There was still lots more to explore at Colonial Williamsburg.

South Carolina Civil War Museum

This morning we were invited by our friends, Irm and Don, to attend the monthly meeting of their local Antique Club held at Tupelo Bay Golf Club. The guest speaker was Ted Gragg, owner of the South Carolina Civil War Museum in Myrtle Beach and he was giving a talk on a variety of guns (displayed below) from his Museum. Some of the guns weighed more than 30 pounds.

Although I do not have a liking for guns, he was a very informed and interesting person. Paul had read about some of the guns in his Civil War books, so it was nice for him to actually see them.

After the meeting some of the Club members went for lunch at California Dreaming. It was our first time at this restaurant and we really enjoyed our lunch. We tried their "baked potato soup" and the "she crab soup" - both were excellent - as well as the house salad.

Then it was off to the South Carolina Civil War Museum for a tour. It is quite an interesting Museum and definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in Civil War history.


Paul has been meaning to visit the Museum for some time, so it was nice that our friends gave us the opportunity to do so. Thank you.