Gettysburg Cemetery

This is a continuation of my Gettysburg post. Like I said we went last year for the 4th of July & had a great time! We actually stayed in Waynesboro at the Best Western & drove back & forth. The drive wasn't bad but the hotel was not very good. I don't even know if it was a BestWestern anymore because their was no sign outside stating that. Waynesboro was not a small town but it was the only hotel there.

There are several hotels in Gettysburg & one that is right in the middle of a lot of the activity is the Travelodge. You can walk to all kinds of shops, restaurants & tours from the hotel. Of course there are nicer ones but for the money & location it looks like a great deal. It also looks to be in good shape. They do say it is haunted however, so if that bothers you look elsewhere. Although it is not right on the official battle field, skirmishes were still fought here & soldiers died. The only civilian that was killed at Gettysburg, the famous Jenny Wade, was killed at a home across the street from here.

Our first day there we went to the Visitors Center & booked a battlefield tour on one of the charter buses. We viewed the whole battlefield with a few stops along the way at some of the more famous locations like Little Round Top (one of the kids favorite spots). The tour takes about 2 & 1/2 hours. We found out later that you can book your own tour guide & they take you on the battlefield in a car & you pay only for the car load. So if you have 3 or more it is cheaper to do it that way instead of paying for individual tickets on the bus.

We also visited the cemetery's there. There is one for the Union soldiers that died at Gettysburg, no Confederates are buried here. I believe they just buried the Confederates on the battlefield in unmarked graves. Remains are still being found there to this day. You can see the spot where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address as well... a lot of history!

A view of one of the cemeteries. This one had old & modern graves mixed together. Great place to get out & walk...oh by the way, wear comfortable shoes. It is easier to park at the Visitors Center & walk everywhere.

For more information on our Gettysburg trip click on our "Family Vacations" label.