HARRISBURG, THE CAPITAL OF PA

Tuesday, August 22 – We continued our tour of Gettysburg, PA, today but started our day in York, PA.  York is the home of the Harley-Davidson Motor Cycle Company. 

We arrived for the early tour but were disappointed to find out the plant was retooling for the new 2018 motorcycles and were only offering a modified tour.  Dang!  The only manufacturing we saw was the stamping of a front fender....LOL   We did have a tour but instead of seeing actual production, there were video displays at stops along the factory floor showing what we would have seen during normal production.  Disappointed but what can you do?  Definitely call ahead on these factory tours to assure that production is taking place.

After our stop at the Harley plant, we headed down the road to Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.  The capital city was quiet. Guess the state government is on summer recess.  The capitol building was open, so we took advantage of a “self-guided” tour.  This building is very ornate.  One of the prettiest capitol buildings we've seen. 

The main dome area is the most beautiful area in the Capitol.  Soaring over 6 stories from the ground floor, it is very ornate and beautifully done. 

Looking up at the dome.

A close-up look of the top.

There is gold everywhere.

We visited the House of Representatives and the Senate Chamber.  Of course, Marsha had to get a few photos of the ceilings. She just loves them.

House of Representatives.
 

The Senate Chamber.

After our visit to Harrisburg, we then returned to Gettysburg and our campground to cool off.  The temperatures have topped 90 degrees the last couple days, and the humidity is also very high.  We took a break until we had to leave for a ranger guided tour starting at 5 PM.  Temperatures were still about 90 degrees. The tour was a 90-minute hike throughout the battlefield.  It was intended to give the visitors an overview of the entire 3-day battle. Now this was a hike…up and down all those battle hills.

The ranger did a wonderful job explaining the battles that occurred over the three days of July, 1863.  Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War with nearly 50,000 killed, wounded, or missing in action.  The volunteer rangers do an amazing job helping the nearly 1.2 million annual visitors understand the significance of this battle in American history.  Just a few photos of some of the battlefield.

We learned what all the symbols mean on the statues.
 

General Reynolds killed the first day of battle.

East Cemetery Hill

We had a memorable two days visit, so far, and look forward to the rest of the week here in Gettysburg.  Stop back and enjoy a little history with us.

UPDATE ON OUR DAUGHTER IN HOUSTON:  Carrie is doing great. She is back at work. Her apartment building has electric and water. She and her friends volunteered with thousands of others this weekend. Stay Houston Strong! Stay Texas Strong!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.

 

TEXAS STRONG

Wednesday August 30 – We would like to thank all our family and friends for your emails, phone calls and texts. As we write this post, Carrie is finally able to get back to Houston. She actually just texted to say she has to report to work tomorrow. She lives and works in downtown Houston. Her apartment complex has electric but no water. She is one of the very lucky ones!

We are all so blessed not to have to endure this terrible natural disaster. We have seen on TV so many incredible tales of one human being helping another. America is great, and it is being proven over and over in Texas. Pray along with us for all of Texas. Stay Texas Strong.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day….and count your blessings!

SOLDIERS’ NATIONAL CEMETERY

Monday, August 21 –  After a great ride around the area where day one of the Gettysburg battle occurred, we returned to our campground for a break and for a little dinner. We had one more area we wanted to see. The Soldiers’ National Cemetery had a free 45-minute guided tour entitled “Four Score and Seven Years Ago: Lincoln and the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.” We visited the site of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and explored the Soldiers’ National Cemetery where over 3,500 soldiers killed in the battle were laid to rest. All of the soldiers are Union except for eight that are Confederate. Another great event. Our guide shared so many wonderful tidbits about the Cemetery. Stories we would have never heard if we hadn’t taken this walking tour.

Soldiers’ National Monument is the first grand memorial in the cemetery.

At the base of the Monument are figures representing War, History, Peace and Plenty.

New York State Monument.

It is said that the lady at the top has a tear running down her cheek.

Ohio Monument under a Buckeye tree.

In addition to those Union soldiers who died in the Battle of Gettysburg, it is a National Cemetery with military casualties sections containing individuals who served from the Spanish-American War to the early years of the Vietnam War.

The tour ended at the Soldiers’ National Monument in the cemetery, and the playing of taps by a military bugler. A very moving end to a fabulous day in Gettysburg.

We have much more to see and do so check back for our report.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!