Pennsylvania

Trip Report #4                                                                    September 17 – 21, 2018   

• Gettysburg powerfully portrays the struggles required to bring our nation back to wholeness during the civil war
• Lancaster brings us to visit with our grandchild Mariah at college, the daughter of our third daughter, Katie
• Philadelphia transports us to both the birthday of this writer and the democratic process that created our republic.

Gettysburg

     We all have memorized at least the beginning of the Gettysburg address: “Fourscore and seven years…” So here we are. Where it all happened in July of 1863 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his troops across the border into the union north at Pennsylvania. The clash with the Union Army occurred on Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill and lasted three days. Today the Gettysburg National Military Park surrounds the small town of Gettysburg on all four sides and offers the prospect of following that battle thoroughly. 

The museum and the Cyclorama is the paid admission part … all the rest is free. The Cyclorama is a not-to-be missed experience as well as one of the better museums we have seen.The Cyclorama is a three-dimensional effect that surrounds viewers who stand on a central platform, literally placing them in the center of the great historic scene. Most cycloramas depicted dramatic events such as great battles, religious epics, or scenes from great works of literature. Hundreds were painted and exhibited in Europe and America during the 1800's, yet most were lost or destroyed as their popularity died out with the introduction of a more entertaining art form, motion pictures.

The "Battle of Gettysburg" Cyclorama at Gettysburg National Military Park is one that has survived. This fantastic painting brings the fury of the final Confederate assault on July 3, 1863 to life, providing the viewer with a sense of what occurred at the battle long touted as the turning point of the Civil War. Narration and sound effects of the battle add to the intensity of the experience. The Gettysburg Cyclorama is 377 feet long, 42 feet high and weighs 12.5 tons. This picture is a small part of it.

On Nov. 19, 1863, four months after the battle and two years before the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln gave his famous 2 ½ minute remarks – following the keynote speech that lasted 2 hours by Edward Everett. We stood with Lincoln here.

We drove out to Cemetery Hill where the dead from the battle are buried and the speeches were given. We joined a ranger talk/walk around the grounds. Most interesting!

Lancaster

Lancaster is the home of Franklin and Marshall University – where there is plenty of history. However, our attraction was this beautiful girl … with whom we spent some time and went out to dinner with. Hi Mariah!

Philadelphia

     Our first stop was to visit with Sully and Misty – and their family, Tom and Kris – at their home outside of Philadelphia. A wonderful visit with great people. The visit included great hints and suggestions as to our upcoming three days in downtown Philadelphia. Our friendship with them is part of the Roadtrek story and having visited with them at a chance meeting with Sully in Yellowstone, a Roadtrek Rally at Coeur d'Alene, Balloon fest at Albuquerque, and our home in Colorado.

Our visit to Philadelphia began with Tom bringing us to Geno’s Philly Cheesesteaks (listed in all the tour guides) … which is across the corner from Pat’s Philly Cheesesteaks; iconic, touristy, reportedly a must-see. We settled on Geno’s. 
Vote? Meh!
There were other cheese steak shops recommended, like Sonny’s and Jim’s and Campos's. 

We finally ended up another day at Campos. Vote? The Best! A local who was selling us nothing, a volunteer in Elfreth’s Alley, which we were near, recommended it. The street was Market and the sidewalk scene is typical Philly. Funny item: a customer before us ordered a Philly Cheese steak. The counter person replied, “You can’t ask for that. Sorry.” Tourists 😀

 Elfreth’s Alley --- Fascinating bit of history pre-revolution.

Reading Terminal Market

Reading Market (pronounced redding in Philly) boasts more than 80 unique merchants, three of which are descendants of original stand holders from when it first opened more than 115 years ago. 
It occupies one full square city block.Sit-down eateries are scattered throughout the expansive, lively space, and cooks from the finest local restaurants come to the market each morning for the very freshest and hardest-to-find ingredients and produce. We had a great lunch there.

Independence Hall

The Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia culminated in the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 in what is now called Independence Hall. 

The Liberty Bell is nearby. Also nearby is the Constitution Center which has a great live presentation on our country’s beginnings and the meaning of “We the People.”

Museums

Two museums we did visit are the Barnes and the Rodin.

The Barnes is home to one of the world’s greatest collections of impressionist, and early modernist paintings, with especially deep holdings in Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso. Wonderful arrangements and we attended two talks by art historians who helped us understand impressionist artwork.

We all know of The Thinker by Rodin; however, this collection reveals his exception ability to make sculpture move and live and are, as his critics report, too alive and emotional. I have taken pictures of some examples.

This is the gardens of the Rodin Museum. See Dan in the center.




The last day in Philadelphia was a walking tour of the less touristy parts … along the harbor on the Delaware River and up eclectic South Street. (We now know why South Street is not in the tourist books.) After two miles, we found these hammocks in Harbor Park … my feet and Dan’s sandals in the other one.

Outdoor art … is it a couple smooching or a clothespin?



And ... where did we stay for 4 days? Campus Park and Ride. Their ad claims “Not your typical campground - no lakes, no mountains, no grass. But with us -- The entire city of Philadephia is your campground.” We did have electricity and water and there is a dump. And the $30.00 a night included a shuttle to and from Philadelphia every 20 minutes. Not bad as we didn't spend anytime in the "parking lot".

Next: Baltimore and Washington D.C.

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