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Gettysburg The Civil War and the battlefields are the main attractions. All kinds of salient ventures, many of them commercial and/or hokey, capitalize on the theme. Gettysburg National Military Park. Gettysburg is virtually surrounded by 25 square miles of battlefields, where the Civil War's bloodiest battles were fought on the first three days of July 1863. President Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address later that year when he dedicated the Gettysburg National Cemetery. More than 1,300 monuments and markers, countless cannons and stone walls, three observation towers and 31 miles of marked avenues comprise the park. To avoid being overwhelmed by it all, start at the park visitor center. The best way to experience the site is to hire one of 90 licensed guides at the park visitor center for a two-hour tour ($40) in your own car. Most retired history teachers and Civil War buffs, they are passionate about their subject as they point out the obvious and not so obvious. You also can tour the battlefield on a double-decker bus ($12.95), one with a guide and the other with earphones for listening to a taped narration, or you can rent tour tapes for $10 to $15. A map points out highlights along a 23-mile self-guided tour that takes two to three hours, varying with stops and traffic. Bicycling may well be the most rewarding way to go. The Eternal Light Peace Memorial, the North Carolina and Pennsylvania memorials, Little Round Top and the optional Culp's Hill side tour are personal favorites. The visitor center contains a theater with an electric map program that shows with colored lights various troop movements during the battle (the 30-minute show costs $3). Nearby is the Cyclorama Center, where an 1884 painting of Pickett's Charge is displayed with a sound and light program inside a circular, 26-foot-high auditorium (adults, $3). (717) 334-1124. www.nps.gov/gett. Park open
daily, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Free.
Scenic Drives. The Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau details a Scenic Valley Tour covering 36 miles through the rolling orchard country of the west and north sides of Adams County. It also details an Historic Conewago Tour of 40 miles to the east and northeast of Gettysburg. Make your own tour to the southeast to include Taneytown, Littlestown, the horses at Hanover Shoe Farms, the lakes of Codorus State Park and the Stone Mill shop at Brodbecks. Shopping. Gettysburg is full of stores
specializing in Civil War memorabilia (the best is Fields of Glory)
and tacky souvenirs. Some of the town's better shops are gathered under
the Old Gettysburg Village umbrella at Baltimore Pike and
Steinwehr Avenue. In the downtown center, good art and crafts by local
artisans draw visitors to one side of Gallery 30; the other side
offers a choice selection of books. Handcrafted jewelry and home and
garden accessories are featured at Presents. Codori's Bavarian
Gift Shop is worth a look, as is the English Rose Cottage for
dried flowers and pottery. South of town in Littlestown are three
establishments linked in a country crafts shop tour, The Quilt Patch,
Koony's Barn and Smokehouse Crafts. For a break, stop for espresso at the Gettysburg Coffee Company. Healthful lunches and afternoon tea are offered at Thistlefield’s Tea Room.
Eisenhower National Historic Site, Gettysburg. There's something altogether endearing about the Eisenhower Farm, a monument to the 1950s and the only home President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife Mamie ever owned. Fifty Norway spruce trees, birthday presents from each of the state Republican chairmen in 1955, line the long driveway into the 231-acre farm, which is reached by a five-minute ride on a shuttle bus leaving every fifteen minutes from the National Park Visitor Center. The rural site is very different from the Gettysburg that many tourists see; the bus driver pointed out two separate herds of deer as we arrived. The Eisenhowers bought a seven-room brick farmhouse in 1950 and added wings on either side for entertaining. The self-guided tour starts in the living room, where a guide notes that “the house was furnished in gifts” from friends and dignitaries. You learn that Ike considered this “the stuffiest room in the house,” far preferring the long rear sun porch where the couple ate breakfast while watching the farm scene and had dinner in front of the TV. An easel bears a copy of the painting Ike was working on at his death. Among Mamie's collections are two gold plates from Tiffany & Co., juxtaposed with a plate she bought at Stuckey's and figurines of presidents and first ladies from cereal boxes. Ike's library contains favorite books plus U.S. Army Registers and volumes of Order of Battle Maps from operations in Italy. A glass door allows a peek into the linen closet, where most of the towels are pink, Mamie's favorite color, and monogrammed “MED” and “IKE.” Past a funny little 1950s kitchen is Ike's paneled den, a favorite haunt. The self-guided tour ends outdoors with a look at Ike's brick barbecue, his putting green and a garage containing a Crosley runabout with a fringe on top, its front fender emblazoned with “Ike and Mamie” in stenciled script. Ike used the last to show guests like Winston Churchill and Charles DeGaulle around his farm. Visitors get to share part of the 1950s and the great Middle American experience. Unfortunately, all the shades inside the house are drawn (or at least they were at our visit) so you can't see the views the Eisenhowers could. (717) 338-9114. Hour-long tours, daily 9 to 4.
Adults, $7.
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