This is a place that should be on your DC Day Trippers bucket list. It's a huge part of American history and the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.
"Peace Eternal in a Nation United" is written on the monument behind Peter.
Take One-Peter
This is a vast site and very hallowed grounds. We downloaded the Gettysburg app and did a car tour of a lot of the historic places in Gettysburg. It's worth the hour-plus time it takes to drive around while listening to the app. There are wide, open fields that lend themselves to some spectacular photography. (#gettysburg #gettysburgbattlegrounds #civilwarbattles #gettysburgaddress).
Take Two-Emily
This place is extremely sad knowing how many people lost their lives here but also inspirational knowing that Lincoln made his infamous speech here as well. I read that over 2/3 of the men who lost their lives in the Civil War died from disease, not battle, which is interesting. The new Visitor's Center is incredible! Really nice! Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, we did not want to go indoors except to get a map and general information. Next time we go, I'd like to view the film they have showing every 15 minutes on the battle and also view the Cyclorama painting depicting Pickett's Charge.
Eat, Drink & Be Merry
Driving home, I went online to find a place to stop for a glass of wine. We were literally passing by Celebration Cellars Winery and spoke to Heather, one of the owners, on the phone. This is a reservation-only type of place (at least during the pandemic) and they only allow a certain number of people at a time. Luckily for us, nobody else was there when we arrived so we had the place to ourselves. Mike, the other owner, walked us through a flight of wines and described how he made them and the story behind making each one. It was really cool to have a private tasting. The stone fireplace was perfect for the cold day. They have an incredible view and we can't wait to go back when it's warmer weather to sit outside! Note: you drive up a windy, stone-paved road to get to this place. It's a house where the owners live and makes it all the more intimate. (#celebrationcellarswinery #wineriesnearfrederickmd #privatewinetastingsnearfrederickmd)
The Wrap
This is another DC Day Trippers must on the bucket list as it's part of our history and with the political turmoil that rocked 2020, Gettysburg has great significance, even now. As mentioned before, Route 15 in and around Frederick, MD, has a lot of wineries to stop by for a glass of wine on the way home.
