East Coast Family Reunion - Day 31 - July 7, 2021

We slept in a little today then had a huge southern breakfast at a popular restaurant in town, The Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant & Grill.  It is a large restaurant with several attached dining rooms that can easily handle a party of 17 (They did while we were waiting).  It is also part of a large complex with separate buildings, including a winery, ice cream shop, country store, etc.

After breakfast we visited downtown Sevierville. The town was formed in 1795 and is the county seat of Sevier County.  They have a very impressive Court House/County Government Center with a bell tower that rings on the hour and half hour.  It is an old building but very modern inside.  Sevierville is also the hometown of Dolly Parton and there is a statue of her on the courthouse lawn.  We also walked around the center of town a little.  Not much going on as the main attraction seems to be the family oriented types of things along the parkway.

Sevierville is the first town on the corridor down to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The parkway  passes through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN.  The area is a popular tourist destination with Dollywood, the Dolly Parton amusement park and activities center in Pigeon Forge as the main attraction. It is a major tourist destination for regional family vacations.  There are all sorts of other tourist attractions, businesses and restaurants along the parkway.  Lots of traffic everywhere, even during the week.  I imagine it may be worse on weekends. We avoided the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Theater, the NASCAR Go Cart Adventure, and the Pirate Experience (Pirates in Tennessee?).  The Moonshine History Tour at a local distillery looked interesting.  Maybe the next time we are here.

After picking up some needed medicine refills for Judy at the local Walgreens, it was back to the RV for a light dinner.  We are still recovering from our large breakfast.

Nashville tomorrow.

Sevierville Pictures

East Coast Family Reunion - Day 30 - July 6, 2021

We left Natural Bridge, VA at 9:00 am and after gas and a truck stop flavored coffee we headed southwest on I-81.  It was a pretty drive with a lot of up and down and around through the Appalachian foothills.  We arrived around d 2:30 pm  in Sevierville, TN near Pigeon Forge, home of Dollywood, Dolly Parton's  resort and theme park.  We will be her for two nights.

We don’t have any definite plans for tomorrow.  We will not be visiting Dollywood  which is primarily designed for families with amusement rides, a water park and family entertainment.  We will just be looking around the area.  Pigeon Forge is a gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains and a very popular place to visit.  There are lots of great outdoor things to do in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that we not be able to do due to time constraints and physical limitations but we are interested in learning about the area.

We went out for dinner at a local BBQ restaurant just down the road from our RV Park.  Nothing fancy but great BBQ.

Pictures to follow tomorrow.

East Coast Family Reunion - Day 29 - July 5, 2021

We left our campground in Gettysburg around 9:00 am for our stop tonight at Natural Bridge, VA.  It was an easy ride down the Shenandoah Valley through the Appalachian Mountains. It was very scenic route as we cut across from Gettysburg to Harpers Ferry then south on I-81S.  We actually crossed portions of 4 states today – Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and now Virginia.

We  arrived at our campground around 2:30 pm, a nice KOA.  It will be dinner in the RV and early to bed.  Our next stop is Sevierville, TN (near Pidgeon Forge, home of Dollywood) for a two night stay.

East Coast Family Reunion - Day 28 - July 4, 2021

It is the 4^th of July.  The activity for today is a living history civil war battle reenactment at a farm just down the road. It is sponsored by the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association.

The event included many civil war reenactors in period costumes. These are people with an interest in the history of the civil war who have become involved in participating in living history of the period by reliving the life style, acquiring costumes and uniforms and attending events like this one.

The event today was the 2^nd day of a two-day event.  The reenactors we saw today were sleeping in civil war pup tents (some had cots) and cooked meals over a period wood stove.  The only bathrooms we saw were portable toilets.  Their living area encampments were open to the public and most groups had canopies where they gathered.  It did not seem there were many individuals/couples without some sort of group/family affiliation.  Also, lots of young people, not just an old guys thing .

There were also several booths selling things, mostly civil war related.  Likewise, there were several booth/tents demonstrating various civil war era technologies (sewing, quilting, laundry, etc.).  There were also lots of people dressed up in civil war uniforms, both Union and Confederate. We toured the various things to see and endured a long line at the food booth for a chili dog lunch.

The reenacted battle between the Union and Confederate reenactors began at 2:00 pm.  It was sort of a reenactment of the battle in the Wheatfield on Day 2 of the Battle of Gettysburg.  The Union won this one.  It was very impressive. There were cannons, cavalry and lots of people in uniform. Also, lots of spectators.  Someone said there were 6000 people here yesterday.  I am not sure there were that many people here today but it was very crowded.   The weather was clear and hot and a little humid and we drank lots of water.

We are glad we went.  It was an excellent example of living history and people enjoying their hobby of historical reenactment as well as a lot of spectators who came to enjoy the show.  I am sure there are some people who do not approve of civil war reenactments, probably thinking they glorify the Confederate cause that should be best forgotten.  History is a little more complicated than that and how it should be viewed retrospectively is another discussion.  Today was just a celebration of Americans, none whom I am sure want to reintroduce slavery or succeed from the Union.  It was just people celebrating their historical heritage, bringing their families to a special place, and having a good time.

No more no less.  We celebrate the 4^th of July today and resume our trip home tomorrow.

Civil War Reenactment Pictures

East Coast Family Reunion - Day 27 - July 3, 2021

It was a long day today.  After breakfast we set out to travel the 24-mile self-guided auto tour of the battlefield.  Here is where we travelled and the history of the battle:

Battle of Gettysburg - Wikipedia

There are 14 identified stops along the route. We also had a National Park Service cell phone app that has a video and audio description for each stop.  Here is a sample, very well done (Stop #8 Little Round Top – 8 minutes).

Video (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

The battlefield is designated as a national battlefield instead of as national park because it is not all confined within defined boundaries of land controlled by the federal government.  The battlefield is interspersed here-and-there with private property and sections of the town of Gettysburg.  Compared to many other civil war battlefields we have visited a remarkable amount of the land has been preserved.  There are also active community, state, federal and trust organizations interested in acquiring adjacent land and protecting the battlefield and preventing future encroachment and commercialization.  This is especially true on boundary properties that could be added to the battlefield it the future if found to be historically significant and relevant.

The battlefield is also noted for the large number of monuments, statues and markers placed at more-or-less exact locations of a particular action or event.  Most have been placed by states and or state veteran organizations either shortly after the war and into the early years of the 20^th Century until around the start of WW I.  They are essentially memorials recognizing the sacrifices of the men who fought there – on both sides of the conflict.  There are over 1000 such monuments etc. throughout the battlefield.

Historically, it is hard to underestimate the impact the Battle of Gettysburg had on the country, both during the war and afterwards. When the war was over and the smoke cleared, over time there was a common national effort in both the north and south to recognize the enormity of the loss of life and to memorialize the contributions of the soldiers who fought here. Thus, the large number of markers and the timeliness of siting them has resulted in perhaps the most accurately marked Civil War battlefield in the country.

We finished up our tour with a brief visit to the adjoining Gettysburg National Cemetery where president Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address when the cemetery was dedicated in November 1863.  If you haven’t read the Gettysburg Address lately, it is worth reading again. I am not sure it is being taught in our schools anymore, but it should be.  Here it is:

The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln 

We wanted to spend more time there but our energy low level light was flashing. We picked up some Chinese take-out at a local supermarket and headed back to the RV for dinner, arriving just before the rain that was forecast started.  

Gettysburg National Battlefield Pictures  

East Coast Family Reunion - Day 26 - July 2, 2021

Slept in again today a little. Breakfast in the RV then on to the Gettysburg National Battlefield Visitors Center about 2 miles away.

This is the 4^th time we have been here and every time we come back something seems to have changed. For the better. Not the history thankfully, but how it is presented and the accommodations for the many visitors that come here each year.  According to park information, 3 million people visit the park each year.  The visitors center is the place to start the visit.  There are lots of staff and volunteers, an information center, a place to buy tickets to various attractions in the park, an eating/snack bar (the restaurant is still closed due to COVID restrictions) and of course, a bookstore and gift shop.

Parking is not really an issue as they have at least three lots with free, regular shuttle service to/from the visitors center.  Here is a little background about the development of the Gettysburg Battlefield:

Gettysburg Battlefield - Wikipedia

Our first stop was the Gettysburg Cyclorama.  The Cyclorama is a 360 degree painting of the Gettsyburg battle created in 1884.  It is an amazing creation.

The painting is the work of French artist Paul Dominique Philippoteaux. It depicts Pickett's Charge, the failed infantry assault that was the climax of the Battle of Gettysburg. The painting is a cyclorama, a type of 360° cylindrical painting. The intended effect is to immerse the viewer in the scene being depicted, often with the addition of foreground models and life-sized replicas to enhance the illusion. Among the sites documented in the painting are Cemetery Ridge, the Angle, and the "High-water mark of the Confederacy". The completed original painting was 22 feet high and 279 feet ) in circumference. The version that hangs in Gettysburg, a recent (2005) restoration of the version created for Boston is 42 feet high and 377 feet in circumference. Here is some additional information about the cyclorama:

Gettysburg Cyclorama - Wikipedia

Shows are every 15 minutes and are 45 minutes long.  You start in a IMAX type theater and see a very well done overview off the battle, with background leading up to the war and the Gettysburg battle, a recap of the battle from July 1-3, 1863, and the aftermath following the battle and the Civil War.  It is narrated by Morgan Freeman is very well done.

After the movie, you move upstairs to the cyclorama. It has been restored and enhanced with audio, lighting effects, foreground props, sound effects and a narration.  It is a  spectacular presentation.  We had previously seen it in its old location, but it was nothing like this.

After the cyclorama, we had lunch at the snack bar then toured the Gettysburg Museum attached to the visitors center.  It is very extensive, very well done and displays many original artifacts form the battle and the era.  There is also many audio visual displays as you travel through the museum. 

At the bookstore there was a relatively famous actor and author, Steven Lang, who has played many roles in Civil Ward movies signing books he has authored.  I passed on buying his book or getting a $37.00 Gettysburg tee shirt at the gift shop. 

All this was a pretty full day for us.  It was back to the RV in late afternoon and dinner in the RV and early to bed.  Tomorrow is our self-guided battleground tour – a 24- mile circuit of the battlefield with 15 stops along the way.

Gettysburg VisitorCenter Pictures

East Coast Family Reunion - Day 25 - July 1, 2021

Interesting day today.  We slept in a little and got on the road for home around 10:00 am.  We avoided the GPS recommendation to take a more direct route from Cape May to Gettysburg, PA our destination for today.  That route was on a number of rural roads and routing around Philadelphia through Wilmington, DL and Baltimore, MD.  We felt however we would have a better chance of getting through it all by going around to the north of Philadelphia a little. Never blindly trust the GPS.

The whole area around Philadelphia is heavily impacted with lots of traffic and congestion and there is no easy way to get through it all.  Sure enough, traffic was heavy, stop-and-go traffic, police activity and accidents didn’t help. To add to it all, it was raining, sometimes really hard.  We made it through it all however without incident and headed west on the PA Turnpike to Harrisburg, PA, then south to Gettysburg.  There was also lots of traffic on the turnpike and more heavy rain.  At one point the rain and visibility was so bad we had to pull over until the cell passed.

Anyway, we are here at a nice campground and are planning to experience the variety of activities at the Gettysburg National Battlefield  and related 4^th of July activities.  We will be here until 7/5.  Lots of pictures to follow and the weather look good.