A 5:30 am wake-up call! That's how we started the day. Why up so early? We had about a 2 hour ride to kick things off this morning. That's how long it would take us to get to Gettysburg, PA. We would spend all day in Pennsylvania, ending with a 2 1/2 hour run back to the hotel. We finally stepped off the bus at around 9:30 pm. That's a long day.
Long, but awesome. Like our nation's capital, Gettysburg is a place that every American should visit. In many ways we are still leaving with the results of the three day battle that took place in and around the small town in southern Pennsylvania. It has been almost 149 years since the Blue and the Gray squared off in what would be the single most important point in the war, perhaps the most important in U.S. history. As a history teacher, it warms my heart to see my students navigating the boulders of Little Round Top (see video below). One of the things that sets Gettysburg apart is that it is, perhaps, the best preserved battlefield in the world. Not much has changed about the place since 1863. In a nutshell, this is what learning about history should look like. It's why I believe so much in the power of quality field trips. Every student should learn about the Civil War by visiting places like Gettysburg.
After spending the first half of the day exploring Gettysburg, we hopped on the bus for a short ride to Lancaster County, PA. This is only the second year that we've visited Pennsylvania during our DC Tour, but I trust that our visit to Amish country will again be one of the most memorable experiences for our kids. Even though students know where they are going, they are usually still surprised by what they find - a vibrant community of people with a dramatically different life-style than our own. After getting a chance to interact with these people, I believe that our students are surprised that the Pennsylvania Dutch kids are in many ways just like them. They're not actors. They are students, members of families with chores to do, and kids that like to play and have a good time.
This is a day when diets go up in flames. From the Bird-in-Hand Bake Shop and its whoopie pies, to Eli's incredible soft pretzels and homemade root beer, to our Amish style dinner to round out the day, the day was one for eating. A lot of us did way too much!
Believe it or not, we will have our final day of touring tomorrow. We'll spend the day on the National Mall visiting some of the Smithsonian Museums. We'll hit the road back to Tallahassee in the early evening.
Until tomorrow . . .
For the Day 3 photo collection, click here.
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