The next state on our road trip was beautiful Pennsylvania. After a rough start in Philly/New Jersey, we returned to Philadelphia to check out a couple of the key attractions. The first was Independence Hall. We didn’t actually go in because the lines were crazy long, but it was a beautiful building to look at. This is where both the Declaration of Independence was signed and where the US Constitution was debated and adopted. It’s always cool to me to stand somewhere that history was made. We didn’t go see the Liberty Bell because the line for that was super long too.

We stopped for lunch at the Famous 4th Street Deli for lunch. Let’s just say that they don’t do things small there… Mike had an enormous sandwich and I had a pretty good grilled cheese. We ordered fries that came in a gigantic mound. The food was awesome and the walls were lined with pictures of famous people who visited – from movie stars to presidents. I definitely recommend visiting this place!

After lunch we started our drive across the state towards Gettysburg. Along the way, we passed through Lancaster County, home of the Amish.

Gettysburg was absolutely amazing. It took a lot longer than we had expected… we spent an entire day doing the auto tour… you basically drive yourself to sixteen different points on the battlefield based on a map that the visitors center provides. I was amazed at how big the battlefield actually was. We started with the museum which walked you through the battle and had some great artifacts. I really liked the self tour… we could go at our own pace and take time for lunch when we felt like it.

There were amazing monuments scattered throughout the battlefield – both to the North and South. The North basically had a monument for each regiment, while the South went state by state. They were absolutely beautiful and reflected the individuality of each group. I liked the Alabama memorial (my grandpa is from there!):

Even though we had a rough start in Pennsylvania, we ended up having a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful and we really loved seeing the sights!