Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Penn trip continued

So I know its been a while since I posted last but I have been very busy with school and work. The rest of my trip to Harrisburg went very smoothly and I had a blast. I love my brother in law and sister very much and I was sad that my trip was coming to an end. But I was very excited to go to Gettysburg and the plan was then to continue on to Baltimore and Cockysville.

When we went to Gettysburg we were expecting to take a look at the museum and then continue south into Maryland but that didn't go as planned. We ended up spending around 5 hours in the very historic town and seeing the battle fields. It was beyond interesting visiting the site where Lincoln gave the address and the national cemetery. Followed by a auto tour of the battlefield.

The museum recently got a face lift in 2008 I believe including a large museum and a cyclrama. The painting of the battlefield painting was done a few years after the battle and it is 377ft long by 40ft tall. It was restored and it was amazing. There was a narration which included lights going off behind the painting made it look like there were explosions and it was incredible.

After spending an hour or so in the museum we decided to head out and look at the battlefield. I took pictures but unfortunately my computer isn't letting me throw them up at this time. Lynds was insistent on taking goofy pictures which she was able to get me and mike to do a few along with a observation post that tested my fear of heights. It was was a gorgeous day with the sun peaking in and out between the clouds as we continued around the sites. It was breathtaking how many monuments there were for both the north and the south. I snapped pictures on both my camera which by this point was low on batteries so I took over as cameraman with the nice camera my lovely sister owns. We found some great shots along with a "No relic hunting signs" which kinda shot down my dads hopes when he would make it back out there.

We took the full auto tour minus a few spots north of time. It was around 4 oclock and we had to get back to let the fur kids out and find something delish for supper.

Upon arriving back in Harrisburg a quick nap was in store before heading out the ABC brew pub where I had an amazing burger and tried their beer sampler. It was also my maiden voyage in the Black Pear. It was a great time but unfortunately my trip was coming to an end the next day and we called it a night.


Overall it was a great trip and I was very sad to see it come to an end. But i am very very Thankful for my lovely sister who funded my trip out there. Lyndsey and Mike were amazing hosts and I can't wait to head back out there for a month or more so I can get a true feeling of living out east and seeing some more amazing sites and spend more time with my family. Thanks again Lyndsey and Kelsey for a great trip and I love you both.


Also super excited for this weekend I'm heading out to Moorhead to see my Bestie Rachel and spend some time away from the B-town. Plus in two weeks I am going home to see the fam for Easter.

In the words of Billy Joel I'd rather laugh with the Sinners then cry with the Saints the Sinners are much more fun. :)


Tuesday, March 13, 2012

My wonderful trip to Harrisburg/Philadelphia/Gettysburg

So for spring break I was very lucky to see my beloved sister Lyndsey and the best brother-in-law Mike that a guy with two sisters could ask for. I spent three days out east which flew by and I definitely wish I would have been able to stay longer. But the powers that be I.E money, School and the length of days between my flights made sure that I made it back up to Bemidji.


On my first day in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania my flight landed and Mike came and picked me up. When flying in I was within oh three miles of Three Mile Island which melted down but was the least destructive of all the nuclear meltdowns in history. But upon getting in the car Mike told me we were gonna try to go to Troegs brewery with Jake and Dave. However upon coming up on the brewery it was closed. It was Sunday which is understandable but it seems as though in Pennsylvania things are closed on odd days. So we decided to head back to their house and I got to see the Puppies who were super excited to see me. We took a quick cat nap and then headed to the grocery store to make dinner for Lynds. The store in we went to was unlike anything I've ever experienced so it was fun. We make spicy cubanos and they were delish. The nighted ended early after some planning for the days i was gonna be out there.


On the Monday we made a quick jaunt to Philadelphia which took about an hour and a half and we began our auto tour of the city. It was a very good looking city overall but I had some major history on my mind. We went to take a look at the tours of Independence Hall. It was an amazing tour with our tour guide who brought to light some of the chilling details about the history site. Unfortunately my camera batteries died but Lynds took some amazing pictures.She is turning into quite the photographer and takes a ton of pictures. After the tour of the Hall we went and saw the grave of the unknown solider from the revolution and then the Ben Franklin bridge that leads over to Camden NJ. It was awesome being able to look at the bridge however I would probably never travel across that I hate bridges.We continued seeing the sights such as Ben Franklin's grave and then a few other interesting sites. We went to the Philadelphia museum of art and did the very touristy Rocky steps. We took a ton of pictures of the stairs and Lynds failed to pull the Rocky arms off. She didn't understand how to put her arms straight up in the pose haha. The size of the museum was simply breath taking. Mike was more excited to get to Tony Luke's for a true Phili cheese steak. And it was probably one of the best but fatting things I have ever eaten.


It was a few hour drive back to Harrisburg but we needed to let the pups out to go to the bathroom and we took a trip to the local bar for some good French onion soup and beer aka the Lager. Again an early bedtime was in the plans as we prepped to head to Gettysburg. But seeing as how I have class in the morning I will complete this tale later.