Ike and 200 Year Old Food

Bus to Eisenhower Home Site

While here in Gettysburg we wanted to go out to visit Dwight D. Eisenhower's (34th President of the United States) Home and Farm. We got up early and headed to the Gettysburg National Military Park. That is where you buy the tickets for visiting the home. You are not allowed to drive your car out there so we bought our tickets and went to jump onto the bus that takes you there.


Front of house

Eisenhower National Historic Site is the home and farm of General & President Dwight D. and Mamie Eisenhower. Located adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield, the farm served the President as a weekend retreat and a meeting place for world leaders.

With its peaceful setting and view of South Mountain, it was a much needed respite from Washington and a backdrop for efforts to reduce Cold War tensions. General and Mrs. Eisenhower donated their home and farm to the National Park Service in 1967, with the condition that they would live their life out there

After living in approximately 32 places that they never owned this house was to become their very first home.


Living Room

Two years later, General Eisenhower died at the age of 78. Mrs. Eisenhower rejected the idea of moving to Washington to be closer to family and friends and continued to live on the farm until her death in 1979. The National Park Service opened the site in 1980.

The farm to this day is a working farm and you can also visit it and walk around the entire estate and farm,

The tour started out as a guided tour but once they told you a lot of information about the Eisenhowers you were pretty much allowed to roam throughout the house and farm.  We had a very enjoyable and fact filled day while visiting President Eisenhowers and Mamie's Home & Farm.

Historic 1776
Dobbin House Tavern

Four Score and Seven years before the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, (1776), Reverend Alexander Dobbin built a house to begin a new life in America for himself and his family. Today his home, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a colonial restaurant where candlelit elegance, superior food in abundance, and gracious service bring back the sights, sounds and tastes of two centuries ago. Reverend Dobbin had 10 children with his first wife and when she died he remarried a woman with 9 children. A total of 19 children were raised within this historic home.

 In the mid-1800's, a secret crawl space, featured in "National Geographic", served as a "station" for hiding runaway slaves on their perilous journey to freedom on the "Underground Railroad." After the battle of Gettysburg ceased, and the armies had departed, it served as a hospital for wounded soldiers of both the North and the South.

We met friends here for lunch and they reccomended the Onion Soup and they were so right ~ it was the best I have ever had...YUM!

Today the historic house appears virtually the same as it did over 200 years ago. Its native stone walls, seven fireplaces, and hand carved woodwork have been painstakingly restored to their original beauty and character, with interior decor in the traditional eighteenth century manner. The natural springs that ran through the house and was used as refrigeration/cooling now have been routed to only one which is located in the Sringhouse Tavern.  Many of the home's antique furnishings are identical to those listed in the inventory of Rev. Dobbin's estate. The china and flatware exactly match fragments which were unearthed during the re-excavation of the cellar. The servant's period-clothing is completely authentic right down to the tie on pockets!

As a truly authentic colonial tavern, patrons of the Dobbin House may "eat, drink and be merry".

We loved visiting Gettysburg and had a lot of fun.  It was great visiting the home of one of our Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Now we move on to Hershey, Pa. where we will be going to of course Hershey Chocolate Factory.  We will also be visiting the PA Dutch Community and the Amish area.

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!

A day at Gettysburg Battlefield

We headed out for a day of exploration at Gettysburg Battlefield.  The RV Park we stayed at had the CD tour of the park for rent ($5) so we went into town and the first stop was at the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.  We got our map and headed off for stop 1 of the Auto Tour.  We took out time to listen to the CD and read all the information we picked up at the center ~ we also stopped and looked at all the monuments and read them... This was a HUGE battlefield and it took us about 4 hours to go through the whole park.

The "High Water Mark of the Rebellion".

The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War, the Union victory that ended General Robert E. Lee's second and most ambitious invasion of the North. Often referred to as the "High Water Mark of the Rebellion", Gettysburg was the wars bloodiest battle with 51,000 casualties. Every house and every building in this quiet little town was used as a hospital or a recovery place for the wounded union & confederate soldiers.  It was also the inspiration for President Abraham Lincoln's immortal "Gettysburg Address".

As we rode around the park and listened to the facts and accounts of the Civil Was Battle at Gettysburg we couldn't help but think how sad it all was and what a horrible time it must have been for the people in this town and the men fighting the battle.  I can only imagine how scared those poor young men had been and in my mind pictured the aftermath of such a violent battle.

Gettysburg National Cemetery Courtesy of the National Park Service.

Gettysburg National Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 3,500 Union soldiers killed in the Battle of Gettysburg, a Union victory often cited as a turning point in the Civil War. Numerous monuments stand in both the cemetery and battlefield to commemorate the Union and Confederate troops who fought there. At the cemetery’s dedication on November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln rose to deliver “a few appropriate remarks,” now known as the Gettysburg Address. His two-minute speech served as a reminder of the sacrifices of war and the necessity of holding the Union together. 

Did You Know?

Asked to provide "a few appropriate remarks", President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is recognized today as one of the greatest speeches of his presidency.

I am thankful everyday for the sacrifices young men & women have made for me to live a wonderful and free life... God Bless them all ♥

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!

A Ride Through Gettysburg, PA

We arrived in Gettysburg, Pa and checked into Artillery Ridge Campground Resort.  I don't want to go on about the Campground so just go on over to read my review ~ click the campground name.   I would not come back to this park!!  I will say that once we finally got set up and learned how to avoid the mud puddles at the door of Tassie and avoided the nasty attitude woman in the front office we had a great time here.

OK enough with all that ~ after we set up Tassie we got into the car and headed for the cute historic town of Gettysburg which is just chocked full of Civil War history.  On our ride around town we saw many of the homes that were here during the battle.  Here are a few statistics on the Battle.  For a complete rundown of the battle click here.


During the entire battle there was only one civilian casualty, Jennie Wade. Jennie was 20 years old at the time of the battle. She had gone to her sister's home on Baltimore street to assist her because her sister had just had a baby. During the battle Jennie was baking bread to feed the soldiers when a stray bullet came through two doors and killed her instantly. The bullet struck Jennie in the back beneath her left shoulder blade embedding itself in her corset, killing her instantly. To see a complete story about Jennie Wade click here. You can tour the house and hear the story of Jennie Wade. Bullet holes and all!

Some folks say the house is haunted

We also stopped at the Gettysburg History Center to see the diorama. The Battle of Gettysburg in a truly unique and original light and sound show that is fully narrated. The three days of the epic battle are presented across a three dimensional landscape that is the largest military diorama in the United States. At first I thought it was going to be very cheesy but soon I was deep into it as they explained the entire 3 day battle.


While walking around town we also found the cutest old restaurant called Dobbin House Restaurant & Tavern.  Built in 1776 ~ they built houses back in the day to last a long time.  We decided to come back for lunner (you know lunch & dinner) for what they called there famous Onion Soup.  I love onion soup and have had it many places so I just have to come back and have some at this place.







We also went by the Farnsworth Inn ~ Built in 1810, Gettysburg's Farnsworth House Inn has been called "one of the most haunted inns in America. During the Civil War, Farnsworth House Inn was taken over by Confederate soldiers. Sharpshooters were up in the attic and one shot Jennie Wade, the only civilian to die during the three-day battle of Gettysburg. The hundred-plus bullet holes on Farnsworth House Inn's south side wall attest to the fighting during the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.

Riding & walking through the town gave us the opportunity to see a lot of the homes that were there during the Civil War.  It is hard to believe that so many of them survived the biggest and bloodiest battle during the war.

Enjoy my slide show of some of the Historic Homes in Gettysburg

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!