Historical Studies Tour - Day 8

I was about to write something about a light schedule today, but it's mostly because we had a two-hour bus ride from D.C. to Gettysburg. But I get ahead of myself.

Our first tour stop today was the American History Museum of the Smithsonian. It was definitely worth seeing! Even though I would have loved more time there (like most of the other museums), I did get to see all the high points:

• The C-3PO costume that Anthony Daniels wore in some of the "Star Wars" movies
• A phaser prop from the original "Star Trek" series
• Fonzie's jacket from "Happy Days"
• The ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz"
• Best of all, KERMIT!!!
I wish they had Mister Rogers' sweater on display there, but I couldn't find it anywhere.

After our time there, we had lunch at Union Station, then took a quick walk across the street to the Post Office, where there is a Postal Museum in the basement. A lot of that display talks about not only the history of the postal system in the U.S., but the various modes of transportation that has been used over the years. There is a statue of Benjamin Franklin, the "father of the U.S. Postal Service."

After that, our time in D.C. was done. As we left town, we went through Embassy Row, and past the National Cathedral, and then got on the freeway to go to Gettysburg, PA.

Our first stop here was the Gettysburg National Park Museum. It has a great display about the causes of the Civil War, the lead-up to the Battle of Gettysburg, details about the battle, and information about the aftermath. Then there is a 20-minute film about it, which is very well-produced. Finally, in the upper floors is the Gettysburg Cyclorama, a huge 360-degree painting of the climactic battle. It is presented with a soundtrack and lighting on various parts of the canvas to highlight the stages of the battle -- it's very dramatic. (We couldn't take pictures in there, so I don't have anything to post.)

After that, it was hotel, dinner, and, for the adults, dessert at the Dairy Queen next door. Tomorrow morning, our wake-up call is at 5:30, and we'll be off to breakfast at a historical site, then on to the battlefield, and later on in the day, Amish country. Then we'll be off to the Baltimore Airport to fly home.