This morning I felt like I took a step back into my mother’s childhood in Gettysburg. Though I’ve visited the town where my parents grew up a handful of times, most visits have been during the holidays and centered around Thanksgiving dinner or fun times at my grandmother’s house.
It was such a treat to spend a few hours late this morning walking around downtown Gettysburg with my mom and listening to her stories.
Perhaps my favorite stop of the day was our first stop at the church where my parents got married in 1977.
It is such a gorgeous church both outside and inside.
My parents had a candlelight service and I loved picturing them on their wedding day. The church reminded me a lot of the church in Love Actually and even had a little balcony toward the back of the church. I was tempted to run upstairs and start singing “All You Need Is Love” like the fabulous choir did in the movie.
We then drove to downtown Gettysburg, parked the car and had fun popping in and out of the shops around the square.
My grandpa’s old office was located on the second story of the Adams County National Bank building pictured above.
We got a little turned around as we were walking around, but thankfully Abraham Lincoln was there to direct us around the square.
We knew Honest Abe couldn’t give us the wrong directions.
The shops in downtown Gettysburg and along Steinwehr Avenue were filled with fun trinkets, decorations and souvenirs.
Check out The Little Mermaid and Harry Potter nesting dolls!
Ariel has some funky tan lines.
My mom and I had a good time guessing what the smallest doll nested inside of the bigger dolls would be.
Whoever thought Hagrid should be painted on the smallest Harry Potter doll must not have seen the movies or read the books because I’m pretty sure Hagrid is a borderline sasquatch.
The cards in some of the shops kept us amused with their funny sayings and one-liners.
And for those of you out there with kids who are just beginning to enter the dating world, perhaps this courting candle might intrigue you?
According to folklore, a young woman’s suitor had to leave when a candle held in the above chamber burned down to the metal. Her father could turn the wooden peg to adjust the candle height, depending on his approval of the suitor, giving him more or less time with his daughter.
We popped into Kilwin’s for some fudge before checking out a few more stops and taking an ice cream break!
We arrived at Mr. G’s as the shop was opening and had the best time talking with Mr. G about this history surrounding the historic house where his ice cream shop is located.
My mom and I split a cup of his homemade pumpkin and butter pecan ice cream and couldn’t stop raving about the creaminess of the ice cream. It was delicious and well worth a stop!
We ate our ice cream on the patio outside and Mr. G pointed out the bullet holes that were left by union soldiers during the Civil War that remain in his building today.
I’m so glad we had the chance to speak with him because we would’ve walked right by the bullet holes without even noticing them. Gettysburg is filled with such rich history and it seems like everywhere you go a story is waiting to be told.
Now we’re back at my grandma’s house and she’s just waking up from a nap, so it’s time to grab some lunch and head back out! I’m trying to soak in as much family time as I can before heading back to Ocala tomorrow.
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