Our next adventure took us into Pennsylvania, Gettysburg Farms to be specific. It was another chance to venture into a state we had not camped in previously, and although a bit timid when we passed the sign above, we were in for a real treat!
I'll talk a bit about the campground in a minute, but I wanted to give one particular attraction it's due. Karen and the kids were able to venture out one day and tour the Utz Potato Chip Factory. I'm probably not doing it justice, but they were able to watch the entire process from the potato trucks all the way to the warehouse. Aaron was especially taken with the tour and they ended up going back again with friends later in our trip. It was free, educational, and fun...so kudos to Utz for making this available! Needless to say we've been eating Utz chips ever since 😉
The campground itself was another huge surprise. It's a Thousand Trails park called Gettysburg Farms. We had been told it was fun, but we weren't prepared for how much fun it could be. First, it's a beautiful area with a large creek running through the back of the property (I'm sure many of you would consider it a river...it's pretty big), there is plenty of green space and fields to run and play, and the entire property is dotted with playgrounds and ball courts and the like.
The best part is that there is a working farm on the property. Complete with rabbits, a donkey, a mule, pigs, a cow, a peacock, alpacas, a llama, and GOATS. Tons of goats... There are a bunch of adult goats, but there are also 15-20 baby goats. They are everywhere...chewing on shoes, ramming heads with each other, eating from the shrubs...just everywhere and as cute as can be. They can't keep the little ones in the pen so they don't even try...they are all over the place. And if you're not familiar with little goats (I know they are called kids, but I don't want to confuse the later part of the story), nothing lifts your spirits like feeling a tug on your shorts and looking down to see a baby goat chewing on your pants.
The campground also had a couple cool vents going on. There was a petting zoo, ice cream social and they even made a chocolate slip and slide. Steph had a blast giving it a try!
We were also lucky enough to have some friends meet us and to even meet some new ones while in PA. The Setzers came to visit one day for a dip in the icy pool (literally the coldest pool I've ever been in). The Carters and the Graffs also stayed on site with us for a while and we got to hang out quite a bit. Our kids really enjoyed sharing the experiences with all of them, and there was a huge tie-dye party too!
Last, but certainly not least were the Sensenigs. They spent a good period of time with us and we were able to check out some of Gettysburg together.
Before we left we were able to check out the actual battlefields of Gettysburg (including climbing the tower pictured below) and the National Civil War Museum. It's a very strange feeling to be walking in a place were so many fought for what they deemed to be so important. The idea that so many Americans died there in blue and in grey is still kind of hard to wrap my mind around. It's just something that seems so crazy compared to where we are today.
There was a place where they showed an actual bullet still lodged in an inner wall of a building, and I couldn't shake the awe of that particular building being part of a literal war zone. A few hundred years prior they were turning farm houses into hospitals and performing surgeries on kitchen tables (throwing parts out the window into piles). No matter how many times I'd heard about the battle before, it just doesn't seem possible when you see how beautiful this area is now.
In the end, we greatly enjoyed our time in PA. The sights were phenomenal, the tastes were fantastic, and the company made it even more special!
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