Things to do in Gettysburg

[tstark]

My husband and I will be celebrating our 30th anniversary in August. This will be a 2 week trip with 7 different stops up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Gettysburg and Hershey PA and then down to Williamsburg, then the Outer Banks and then home. We will be spending 3 nights in Gettysburg, does anyone have any suggestions beyond visiting the battlefields or will that be enough to do for 4 days?

[Mike and Rose]

We enjoyed the Eisenhower Farm/Homestead tour.
Nice restaurants downtown.
Make sure you visit the Visitor's Center.

[mustang]

Happy Anniversary!
Lancaster is also nice about a hour & 20 min drive away from gettysburg.
WE loved the apple harvest in gettysburg but it is not until oct.
Hershey is great. Hershey park, the chocolate factory tour, went to a cavern there but don't remember the name of it at this time

[familybonding]

The cavern is Indian Echo Caverns. I was born and raised in Lancaster County. You have outlet shopping in Lancaster and Hershey. All kinds of amish "attractions" in Lancaster. I don't know too much about gettysburg, but there is a casino there. Plenty of great places to eat. Several golf courses. Hope this has been a little bit of help.

[tstark]

Thank you all for the suggestions, I will look into them.

[prooney]

Go to Dobbins Pub and restaurant, great old pub in like a cellar dungeon type setting.

Where are you camping in OBX? That place in Kitty Hawk? We go every year but rent a house, it's usually our only vacation that doesnt include our Jayco.

Happy anniversary and enjoy!!!!!

[tstark]

We will be staying at the KOA in Rodanthe, I went with KOA for the whole trip. This is the first 5er/camping trip with multi stops so I wanted to go with campgrounds that have a "name" and hopefully that means a good reputation. Maybe after this trip we will feel a bit easier in our skin, so to speak, and venture out to other sites.

[FPM III]

Originally Posted by tstark

We will be staying at the KOA in Rodanthe ...

I haven't been to the OBX for 10 years, but the KOA is a good choice. The beach is just over the sand dune. You can't get any closer. The "bargain" campground in the area is the Ocean Waves Campground. It's located a few hundred yards south of the KOA.

However, I always camped at the more expensive Camp Hatteras as all it's roads/sites are paved and level. Traveling south on NC-12, the KOA entrance is on the left about two hundred yards after you pass Camp Hatteras.

My wife and I would often walk down the beach and then go through the KOA Kampground to shop at their camp store as it was much larger and more complete than the store at Camp Hatteras.

While there are many attractions to see, one that's easy to get to (less than a mile north of the KOA on NC-12) is the Chickamacomico Life-Saving Station

On Thursday afternoons (the website recommends that you be there by 1:30 PM, but I suggest being there even earlier as parking can get rather tight) they perform the Beach Apparatus Drill where they reenact an actual rescue using a breeches-bouy. You can read more about this by clicking on Summer Program which is located in the block on the right that contains the Tours & Museum Gift Shop Hours

This sounds like it could be your first visit to the OBX so I'm going to provide a little FYI here.

• Bring your own shade. There are few, if any trees at the KOA (or many of the campgrounds on the OBX for that matter). Most sites are in the open. The summer heat and humidity can make life most uncomfortable outside.
• Be alert for wind. The OBX in a naturally windy place and summer storms can suddenly crop up. There was one time when we couldn't open our awning for the entire duration of our stay.
• The mosquitos can eat you alive. Sometimes campgrounds have been known to fog in order to keep them at bay. Take plenty of repellant (and sunscreen too! It's extremely easy to get sunburned there.). A lot of the mosquito issue depends on which way the wind is blowing. If the winds coming from the ocean, it's usually not too bad. But, if it's coming from the sound, it tends to draw mosquitos from the swampy areas.
• For everyday things like milk, bread etc the camp or a convenience store in the area will suffice, but be prepared to P-A-Y. For other less frequently used items or if you need a real grocery store, you're going to have to drive about 25 miles north (to Nags Head) or south (to Avon) to reach one.
• Traffic is horrendous on weekends, especially on the upper peninsula (Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk). The grocery (and the other stores too) will be mobbed with the arriving weekenders and weekly rentals buying their food and other supplies. There are only a few routes and access points to reach the OBX and they all become congested. Driving lunacy prevails as people become frustrated with all the traffic and delays. Be careful! Once you get through the the intersection at what is known as Whalebone Junction (where US-158 ends, US-64 begins off to the right and NC-12 continues on to Hatteras Island), you'll enter the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and driving should become a lot less challenging. As you travel across the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, be especially alert for crosswinds.
• There's so much to do and see at the OBX, you won't have enough time to see it all... You'll be back!

[tstark]

That is some fabulous information FPM III, thank you so much! We will be spending the weekend of the 20th of August there so we will be prepared for traffic and skeeters! We will be travelling back to Jacksonville NC from Rodanthe, do you have any route suggestions back. I would have liked to ride a ferry home to Morehead or Beaufort but that is probably impossible wiith the camper...

[FPM III]

The scenic way, if you have the time, and you're willing to part with $15 to $45 (price depends on the length of your combination up to 65'), book the Ocracoke-Cedar Island ferry. If you can work it into your schedule, arrive extra early at Ocracoke and spend some time exploring the town. Maybe, even have lunch there. It's a quaint little fishing village and Silver Lake is quite stunning.

From the KOA, take NC-12 south to Hatteras where you'll ride the free ferry (approx. 40 minutes) to Ocracoke Island and then continue on NC-12 to Ocracoke. At Ocracoke, you will board the ferry to Cedar Island (approx. 2-1/4 hours). Follow NC-12 to US-70 west to NC-24 west which will take you to right into Jacksonville.

By land, you have to take NC-12 north back up to Whalebone Junction (Nags Head) and head west on US-64. You can follow that all the way to US-17 south which will take you to Jacksonville. Maps indicate a NC-171 that you can take from US-64 at Janesville which angles down to US-17 and may save a few miles.

I have to make a disclaimer here, that I've never traveled on any of these roads beyond the islands of Ocracoke or Manteo so I have no knowledge of what they're like to drive. Maybe some other member help in that department.

[FPM III]

While at Gettysburg, make a trip to York, PA and take a factory tour of the Harley-Davidson York Assembly Plant. It's an easy ride. Just take US-30 east from Gettysburg to York. The plant is just east of the city. After you pass underneath I-83, You're getting close to the plant which will be on your left. It's an interesting tour, even if you're not a Harley-Davidson fanatic.

Be sure to click on my link above and read the dress requirements as this is an industrial tour.

[tstark]

This really helps, with the directions, especially as I'm the co-pilot and it will be all my fault if we get lost or off track. Thank you so very much FPMIII.

[norty1]

We really enjoyed the Railroad Museum of Pa. and train ride thru the countryside near Strasburg. Just being around that area relaxes me. Beautiful area! Great food everywhere.