June 6 - Pennsylvania

Today has been a little more laid-back than the past two, although it has been busy as well! Up until now, we have stayed at the Mansours' in Haymarket, Virginia (see picture below). We left there this morning and are very thankful for their hospitality! 

Throughout this trip, we have been driving in 3 big vans, thanks to our trusty drivers Mr. Chase (Uncle Wayne), Mr. Veldman (Uncle Mark), and Mr. Sytsma (Papa Al). 

We woke up nice and early again this morning, and after breakfast were split into work groups. Here you can see some of the boys cleaning the kitchen, and in the corner some girls admiring the fact that boys are cleaning the bathroom :)

This one's for you, Mrs. Buitenbos!

At 9am, we began our trek to Gettysburg, a 2-hour drive. We took a stroll downtown to begin with.

We then went to the visitor center, where we watched a movie and went to the cyclodome. This is basically a huge painting that covered the inside a dome, which consisted of a panoramic view of the battle. It was about 42 feet tall and was done in 1863. It began as an interactive exhibit - we could hear the cannons blasting and the shells exploding and we could see billowing smoke and changing colors. After this, it was lighted regularly - the third picture.

 

We then got to walk through the rest of the exhibit.

 

Next, we drove through Gettysburg, seeing many different battle sites. Here's another picture of downtown.

There were many statues like this one throughout the park.

We got to see many buildings like this one - lots of them were from the 1700s and 1800s.

We though the middle name was significant.

We all got to walk up this tower, at which we could observe the battlefield at a 360 degree view.

These are some pictures from the top of the tower.

This is Little Round Top, where a significant battle was fought on July 2. 16,000 men died that day.

We then went to Little Round Top where we could do some exploring on the rocks. Of course, many people were in their element.

 

 

 

Our fearless leader.

 

 

 

 

I've been keeping an eye on him, Mrs. Bareman, don't you worry!

Our last Gettysburg visit was made to the cemetery. We got to see where Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg address and walk around the memorial.

 CCS class of 2015 CCS class of 2014

Next, we drove through Amish country - Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

The yellow sign says, "Non-Obama Health Insurance (phone number)". Had a good laugh at that one.

We rounded the day off with a buffet dinner at the Shady Maple. I think it's safe to say that everyone enjoyed it!

That's all for today! Tomorrow we'll be heading to New York, so stay posted :)