My group of friends decided we needed to go away for a weekend and all of us have been wanting to see Gettysburg National park so we headed up that way a few weeks ago. Of course this meant packing up my entire house. Poor Lloyd gets so overwhelmed by how much I pack when we go on a road trip. But we always manage to get it all in the car.
We rented a very cute little airbnb up in Thurmont, MD. It was about a thirty minute drive south of Gettysburg and located near some nice wineries and other attractions. We also happened to be celebrating 4 March birthdays I set up one of the living rooms as a birthday center when we arrived.
And then it was time get our food and wine organized! We started off the evening with a nice meat and cheese board because that’s always a crowd pleaser. Meat and Cheese straight from Wegman’s, provided by Reese, one of the birthday girls!
As far as wine went we weren’t sure if we brought enough for the weekend. we actually didn’t end up getting through it all but we sure tried. You can thank Claire for the artistic wine set-up.
Once everyone arrived it was time for dinner. We had a Sweet Potato and Turkey Shepherd’s Pie along with a strawberry and basil salad. Don’t mind Lloyd’s super creepy face. It’s just his “about to eat” look.
The next morning we got up bright and early to head up to gettysburg. The area we were staying in was absolutely beautiful and we were greeted with some absolutely stunning views. Claire caught the sunrise through her bedroom windows. It was like a rainbow.
We had to hurry up and get out of the house so we would have plenty of time to explore the park and the town. I had made these Waffle Breakfast Sandwiches ahead of time and they definitely went over well. I made some strong ginger spiced Indian tea to go along with them. Perfect combo.
Gettysburg National Park is huge extending over much of the current town of Gettysburg, PA. The visitor center has a visually stunning movie as well as an incredible cyclorama. We walked through the museum and got the car CD that gives you an audio tour of the different locations of the battlefield. It takes 3 or 4 hours to get through the drive and another hour or so tour the museum. So plan to spend a good chunk of your day being overwhelmed by the loss of life.
We actually ended up breaking up our day and doing the museum/visitor’s center in the morning and the drive through the park in the afternoon. We went to a pub in downtown Gettysburg called Garryowen Irish Pub. The food was great and the drinks were cold and refreshing. They even do a black velvet which is champagne and Guinness. Basically nectar of the Gods.
After that we stopped by a local winery’s tasting room. It’s called Knob Hill Winery. The wine was a little sweeter than I prefer but the ambience in the tasting room superb!
When we had finished at the park we headed back to the house for the evening’s main event! We had planned on a murder mystery party using a kit we found on amazon. It’s designed as a “flexi party” so that the murderer changes every time which means you can use the kit again and again.
Dinner was a three course affair, that synched up with the murder mystery party. We started off with Crockpot French Onion Soup and then moved onto Herbs de Provence Chicken with Roasted Vegetables and Ratatouille. Because we were traveling I had brought up aluminum baking trays and it was great idea because nothing the house had was big enough. It’s going to be my new go-to plan whenever I travel.
The whole evening was fantastic and we rounded it off by celebrating everyone’s birthdays. Claire ordered these cakes from Shyndigz in Richmond, VA and Kimbrough brought them up. We had a salted caramel and strawberry lemon cake. Divine! Ignore the bizarre cake toppers we had to get creative to make sure everyone was represented.
The next morning was a little lazy and slow because we didn’t have to be out of the house very early. Luckily I had made a Savory Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal so I didn’t have to get up and fuss in the kitchen. The handmade bacon and sausage from Woodbury Farms that Steve brought was just the thing to make the morning perfect.
To sum up we had a fabulous weekend filled with friends, food, wine. Gettysburg was moving and unimaginable all at the same time. And our time in our Thurmont, MD Airbnb was just perfect. On the way home we stopped by Springfield Manor which was an immense visit! More on that soon!
The Llavender Llama 