Gettysburg Tours are a Travel Bargain

About six years ago I stopped by Gettysburg, PA with my son for a half day while on a trip to nearby Baltimore. I've wanted to go back ever since. Gettysburg is like no other historical attraction I've ever visited. The National Park Service has maintained the site and battlefields in a condition that mirrors almost perfectly their state on July 1, 1863, when the pivotal battle of the Civil War began.

This week I got a chance to go back with the luxury of some time for exploration. A full day at Gettysburg still doesn't do the place justice, but I discovered the history bargain of a lifetime: the private guides provided by the Park Service.

For just $55, you can hire an expert to accompany you in your car for a two-hour tour of the battlefield. After that, you can return at your own pace, armed with the wisdom your guide has imparted. With group bus tours running $26/person, this service pays for itself quickly. Our guide was Mike (left, explaining cannon ballistics for my kids), one of about 150 contractors who work in this capacity, and his knowledge was voluminous. There was barely a question we could throw at him that he didn't answer.

The great thing about tour guides is that they're unique. You can take the same tour with two different guides and learn entirely different things. The last time I toured Gettysburg, we had a group tour guide who was an expert at describing the scene on the battlefield. Mike was great at defining military strategy, and we couldn't have had a better setting for his expertise.

Standing in a wooded area, looking across an open field, we could almost see the Confederate troops advancing on Cemetery Ridge for the fateful Pickett's Charge, the tactic that nearly turned the war in the south's favor but ultimately forced Lee into retreat. The great thing about Gettysburg is that the entire six-mile battlefield is spread before you. You can survey the scene almost exactly as the generals did before the battle.

Mike told us how authorized tour guides have to leap tall buildings to gain NPS approval. He said he had to finish in the top 10 of roughly 200 people who took a written exam, then submit to an oral test and finally a tour of the battlefield with experts who fired all sorts of trivia and trick questions at him. All this so he could earn $25/hour giving tours (I tipped him a well-deserved $20). That is dedication. And the Park Service has no shortage of applicants for these jobs.

I also recommend the Eisenhower house tour. My knowledge of our 34th President was minuscule, and the self-guided 90-minute tour of his final home in Gettysburg gave me new respect and admiration for him. The Park Service guides punctuated the visit with bits of wisdom and skillfully answered all questions without being intrusive.

Podcamp Boston 3

Some good quotes already from Podcamp Boston 3. Paul and I are here, trying to learn something new about social media.

Chris Brogan (in an impromptu talk in the cafe about old media vs. new social media): Now there's Twitter and that's what you do in the bathroom.

David Meerman Scott session now (just a Q&A, but he's great at that) gives us this video (1.9 million views of a toilet company video):
WARNING: NOT FOR KIDS!!



Now if I could just get the damn time to continue the BunnyBlab podcast series! =:-3 (The archives are still valuable, though, so get thee to the podcast series!)

PCB3 is crashing both the Harvard server and Twitter today. Go us!

4 bunnies and now one (outdoor) cat

This weekend was kind of exciting around the Gillin house. It appears we now have a cat. We think it's a girl kitten and we've named her Bandit. And she's as sweet as can be -- affectionate and playful. She likes me a lot more than Paul right now because Paul tried to pick her up the first time he petted her. I think she felt a little threatened. She's beautiful, too...





Too bad I'm so allergic; I'd have her at the vet and in the house in no time if I wasn't. As it is, she hides out in our next door neighbor's garage (which is open) during the day and comes over for attention and pets and food. Day One was Saturday and she got 2 cans of tuna fish. Then on Sunday, Paul bought her some kitty food, so we put some of that in a dish every night. And there's a dish of water out there waiting for her whenever she wants it. She's been known to lay on our driveway and on our porch.





If anyone in Framingham wants to give this kitty a good home, email me!

Quebec City, une petite Francais

Paul and I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Quebec City for the 400th birthday celebration of Quebec last week. Once we got there, we realized we were sort of reliving the beauty of our honeymoon in France, as the city is very french.

They're celebrating in Quebec City this whole summer, really, but the festivities were kicked into high gear last week, as July 3 was actually the birthday. We saw Van Halen, an amazing and extended fireworks display, and all sorts of fun receptions thrown by the Canada Tourism Commission, to which Paul spoke on Thursday afternoon. I spent the time he was speaking exploring the city and geocaching. It was rainy on Thursday in Quebec City, but I braved the wet and was rewarded in a few hours with lovely sun.

We stayed in the castle-like hotel, Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, and even had a room with a river view.

See our pix of Quebec City.

Two zoos in three weeks

A few weeks ago, Paul and I were in Toronto mixing business with a bit o' pleasure (like we do). I took his working day to explore the Toronto Zoo. The public transportation system isn't easy to understand if you're a newbie, but once you get to the zoo, it's worth it! (If you want my exact route from downtown to the zoo, email me.)

At any rate, I walked around the zoo for 5 hours (including one 20-minute break to massage my aching feet) and met a very nice zoo member at the reindeer enclosure. We walked around together after that for about half an hour and joked and laughed about the animals. Then I had to leave and he returned to the tigers. I did not get his name, but he helped turn the day from one in which I was enjoying the zoo by myself to an experience where I met a new, albeit temporary, friend.

Then last Friday, Paul and I flew to LA and hung out in Disneyland for 5 days. Ahhh. We stayed at the Grand Californian, which is a very nice hotel, and we stayed in a very nice room. Thank you, Disney!

I could get used to Southern California weather! The sun was hot and strong, the air was refreshing, the pool was delightful, the whole Disney atmosphere was wonderfully fun.



On Monday, Paul and I ventured down to the San Diego Zoo (we'll explore the Wild Animal Park during our next visit to southern California) and spent a glorious day seeing all the animals. We spent something like 5 hours there and only saw 2/3 of the park. It's definitely a multi-day excursion if your goal is to see every animal!

The famous giant pandas were sleeping -- one behind a tree and one with his bountiful bum pointed right at those who came to gawk at him. The okapis (my new favorite wild animal) were busy using their 18-inch tongues to get the very best leaves off the trees.


It was a great day. And Paul bought me a snowshoe hare (not a real one, don't worry!) to commemorate the trip. I didn't have any room for it in my luggage, so I took it on the plane home with me. It was funny watching the woman next to me figure out why on Earth a grown woman with a wedding band on her finger was carrying around a white stuffed bunny. "Is it a gift for someone back home?" (It's amazing how nosy people can be.) "It's a gift for me," I said. She didn't have a good answer to that one.

Again, we were mixing a few days of vacation with a business trip -- Paul spoke to a bunch of Disney execs on Tuesday after a morning visit to the LA Times with his new friend, Ed Padgett. The meeting was just too early for me, so I skipped it. I did want to meet Ed, but it would have meant getting up at 5:30. He sent a great dessert cook book back to me, though. Thanks, Ed!

It was a wonderful trip to LA. Anaheim was lovely. I'm about zoo'ed out, though. For at least a few weeks.

No hitter for Sox's Lester

Just a year after chemo, Jon Lester tonight pitched a left-handed no-hitter. It was also the 24-year-old's first complete game in the big leagues. It was an amazing and electric game, especially during and after the 7th inning, when the buzz about a no-hitter really starts to get going. This kid's story is better than any Olympic Moment the networks can play during the Games. He's an inspiration. There were a lot of people very near tears tonight in Fenway. Paul and I were two of them.

Terry Francona, the Sox manager, apparently has taken a father figure role to Lester, especially during his cancer treatment and recovery and comeback. He said in the press room after the game, "I feel like my son graduated and my son threw a no-hitter." (Terry's son graduated from UPenn this morning, then he came up to Fenway for today's game.)

Jacoby Ellsbury, whom I'm madly in love with both because he's gorgeous and because he's a phenomenal baseball athlete, made what some are calling the play that enabled the no-hitter.

It's a great night in Boston. We're very proud of our Sox tonight.

I didn't marry him for his money. I married him for his Red Sox tickets. ;-)

Happy Birthday, Tech PR War Stories!

Break out the cake and the candles -- well, we only really need one candle. Tech PR War Stories turned one year old (give or take) when Paul and David Strom recorded their 52nd episode of the weekly podcast last Tuesday night. Thanks to Lois Paul, Bill Frezza, Bob Scheier, Steve Hall and Ted Weismann for participating in the roundtable.

The recording/party was great fun. I'm officially the producer (and sound engineer, I suppose) for the podcast series, which focuses on "old and new media technology, ways that tech PR can learn from the mistakes of others and recognize leading-edge ways to communicate using both kinds of media." It's a great podcast series -- the report between David and Paul is great. They bounce perfectly off each other. I think every episode has a good hearty laugh in it by one or both moderators.

Thanks, Dave and Paul, for a great year! Here's to another!

Take a listen to the anniversary podcast!