Rainbows, Battlefields and Wolves, What a Weekend!

This weekend, my boyfriend and I went on a road trip to Gettysburg, PA. We love to travel, but hate to fly so road trips are perfect for us. Time off work never hurt anyone either. :)
We left Thursday morning and stopped at the Utz Potato Chip Factory in Hanover, PA. We were hoping to go for a factory tour, but got there a little too late, so we settled for just shopping in their outlet store. I picked up these bags of cheesy popcorn for $0.75 a pop! They were clearanced because they expire in a month. We leisurely made our way to our hotel, enjoying the scenery. PA has so many beautiful farms and I wish we could stop along the highway to snap some shots. Alas, we both wanted to get to our destination in one piece rather than splattered across the grill of a semi on I-78, so we forged ahead.
As we were driving, the sky got mighty frightenin' and we knew a storm was blowing in. We looked to the side and spotted this amazing rainbow. I don't think I've ever seen one this large, other than on tv. It was gorgeous! If you look closely, you can see a second rainbow to the left of the first one. We could trace the rainbow's path up into the sky and back down to the ground on the other side.
Our hotel was surprisingly nice. Both DBF and I usually pick a hotel by price, so we're not usually staying in the classiest of joints. We stayed at a Sheritan and it was clean, spacey and so comfortable. Right next door was a Ruby Tuesday, so we mosey'd on over for grub. They have totally revamped their menu and we both had a chicken parm dish with...(wait for it)...Swiss cheese. I was a little skeptical, but it was awesome. I had a delicious margarita for only $5 and DBF had a couple beers. I was totally buzzed at that point, but luckily we only had a short stumble back to the hotel where I collapsed into a tequila-induced lump.
Our plan for Friday was to tour Gettysburg. For three days in July of 1863, more than 165,000 American soldiers fought on these grounds. President Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetary in November of that year. In addition to visiting the battlefields, we took a tour of the house that General Robert E. Lee set up headquarters in. The museum had actual uniforms, weapons and letters on display.Cannons and monuments can be found everywhere you turn. Every participating state's infantry is represented by a monument, placed in an area where those soldiers fought. I couldn't quite wrap my mind around how far these soldiers marched to get to the battle. Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, even coming from parts of Pennsylvania would have meant quite a hike."Peace Eternal in a Nation United."

The park is beyond huge. DBF bravely climbed to the tippy-top of an observation tower to take these shots. There was something magical about standing on that ground and seeing what those soldiers saw. At the edge of the Gettysburg National Park is President Eisenhower's 180 acre farm. He purchased it from the Army when he retired and lived there with his wife until his death in 1969.

Gorgeous.

On Saturday, we had a lay-low day. We went antique-ing, drove around and appreciated the beautiful scenery and walked through some of downtown Gettysburg. We also did some outlet shopping. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so it was nice just to be outside and soak up the sunshine.

On Sunday, we took a tour of Speedwell Forge Wolf Sanctuary in Lititz. I loved how close we were able to get to the wolves. Some of the wolves are dog-wolf hybrids, and they look more dog-ish than others. They were separated into several packs, the largest comprised of around 15 wolves.

Our tour guide had a delish bucket of raw chicken that the wolves were drooling over.

"Stop yammerin' and feed us already!"

Winston is the beta of the main pack, which means he watches the alpha's back and keeps everyone in line. He was in a fight at some point which gave him that floppy ear.

This is Casper. He looked more like a big old fluffy dog to me than a wolf. I love how this picture came out. Obviously, you're separated from the wolves by fences, so its hard to get a good shot through the metal. You can still see hints of the fence in this shot, but it just looks hazy.
Just look at those eyes.