Road trip!

[BigC]

My sister called today and proposed a vacation for later this year/next spring. She wants to go to...Gettysburg Pa. and she wants ME to plan it.

So I thought a trip to Gettysburg for 4 days, with a dedicated day in DC. Then down to Newport News Va. for 4 days (much to see and do) Williamsburg, Bush Gardens, Yorktown and Norfolk with in 20 miles. Many museams, the USS Wisconson. Many Cracker Barrels. (her fav resturant)
Civil and colonial war sites. Then back to Fort Smith.

So I'm looking at at least 10 nights on the road. Should be a photographic bonanza. Provided she dosn't change her mind and want to go to Vegas.

[S-Man]

Sounds like it'll be a blast. I'm leaving on a road trip to Durango, Colorado on Saturday morning. We're stopping over in Dalhart, TX on the way. I'm so going to use up my CF Cards...
Be sure to take a laptop or something with you to dump your images on.
The question is: Shoot RAW or JPEG???

[BigC]

Originally Posted by S-Man

Sounds like it'll be a blast. I'm leaving on a road trip to Durango, Colorado on Saturday morning. We're stopping over in Dalhart, TX on the way. I'm so going to use up my CF Cards...
Be sure to take a laptop or something with you to dump your images on.
The question is: Shoot RAW or JPEG???

Mostly JPEG I would think. Depends on what's getting shot. I do love a good road trip. Going to be me, my sister and brother in law. Splitting everything down the middle. Gas, Hotel and such. Except food and souvineer fridge magnets.

[Coelus]

If you do a good tour of the Gettysburg battlefield plan on a whole day. There's a lot to see there and it's worth getting a guide from the park service to go with you. I was there for the 135th anniversary and was part of the reenactment. We took a whole day and still had to rush through some of the parts. If you like shooting monuments you'll be in heaven. And of course you have to get a shot on someone in the spot where Brady made "The Sharpshooter" photograph. Make the walk across the field of Pickett's Charge to the stone wall and you realize that those guys clanked when they walked to make that assault.

[BigC]

Originally Posted by Coelus

If you do a good tour of the Gettysburg battlefield plan on a whole day. There's a lot to see there and it's worth getting a guide from the park service to go with you. I was there for the 135th anniversary and was part of the reenactment. We took a whole day and still had to rush through some of the parts. If you like shooting monuments you'll be in heaven. And of course you have to get a shot on someone in the spot where Brady made "The Sharpshooter" photograph. Make the walk across the field of Pickett's Charge to the stone wall and you realize that those guys clanked when they walked to make that assault.

I'm looking forward to the battlefield and the Ghost tour. Also spend some time driving around the county. Really want to see Yorktown and Williamsburg VA. Also Norfolk and a tour of the harbor and all the USN ships.

[Coelus]

Fredricksburg, VA is nice too if you like the battlefield stuff. It's in the middle of town but you still get a good look at Marye's Heights and some of the trench lines. There's also bits and pieces of the Seven Days left around Richmond too. Richmond area is disappointing for the most part. DC is...well, DC. Tons of cool stuff and a lot of crap. Have fun with traffic. Pick which part of the Smithsonian you really want to look at unless you've got a couple days for it.

[kamari]

Cracker Barrell seems to be a favorite of Hampton Roads residents too. GET OUT AND GET THERE EARLY. Especially the one in Hampton on Mercury Blvd (right at 64 & mercury). If you're a fan of planes then drive up Armistead Ave in hampton and you can park on a small road on the outskirts of Langley AFB. You'll get an up close and personal experience with the Raptors that will be at about 100ft over your head on approach.

Going south on 64 you can pull over just before you get to the tunnel entrance and get breathtaking closeups of Carriers, subs, and other ships as they pass thru the entrance to the chesapeake bay. I used to live at Strawberry Banks, the last bldg on the right at the start of the bridge. If you can't get a tour of the naval yard, the next best thing would be a trip on the Spirit of Norfolk.

[toverman]

Originally Posted by Coelus

Fredricksburg, VA is nice too if you like the battlefield stuff. It's in the middle of town but you still get a good look at Marye's Heights and some of the trench lines. There's also bits and pieces of the Seven Days left around Richmond too. Richmond area is disappointing for the most part. DC is...well, DC. Tons of cool stuff and a lot of crap. Have fun with traffic. Pick which part of the Smithsonian you really want to look at unless you've got a couple days for it.

I was born in Fredericksburg, Va., and it is a bonanza of Civil and Revolutionary War history. There are remaining trenches along the road in Battlefield Park. Look into it ... it's about 50 miles out of DC and worth hitting some of the locations. Only thing not worth checking out there is my boyhood home. :-)

[BigC]

Great information. Thank's everyone.Still a long way off, but some thing to look forward to.