wheelchair accessible Gettysburg

   Wheelchair accessibility certainly met some peculiar challenges at Gettysburg.

   Why are “low emission” parking spaces closer than over half the handicapped parking spaces to the Visitors Center entrance? Are “fuel efficient” cars embarrassed to park among regular cars? 

   Automatic doors to the visitor center are reminiscent of a prank. Rolling up to double doors the “automatic door” button is located on the door jam of the right door; however pushing the button opens the door on the left. A person in a wheelchair needs to turn and scoot to their left then right through the automatic door before it closes. Why doesn’t the button simply open the door in front of you or both?

   We tried querying ol’ Abe but Patti got to laughing too hard after running over his foot with her wheelchair.

   Bottom line is that outside of the above weirdness the miles of paved trails and roads of Gettysburg Battlefield were absolutely perfect for rollin’ around on a 64°F (17.8°C) day in November.

   Gettysburg has been part of my life even when the cannons were taller than me.

   Historic Gettysburg was tempting for our growing appetites, however historic and accessible requires advance work to be reliably fun. Instead we rolled back to our van and headed to the food court at The Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg. You can always rely on malls.

   With everything decked out for holiday shopping we sat around a Christmas Tree and had dinner with Auntie Anne. J With its roots in Pennsylvania farm markets I have to take my hat off to the pretzel logic of cinnamon sugar pretzel nuggets and pretzel dogs (pretzel wrapped around hot dogs). Considering Patti’s Multiple Sclerosis symptoms that affect her physically feeding herself it was effortless, mess less and that’s a treat.

   Watching the sun set on the field of Pickett’s Charge, where over 8,000 American casualties 

consecrated this one field with their blood on July 3, 1863, eternity echoes “never forget what they did here … that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Caregivingly Yours, Patrick Leer 

web site: http://caregivinglyyours.com/
videos: http://www.youtube.com/daddyleer 
musings: patrick ponders