Revolutionary War/Civil War road trip-advice needed

[Bentleyg]

Hello! My first post here. We are planning to take the family from Alabama to see some historical sites into the northeast. We have 9 days. Some sights we would like to see include Appomattox, Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, Washington DC, Gettysburg, Philadelphia, and Boston. ANY and ALL advice would be appreciated! Is that trip too ambitious?

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

That sounds like a great trip. I'm not sure if the trip is too ambitious, although I think you might be better off leaving off Boston from this trip. It's quite a long distance from the other spots you mentioned, and even without it, you've already got 7 things you want to see and do in your 9 days - most of which really will take most of a day.

For Philly, make sure you make an online reservation to tour Independence Hall,, it's free to visit, but you can only see it on a tour, and they book up very very early if you go in person.

[AZBuck]

Trying to See Boston on this trip is counter-productive. It's a full day's drive from the DC area so you'd be wasting two of your nine days just getting to it and back to Washington - before you'd even seen anything while there. There is more than enough history in the Virginia/DC/Philadelphia area to fill. Keep in mind that it's at least one long, hard day to get from central Alabama to Appomattox, so your nine days is already down to seven days before you even start, just accounting for the time needed to get into your primary target area.

Actually, I'd probably take more like a day and a half each way between Alabama and Virginia, and take a little time on each of those drives to see some of the many Revolutionary sites on the way. Those would include Cowpens, King's Mountain, Guilford Courthouse, and Monticello. I'd try to see at least one or two such sites going up, and another one or two on the drive home.

Then in the northern Virginia area, there's Manassas as well as Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, and Antietam in Maryland. Speaking of Maryland, don't forget Fort McHenry. And in Philadelphia, besides Independence Hall, you'll want to check out Elfreth's Alley, the Betsy Ross House, the USS Olympia, and Ben Franklin's grave. You can easily see why there isn't time left in your trip to get all the way up to Boston.

AZBuck

[Bentleyg]

Thanks so much for the advice! The more I look at it, I tend to agree about Boston. Maybe that can be a trip for another time. I'm open to any and all suggestions as to where to stay, where to eat, etc. Thanks again!!!

[DonnaR57]

In Gettysburg, you'll want to do a few things:
* See the cyclorama. Very worthwhile! It's in the Visitors center/museum. BTW, that museum could take a full day in itself.
* Climb up at least one of the monuments (Pennsylvania) and one of the towers.
* Optional on the self-guided driving tour, the Devil's Den.
You may not have time to hike to the top of Big Round Top, but I can tell you, there's NO view from there. It's just a good hike. There's a view from Little Round Top, but it's right on the self-guided driving tour.
* Be sure to find the area where Lincoln gave his Address, in the cemetery area.

Gettysburg has lots of eating establishments. We stayed at the EconoLodge outside of the main town, and we were comfortable.


Donna

[Bentleyg]

Thank you very much Donna! This is all great information. I love this forum already!

[Lifemagician]

Hi cfbuck, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

It is always nice to see new members jump in and share their experiences and knowledge. More information for the OP to help plan their trip.

Thank you, and feel free to start your own thread if/when you are looking for some help with a roadtrip..

Lifey