Gettysburg

My mother invited Lilly and myself to a fashion show tea party at Gettysburg.  She planned to attend the tea with her book group and she invited us to join the party.  I forgot my camera and we didn't think to use my mom's iphone until the end.

There were three courses, tea sandwiches, scones, and dessert.  Along with tea in pretty cups.  All served outside on tables under a tent with white linens.  Very pretty.

During the tea party there was a civil war fashion show.  They had 8 or so women dressed in full hoop skirts who walked around and gave detailed information about how the women of the civil war era dressed.  The women of the civil war era wore long sleeves and 7 layers in the summer.  They claim that they were cooler than we were today because the layers were away from the body (by a giant hoop skirt) and they wore 100% cotton which is much cooler than polyester blends.  I just don't believe them.

(This woman is dressed in her formal ball gown attire.)

While Lilly and I were at the fashion show Jim and Jack checked out the Gettysburg museum and cyclorama.  I admitted that I might one day want to look at the museum and maybe the battlefield.  Maybe.  If you think I am bitter and hateful about the civil war, I am.  We spent many a childhood vacation at historical locations, a lot of them being civil war battlefields and I just can't get on board with visiting under my own free will.  However, I feel it might come soon.

Either way, we had a great time at the fashion show and Lilly loved it all.  Grandma bought Lilly a special porcelain tea set as a souvenir and Lilly loves the set.  We have already had several tea parties at home.  Lilly and I both agree that we would like to have a hoop skirt sometime in the future.  My sister and I used to call them puff dresses and seeing a reenactor in a puff dress was always the highlight of any historical trip.

It was definitely a great introduction of Gettysburg for Lilly and hopefully she can be a mature adult and enjoy historical outings, specifically involving 19th century U.S. history.