Known as the site of a major Union victory in the Civil War, Gettysburg lies in sleepy Adams County, in southern Pennsylvania. As in the 19th century, at least nine major roads converge around the town, one of the reasons General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Southern army, decided to send a Confederate brigade here to engage General George Meade’s Northern army in July, 1863. Today, Gettysburg’s central location is an easy drive from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore or Washington, D.C.

Although dominated by the Gettysburg National Military Park, one of the largest battlefield shrines in the United States, Gettysburg offers outstanding scenic beauty, entertainment and recreation for folks who aren’t history aficionados. Visitors have their choice of the Pennsylvania Lavender Festival in June, the Bluegrass Festival in May and August, and the Yuletide Festival during the first and second weekends of December, in addition to antique shows and outdoor concerts. For history buffs, year-round living-history encampments at Gettysburg bring the Civil War to life.

The Pennsylvania Lavender Festival is held each June in Gettysburg.

More than 1,000 monuments and cannons along 40 miles (64 km) of scenic avenues comprise the National Military Park, which commemorates one of the most decisive battles in United States history. To truly experience the area, you need at least two or three days. Because we were crunched for time — and accompanied by three teenagers who had a limited tolerance for sightseeing — we only spent one day there, but we packed as much into those few hours as we could.

We arrived on a hot and humid late summer day, with temperatures not unlike those of July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, when the historic conflict raged. Lucky for us, we were not wearing the government-issued wool uniforms worn by both armies back then.

Considering high temperatures and humidity, the prospect of sitting on the top deck of an open-air, double-decker bus and listening to a recorded tour wasn’t very appealing. Instead, we booked an air-conditioned, two-hour bus tour at the Gettysburg Battlefield Tour Center with a licensed guide.

We could have rented an audio recording from the national park and taken a self-guided tour in our own car, but being entertained by a live person seemed more interesting. For the more adventurous, the national park offers self-guided bicycle and walking tours, but on this summer day we opted for comfort.

The tour didn’t begin for two more hours, so we had just enough time to mosey south down Business Route 15 for a quick lunch at Boyds Bear Country, billed as the “world’s most humongous teddy bear store.” If you’re a collector of stuffed teddies, don’t miss this 120,000-square-foot (12,100 m²) barn and its four floors filled with bears of all types.

The complex sits on 130 acres (53 hectares) in the country, which offered a respite from the bumper-to-bumper traffic we experienced while driving through the center of town. And, with a family-style dining hall, a bakery, a deli, a fudge shop and a smoothie shack, we had plenty of reasonably priced choices to satisfy everyone’s palate.

One of the perks of purchasing a bus-tour ticket was the coupon we received for a free Boyd’s bear. Even the husbands in our group received coupons, although they didn’t want the bears. When we tried to hand the coupons back, the receptionist shook her head and advised, “Sell the extras on eBay.” After cashing in our coupons, we left with seven Boyds Bears without opening up our wallets.