What's Your Gettysburg Passion?

If we were asked to use one word to describe visitors to Gettysburg and surrounding Adams County, that word would be PASSIONATE. You return over and over to do something new or relive the history that is Gettysburg. You bring your children, grandchildren, parents, friends and relatives.

We want to hear from our visitors what your passion is for Gettysburg. Send us your name, a photo of you and "your Gettysburg passion" to sfox@gettysburg.travel.

By submitting your passion, you are giving the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau permission to share your passion in our 2010 visitor guide, website and advertising why they should come to Gettysburg.

For some, the passion will be the history, others the events, maybe antique shopping - or just the small town charm. Whatever it is, we want to hear from you!

What is your Gettysburg Passion?
Gettysburg is a very special place to me. I first came for the reason everyone else does, because a famous war was fought there, but I return so many times for a much deeper reason, a reason I never dreamed I would feel inside.   I first came to Gettysburg with my sister back in October of 2004. We came for the history and of course, we heard of this famous "haunted inn" and wanted to see if it was for real. I'll never forget the feeling I had once I got out of my truck and stepped foot on the streets of Gettysburg. It was soulful. I felt such an intense connection and I had no idea where it was coming from. It wasn't until my next visit just a few months later in early January of 2005 when I truly realized that Gettysburg was now a very special place for me and I'd return many times a year, year after year.    At first I thought it was my military background that made me feel so proud to be here, but as time went on I knew it ran deeper than that.  When you're standing on Little Round Top looking out over Devil's Den and you take yourself back to those 3 days it sends goose bumps all over my body. How lucky I am to be standing here. How precious is this place I stand before. It's hallowed ground and you can feel it in your bones and you can even hear it if you let yourself listen. Each time I return to Gettysburg I feel like I'm coming home. I return because there's an ache in my heart that needs fulfilled if I'm gone too long. When I need to make some life changing decisions, this is where I come to do it. This is where I feel free, free to be me and listen to my heart.    I don't know how else to describe Gettysburg besides a place I know I cannot live without and I'm sad it took me until my mid 30's to it.  My hope is that everyone that comes to Gettysburg to visit will leave with just a piece of what I feel when I come here, because if they do, I know they will return and won't wait too long to do so and I know anyone that was once incomplete will now be whole. My wish is that someday I will be able to call this wonderful place home. I'm very sad when I leave and at that very moment I drive west on route 30 outside the city, I long for my next visit. I long for my next trip home.  Beth Youngblood-Dale Johnstown,PA
This was without question the best vacation my wife and I have been on. From the food to the entertainment to the accommodations to the history and sacred nature of the battlefield it was an experience of a lifetime. Blake Wolpert Lansing,IL
When I was in fourth grade I saw the movie Gettysburg and at the end of the movie I told myself I am going to go there one day and see the places where these brave men fought, especially to Little Round Top, where after seeing the movie I became fond of the Chamberlain brothers. I started reading books about Col. Chamberlain and his brother, Tom. Well, in the fall of 2007 I started saving money, and in July of 2008 I went to Gettysburg by myself at the age of 24 and it was a dream come true. I fell in love with Gettysburg the minute I got there. And on the Anniversary of Little Round Top I went to the 20th Maine Monument. And that place is my Gettysburg Passion. I have attached a photo of me by the monument. Tiffany Williams Salt Lake City,UT
My Gettysburg passion was to actually walk on the battlefield where the brave and courageous soldiers from both sides gave their life for their passion! To feel the overwhelming sense of sorrow you feel when on the battlefield itself, and to stand on the battlefield and imagine the men fighting and dying for a cause greater than themselves.   To feel and sense the sacrifices men made on both sides and to walk the very paths that these men walked and marched on, and at every turn putting yourself in these soldiers places and trying to imagine what these men where feeling during those 3 days.   On the Gettysburg battlefield, you can feel a sense of sorrow and bravery that you will never feel anywhere else. My passion is to get the word out that America sacrificed greatly to have the country we have now, and to never let anybody take away our passion for freedom and justice, because a very high price has been paid. TONY  UPCHURCH Ohio City,OH