A surprise trip...

Two weekends ago, Patrick scooped me up and took me away. He left a note telling me to pack a bag for the weekend and to be ready by 11:30am, we were going to go out to lunch. I had plans to meet with a friend at 2:00pm, so I figured we were leaving after that. Ha. It wasn't until we were an hour away that I asked if I should call and cancel (she was in on the whole thing. Thanks, Al!!!).

We eventually did stop for lunch and after we left the restaurant I was allowed to ask one question every 30 minutes. I tried to make the most of my questions, but my brain just isn't working as well as it use to. Lucky for Patrick, I'm pretty naive and clueless most of the time :)

We ended up in Gettysburg. He knew that I wanted to go back and see more than last time. He also knew that I didn't want to go back by myself! We stayed at a beautiful B&B right in town. While we were at the B&B, we met a couple from Richmond, TX. Over breakfast, we bonded with our new Texas friends about our favorite places to eat in Houston!

For dinner, Patrick had gotten us reservations for an old house turned into a restaurant. The house was built in 1776 (can you even imagine my excitement?!) and was, in fact, the oldest building in Gettysburg! Dinner was incredible. The food, the ambiance, the company... it was really wonderful. Luckily the house was close to our B&B, so we were able to walk around and check out all the old houses and buildings.

The next day we drove around Gettysburg. We stopped to see the site where Abe gave the Gettysburg Address. We did part of the driving tour so Patrick could see Little Round Top and Devil's Den. We went to the Visitors Center and walked through the Civil War museum before getting an awesome view of the Gettysburgs Cyclorama, painted in 1884. It's a 377 foot long, 44 foot high painting depicting the battle of Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863. You can read more about it here. It was INCREDIBLE!!! Lucky us, it just re-opened after being touched up for several years.

After a fun day touring the battlefields and such, we headed to Frederick, MD. We stayed with Jason, Cindy, Cassidy and Jenna. We had a great dinner and just enjoyed being with family. We left Sunday afternoon and stopped at Hagerstown for some shopping before coming back to Indiana. It was such a great weekend. We had so much fun and just enjoyed being together. I LOVE how well my husband knows me!!!

An excited me in front of a building built before (and survived) the Civil War...

The Dobbin House, in all it's old and beautiful glory!




Do you like my bonnet?
Patrick standing beside the window (to the right) where The Dobbin's hid slaves during the Underground Railroad. The "window" was a sliding shelf. Clever, those Dobbin's.
After dinner...


Me and the big landmark sign...The cute ice ceam parlor we found. Actually, I spotted it and made Patrick turn around so we could get ice cream. Random cravings...
Us at Little Round Top...
Uncle Patrick and Cassidy...
Cassidy and Jenna playing in the rain. They also decided to go swimming, since they were wet. Funny, girls.

Gettysburg

This year marks the 145th anniversary of the battle at Gettysburg, during the Civil War. Some would say that this battle was the most important battle of the Civil War. Now, I don't know if that is true, but this three day battle has made an incredible mark in history.

I decided it would be fun to drive over the Gettysburg and be apart of the celebration and look around this historic place. I also knew that the three hour drive would be pretty worthless if I didn't make more of it. So, after work on Wednesday I drove to Gettysburg and only made one wrong turn (which turned out to be a 20 minute mistake, but I'm used to doing things like that). My friend, Allyson, made me a great road trip CD that got me through the trip and I rolled into Gettysburg about 3pm.

The whole "battlefield" is 6,000 acres. It's incredible to think what happen in the very places I was standing. While you may not appreciate all the monuments and memorials, there was a very historic feeling to this place and you know that great and terrible things happened here. I stopped at the visitors center and walked around for a few minutes. Then, I went into the American Civil War Museum and enjoyed the nine or ten sections they have devoted to different parts of the battle of Gettysburg (and in some parts, the entirety of the war).

To make this trip worth it, I decided to stay in Frederick, MD with some family. The drive there was about 45 minutes, so I knew I couldn't be at the battlefield all day. I settled on a driving tour and omitted the first four stops because I saw them on my way in and drove around. The pamphlet said to allow two and half hours for the whole tour (16 stops), but I did it in about an hour.

I saw some incredibly important sites and took a bunch of pictures. A few of my favorites: Walking around Little Round Top. Seeing all the old houses and hospitals that were there during the Civil War. The battlefield where "Pickett's Charge" took place and is also the mark of the last battle in Gettysburg. I must say that it was hard doing this alone because there was so much to take in. Occasionally, I would say, "Wow, can you believe..." or "Hey, look at that!", only to remember that I was talking to myself.
Looking down from Little Round Top. The large rocks in the upper right hand corner are called "Devil's Den". This too was an important site during the battle.
The field where Pickett's Charge took place....


So, after the driving tour I went to Frederick and had dinner with Cindy, Cassidy and Jenna. We hung out and chatted and the Czarniak's were so kind to come over. We made an ice cream run and it was so nice to spend time with family. On Thursday, Cindy, Cassidy, Jenna and I went to the outlets in Hagerstown. It was a lot of fun and Cindy and I had a great time trying on clothes with great discounts!!

So here I am, back home. We went to Altoona for the 4th and celebrated with our friends Al and James and Al's family. We saw a great fireworks display and ate a lot of yummy food!!! Whew. I'm ready to stay put for a bit :)

A actual sign from the Civil War era. I'm guessing this was a declaration from the North.
Pictures of actal men who fought and died during the Civil War. On the left, the Confederacy. On the right, the Union.
The Gettysburg Address.
Me with Little Round Top and Big Round Top behind
This house was the headquarters of General Robert E. Lee during the battle of Gettysburg.

Cassidy and Aunt Ashley before the outlet mall!

My recent obsession

I realize that confessing your obsession to the whole world is just another way for people to make fun of you OR spur on fantastic conversation...I hope for the latter.

Recently, I've become slightly (incredibly) fascinated (obsessed) with the Civil War. I know, I know. It's a war. It wasn't really civil. It was a long time ago. Anyways, it's all I think about.

After watching Cold Mountain, which takes place during the Civil War, I became quite interested in it. I've always been interested in war, as in the way it has affected/effected our country, the legacy it leaves behind, and things related to a war time period.

I remember when I was younger, I loved reading about World War II. My grandfather fought in WWII and had tons of books about it. I would read and read and look at the pictures. I was quite impressed at all the information I found out.

My obsession with the Civil War is beyond me at this point. Monday, I went to the library and checked out 14 books about it. Most of them were history books, but I did get a few novels to read at the beach. I also found out that Indiana County had several ties and areas still untouched that were apart of the Underground Railroad. I can't help but get chill bumps when I think of all the history surrounding me.

So now, instead of flying to Seattle for the weekend, the thought of driving to The National Civil War museum excites me; Knowing that Gettysburg is an easy day trip brings a huge smile to my face. I can't help but wonder why the Civil War makes me so excited. Why I can't get enough information about this war. I don't know, but I'm willing to read, research and ponder until I find out.