4 Score and Seven Years Ago...

A little cheesy, but I couldn't resist.
Absolutely amazing- incredibly touching- very moving- are just a few phrases uttered during our tour of Gettysburg. I was very surprised at the enormous area on which the Battle took place. I was not expecting such a massive area. I don't know how much of the land that we covered and saw on our tour, but I do know that Gettysburg park covers 5,733 acres.
We purchased an audio CD that was dramatized. We were able to go along at our own pace, this includes getting lost a few times, enjoy the air conditioning of the van and relax while seeing an incredible piece of America's history. It can't get much better than that, well except for the lost part.
The CD was a great purchase- I thought it was a little costly at $21 but then I am pretty frugal, i.e. cheap. The CD guided us along the roads and gave us the history of the battle. There were many moments where I was lost in thought and pictured the soldiers fighting for their beliefs and their lives. It was one of the most moving moments of my life. I could envision the young and old, poor and rich, illiterate and well educated, who believed so strongly in their cause that they were willing to fight brother against brother, father against son and friend against friend. To imagine the intensity of their courage was so moving and heart wrenching, there were many times I found myself tearing up.
We were able to see lots of cannons that are on the property still. I believe (although I could be wrong), that these are still used in reenactments. There were also various buildings around the grounds that are from the time of the battle. It was so amazing being there, including visiting the cemetery where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. I can't say enough about Gettysburg and our experience there. It was something I will never forget and I hope my children won't either.
We ended our Gettysburg experience in a perfect way- we rented the dvd Gettysburg. We all watched the movie and were able to get a better grasp of what it was that happened and where. Also we were able to see some of the well-known people really come to life on the screen. It was really quite a feeling to see the same rocks and fields that we were walking on and learning about the day before. Most of the scenes were actually filmed at the real battlefield. The whole experience was incredible and we suggest that everyone go there at some point if they can. Watching the movie first might be better but isn't necessary, just going is worth it.

I wonder if it is opening Sunday?!?!?!?

While getting ready to leave, Randy decided that the bike rack needs to go because it is tearing up the roof on the pop-up. You can see where it has scratched and dented the top of the pop-up. The kids are really upset with this idea but it is what we need to do. The bike rack also adds about an extra hour to our departure time so in the end, it would be a time saver. As we were about to head out, a man came over to talk to us. He was a very nice gentleman from Canada. We chatted for a bit about traveling and as we were about to leave he gave us $100. We were so surprised. The money could defintely be put to good use. This has been one of the many blessings that we have experienced while traveling.
Some of you might remember that Randy was taking pictures of the different NFL stadiums. This is where he sort of decided to cease this venture. As we were heading towards Buffalo, Randy had this "great" idea- we can go by the Bill's Stadium and get pictures. I use the trusty laptop to get the address and put it into our GPS. As we are just about to the stadium a thought suddenly pops into Randy's head- "Hey", he says, "Today is Sunday. I hope the Bills aren't playing at home today."
Guess what? It was opening Sunday and traffic was terrible. We ended up adding a least 2 hours onto our estimated drive time. We learned three things that day- 1. Check the game day schedule before you head that direction 2. The GPS looks for the shortest route, even if it is through mountains, we should have backtracked back to the Buffalo area so we would have been on a major highway, not little roads through little towns in mountainy areas -- which now leads me to point number three 3. Western New York has a few mountainy areas and we ended up driving through most of it. Randy was not a happy camper and decided that we would only go to the NFL stadiums if we were near them, no more driving out of the way, on days we shouldn't, through areas we know nothing about.
The drive to PA was beautiful. I really had no idea how beautiful this part of the country is. We took a few pictures but I am sure they don't show the debth and beauty of what we saw. We stopped by a roadside stand and bought some fresh peaches. They were so delicious. We had those as a snack as we entered into PA. The rest of the drive was uneventful but gorgeous. This is an area that I am so thankful we drove through while it was daylight. Our destination is Hershey, Pennsylvania. Here we will tour Gettysburg and the Hershey Chocolate Factory.
Those posts are coming soon.

Yes, we are alive and well

We did not fall off the face of the earth, we were not ate by sea dragons, nor were we consumed by the fiery pits at the edge of the earth, we are all alive and well. Many, many things have happened, some minor, some not so minor. One thing that has kept me from being able to post has been the momentary death of our beloved laptop. Randy thinks he can fix it, but doesn't have the parts he needs. As soon as he can get them, we will have the laptop to use again- the convenience of this piece of technology has been wonderful and we have had a terrible time living without it. We also had a problem with keyboards. At one point we didn't have the laptop or the main computer to use, so it was impossible to make a post and update everyone.
Another reason I have not been able to update is time. I am so much busier now than I was when we lived in a house. Even if we spend the day around the campsite, I barely have time to check my email. Speaking of email, if you have emailed me and I haven't responded, I am not ignoring you. I have almost 1000 emails to go through.
We have been having a blast and really enjoying ourselves. I have a lot updates to post and and going to try to get on the computer everyday or every other day and get started on that.
We would like to say hello to a few people we have met along the way- Hello to Terry and Mary, we hope to see ya'll again. Hi Ben- it has been a pleasure for us to get to know you- Hello to the entire Garvin family- thank you for a fabulous time with the manatees, great fellowship and the offer that I am sure we will take you up on.
Life is anything but dull right now and we are so thankful that God is allowing our family to experience so much. We have seen some beautiful country, saw amazing sights, met absolutely wonderful people and been able to do all of this as a family.
Be looking for an update coming in a day or two (I hope).