Gettysburg
We hugged Trisha and her daughter goodbye, promised to see one another soon, and headed in our opposite directions. She with 5 hours ahead of her and us with 14.
We didn’t think we’d get home in one day, but were hoping to make it at least to Tennessee and then have a short drive the next day.
The last leg of any trip is always the hardest one because you never want the fun to end.
Most people think that after two weeks in a box together we’d all be dreaming of home and sleeping in our own beds, but not us.
Don’t get me wrong…I don’t want to live in the camper, but I enjoy it when we’re out on the road. It brings out a different side of our family and I love the togetherness of it all, that is, when there’s not screaming involved.
Have you heard how loud my kids can get when they’re not getting along???
So it will probably come as no surprise that when we saw a sign for Gettysburg and then saw it was only 40 minutes away, we immediately took the exit.
We thought about adding Gettysburg on our way up, but it just didn’t work.
So here was our chance!
We convinced ourselves it would be a quick stop…we’d just do the driving tour and not stop. Yes, we wouldn’t get the full feel for it, but at least we could see it.
Are you done laughing at us yet? That we really did convince ourselves it’d be quick?
We’re a little delusional sometimes, but look what cute kiddos we make!
Part of our problem was that we were notified as we entered the visitor’s center, that Indie had run away. She gets scared during storms or when our neighbors are shooting and just takes off, hence the need for the new fence Justin built the week we left.
The tracker was showing her not moving from a spot on the side of the highway near our house and you can guess what was going through our minds.
Justin called the house sitter, but she had left 15 minutes prior.
A neighbor saw Indie running down the street, but couldn’t get her to stop or come close to him.
The worry was creeping in.
While Justin made calls, I distracted the kids with the wall of firearms they have at Gettysburg. Avett was a fan of this for sure.
Thankfully, the tracker started moving and we were able to breathe a sigh of relief. We sent our sitter Indie’s location and she was so relieved when she had Indie safely in her car.
I felt so bad for our sitter. It wasn’t her fault at all, but can you imagine the guilt she would have felt had something happened to Indie? We tried to reassure her and we hope she believed us that it really was not her fault. Turns out, Indie CHEWED THROUGH one of our wooden gates. WTH?
Now that we could breathe again, we grabbed our map, made sure we knew which roads were suitable for the camper, and took off to see the Civil War’s deadliest battlefield.
It’s weird so be sightseeing on land where so many died - 50,000 killed or wounded - but I am grateful for the organizations that protect battlefields and historic sites so that our kids (and me) can stand where those people stood.
Overlooking a battlefield and seeing where an event took place will make more of an impression in my kids’ minds than any textbook can. It comes to life in ways that you just can’t imagine until you’re there.
Now, will my kids grasp the entirety of this battle just because they were there? No.
But when we discuss the Civil War in more detail down the road, or this battle specifically, I can’t help but think they will have a better grasp of the circumstances.
Or at least that’s the hope.
This stop brought up lots of difficult topics that hopefully Justin and I answered well.
Credit to my kids though for asking some amazing questions. Their minds were working overtime and I know it is hard information to digest. We only stopped a few times to get out and walk before it started to rain on us, but at least we got to see the area and expose our kids.
We left the battlefield and drove to the cemetery to see where Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address, but the gates were locked. It was pouring by this point, so we stayed in the camper and headed on out.
To our surprise, Embry recited the address for us and I sat in amazement that she had it tucked away in her head and was willing to let us hear it.
That girl is always full of fun surprises!
And for the record, yes, I was wearing my camping pants and here they are in all their glory below! I was not expecting to get out of the camper all day and figured I’d just wear what I’d slept in…but no. I went out in public in my slept in camping pants and rocked it.
Oh my goodness. SMH
Needless to say, no, we did not make it to Tennessee in one day.
We made it near Lexington and Roanoke and slept at a Cracker Barrel that, coincidentally enough, my sister used to go to all the time when she was in school up in Virginia.
I love it when things like that happen!
Okay, looks like tomorrow is the day we finally make it back home!
