Day 42

After the Storm

 

This is the sunrise from our room at the Keystone Inn B & B this morning - so nice after the weather of the past few days!

 

 

 



Not many miles to travel today (relatively speaking) so we took our time driving from Gettysburg to Fairfax, Virginia. As we were leaving Gettysburg (and since it wasn't raining and windy) we took a drive through another part of the battlefield at Gettysburg that we hadn't seen ... Culp's Hill. We climbed up to the top of the Culp's Hill Tower that gave us an even better perspective of the area where the battle at Gettysburg took place. So much to take in about the civil war and all the different battles and we are learning so much more than we had known before about our country's history.

 

On our way to Fairfax we stopped at Manassas (Bull Run) National Battlefield as well. This was the battle where Thomas Jonathan Jackson received the nickname "Stonewall Jackson". When you see the statue of him on his horse looking down over the battlefield it's easy to see how he got the nickname.

 

Our plan is to go to the Marine Corps Museum in Triangle, Virginia tomorrow and then start working on our plan to begin the journey west. It's so hard to believe that six weeks has passed already ... four weeks to go until we're home.

 

Let the adventure continue!

 

Enjoy Today's Pictures

 

Culp's Hill Observation Tower

 

 

Garey with Gettysburg in background

 

The view from six flights up

 

The Confederate soldiers arrived from Cashtown to Gettysburg on this road

 

 

Gettysburg National Cemetery

 

Manassas Battlefield

The Henry Farm (center of major conflict)

 

Union Army position (Stonewall Jackson in background)

 

Just because

 

Thomas Jonathan Jackson gets name "Stonewall" Jackson

 

 

 

 

Today's "road less traveled"





Day 41

Just another adventure ...

The B & B we're staying in and surrounding area lost power around 10:00 p.m. last night and was still out until close to 11:00 a.m. this morning. Fortunately there doesn't seem to be any major damage in this area though the streams are definitely flowing faster than they normally do and there are areas of standing water in the nearby fields.

Since we didn't have power this morning that meant there was no hot water for showers (thank goodness for hats!), no hot coffee and no hot breakfast. The lack of hot water couldn't be remedied, nor the hot breakfast but Mike and Marj (the owners) drove to the local gas station and filled thermoses with hot coffee for us. They had baked muffins yesterday so we had a wonderful breakfast of homemade muffins, sliced strawberries and orange juice. For those who still needed a little something for breakfast they brought out cold cereal and milk. All in all, not your normal B & B experience but it was memorable and we had a wonderful time of just visiting this morning. I'm sure they are very happy this didn't happen with a full house of guests!

The reason we came to Gettysburg was because we both wanted to take more time to see the battlefield and surrounding area than when we were here in 2005 with the tour group led by Tim Fier. After we got here we found out that part of the driving tour of the battlefield is closed as well as the visitor's center because of Hurricane Sandy.

On to Plan B ....

Since the power was out and the roads seemed to be safe we got in the car to go for a drive and see some of the area anyway. We were able to see about 1/3 of the battlefield (no pictures ... too rainy and windy) and then we saw the gate to the Gettysburg Museum was open so decided to see if it was open after all (glad to say it was). This is an all new museum (built in 2008) so it is different from the one we saw when we were here in 2005.

Something new at the museum is an 1880s cyclorama of the battle of Gettysburg painted by French artist Paul Philippoteaux and restored for use at the museum. We spent a couple of hours at the museum, seeing their film presentation breaking down each day of the battle and then seeing the cyclorama that brought it all together. If you're ever in this area, this is a must see experience. http://www.gettysburgfoundation.org/13

After the museum we decided to go get a late lunch/early dinner and found a wonderful homestyle restaurant ... it was the next best thing to homemade and was "comfort food" on a rainy day.

Thanks again, everyone for your prayers for safety. We are fine and will be moving on to Fairfax, Virginia tomorrow. Hopefully by Thursday the effects of Hurricane Sandy and the cold front will be moving on and we'll be able to decide which direction to head when we leave Fairfax this weekend.

 

A few pictures from the Cyclorama of Gettysburg Battlefield

 

 

 

For history buffs ... Little Round Top is in the background where all the smoke is; the battlefield is the area below

 

 



Day 40

 



We're starting Day 40 of our journey by "hunkering down" in Gettysburg for a couple of days, waiting like most of the nation to see what Hurricane Sandy will bring, not just when the hurricane comes to shore (looks like New Jersey last we looked) but the far reaching aftermath of such a storm. Combine "Sandy" with the cold Nor'easter blast and it looks like "the perfect storm" across quite a few states.

First and foremost, please keep this entire region in your prayers; changes in our travel plans are so minor compared to the possible and likely devastation that will happen.

Since the extreme weather for this area (Pennsylvania) was not due until this afternoon, we got up and took a drive out to Stoystown, Pennsylvania to the Flight 93 Memorial before coming back to Gettysburg. After seeing the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, this was another reminder to us of the loss of innocent lives that awful day. It was cold, raining and windy while we were there so the pictures might be a bit blurry/spotty from raindrops.

When we arrived back at Gettysburg we found most of the town closed down preparing for the storm. We also found out that the Gettysburg Memorial and Battlefield will be closed until Wednesday morning and there is a 7:00 p.m. curfew in effect in this area. We are in a wonderful 100 year old home that has been turned into a B&B and we will wait out the storm here. We're not sure which direction we'll be heading on Wednesday; it will all depend on the weather.

If you don't see a post for a day or two it will be because we've lost power and have no internet access.

The storm from our window at the B & B

(you can't see the trees swaying but they definitely are)

 

 

 

 

Flight 93 Memorial

http://www.nps.gov/flni/index.htm

Memorial Shelter and Flag

 

Boulder marks the point of impact

 

 

Pennsylvania Field - Boulder in center

 

Names on white wall in back; black wall separates the crash site from walkway

One name on each panel in memory of 40 lives lost

 

In Memory 

 

 

Let's Roll

 

Thank you, Flight 93 passengers and crew for your unselfish bravery

 

 



Day 39

George Washington Slept Here

 

 

 

 

 

Today as we were heading inland and "getting out of Dodge" so to speak we decided to take a slight detour and went to Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania. We are both realizing how much we love American history since we've been on this trip and also wish we had taken more notes instead of passing them when we were in school (although being high school sweethearts brings some history of its own)!

 

Valley Forge was so much more than we had thought. Seeing the actual place where George Washington and the Continental Army wintered over was amazing. Going into Washington's Valley Forge Headquarters and seeing the rooms where he met with his officers, the room that he and Martha slept in while they were there ... walking up the stairs he walked up and touching the same handrail ... amazing!

 

Although the cabins at the encampment areas are not originals (unlike Washington's HQs and the surrounding buildings), it was easy to imagine the area with the 12,000  plus men there. What an honor and privilege to live in such a great country! To top off the experience we saw two bald eagles while we were at Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge (sorry, no pictures; you'll just have to trust us).

 

After we left Valley Forge we continued west toward Carlisle, Pennsylvania (just north of Gettysburg). Our travels took us through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and we saw some beautiful Amish farms and several buggies.

 

We decided to take the road more traveled (Interstate) to get ahead of the storm and get settled in our room. Last report is that this area will start getting hit with high winds, flooding and possible power outages around 2:00 a.m. so we're hunkering down and waiting until the morning to decide what direction our journeys will take us.

 

Enjoy Today's Pictures

 

Around Valley Forge

 

 

 

Washington's HQs

 

 

How many times did George Washington see this view?

 

 

Memorial Arch 

 

Memorial to Unknown Soldiers who died at Valley Forge

 

 

Valley Creek Covered Bridge

 

Garey by large tree on grounds by Washington's HQs

 

No comment needed

 

A few more pictures from our day

 

Amish teenagers hanging on sides of buggy

 

 

The road "more" traveled

 

Storm clouds brewing

 

One of many roadside warning signs

 

 

 



Day 38

We took a train ride into New York City this morning ... definitely the way to go ... it was only $6.25 each (one way) for the 80 minute train ride. We couldn't have driven it and paid for parking for that amount (not to mention the stress of driving into New York City!!!). Once we figured out our way around New York Penn Station and where the subway was, we got on the Blue "E" line and headed down to the 9/11 Memorial and the construction site of the new World Trade Center Towers.

It's hard to describe our journey today ... such mixed emotions going into New York City and seeing the new World Trade Center towers being constructed and walking through the memorial for those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001. As most of us have gone on with our lives and the words "We will not forget" begin to fade more and more, we were reminded that each name that is engraved around the memorial pools had family and friends who still live with those losses every day. So, we've renewed our commitment not to forget the great loss and sacrifice of lives.

Garey worked at a building in Portland where the windows for the new World Trade Center Towers were being built. Although it was hard to tell exactly which windows he saw being made when we looked at the new Towers, it was a special time to be able to look up and have that connection. http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/09/work_continues_on_world_trade.html

 

New Towers Under Construction

 

Memorial Pools and Names

 

The Survivor Tree (only tree that's still all green)

 

The Survivor Tree was found amidst the fiery wreckage at Ground Zero, the Survivor Tree sustained extensive damage, but lived through the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. The Survivor Tree bears witness to the possibility of renewal and serves as a living reminder of our shared strength in the face of even the most unimaginable tragedy.

 

 

 

After leaving the 9/11 Memorial we got back on the subway and headed toward the Empire State Building (another of the things we wanted to see while we were there). We had originally planned to go to the top but we decided not to for the sake of time. We did get a picture though!

Since we had several things we wanted to see we headed off to Times Square ... the only problem is we didn't have the GPS and our navigation was a bit off and we went in the opposite direction of Times Square for several blocks. Undaunted, we turned around and headed in the correct direction until our feet (and time) began to run out ... we never did make it to Times Square.

HOWEVER, there are a lot of things we did get to see and do that added to our "Building Memories" trip.

We saw Macy's

 

 

We saw the American Stock Exchange

 

We saw Trinity Church

 

We saw some incredible old buildings

 

 

And we saw the NYC Skyline from the train

(New WTC is in the center)

 

 

If you're coming to New York City plan a week to see everything ...

it cannot be done in a day!