We left early this morning to visit
four states in one day. The first stop was at Harper’s
Ferry, West Virginia. This is so beautiful. Harper’s
Ferry was an important catalysis to the start of the
Civil War. I tried something new this year by utilizing
a scavenger hunt. The students did a great job finding
out the required information while discovering much of
this small city.
After traveling from West Virginia to
Maryland, and then crossing the Mason-Dixon Line into
Pennsylvania, we went to Gettysburg for the rest of the
day. It is really early in the year for us to be
discovering the Civil War; however, we have been
discussing the differences in the agricultural South and
the industrial North, and what part this will play in
future difficulties. We were joined at lunch by both
sets of Michaela’s grandparents and her cousin. One set
of grandparents brought three huge bags of beautiful
apples that they have grown on their property. We are
bringing them on the plane to eat tomorrow. Her other
grandparents and cousin stayed with us through dinner.
It is so wonderful for relatives to join us.
After our tour of the battlefield, we
visited the Shriver House, a restored home in the town
of Gettysburg. The people who lived in this house during
the battle had quite a story to tell. In fact, when they
were restoring the house, they discovered Civil War
bullets and medical instruments under the floorboards.
Our last stop of the day (night) was
the World War II Memorial. No sooner had everyone
disembarked from the coach and started walking that the
rain poured from the sky. Fortunately, it is very warm
and we were very close to the hotel.
Everyone under fifteen is, hopefully,
packed for home and asleep for the night. We will be too
in a couple of hours. See you all soon.
Again, thank you for letting us share
the pleasure and fun of this trip with your delightful
kids.
Kathy, David, Travis, and JoAnn
