Wednesday, we ended up splitting up with Chris' parents. Jane wanted to go to Delaware since we were so close and she hadn't been there yet. So they went there. We love going to Civil War battle sites and it kept us outside where the kids could run around and not bother anyone with their goofiness. We went and toured Sunken Road, a civil war battle site in Fredericksburg. Pretty neat but strange to know you we're standing in the same spot that so many men died at. The kids liked it. They have a neat Junior Ranger program at all the National Historical Sites. During our tour with the Park Ranger, Madi was able to learn something new and then go back to the front desk, tell them what she learned and she was able to collect cards (like playing cards) that had info on them about Sunken Road, Generals, etc. She was so excited, plus she paid attention better. Clever idea Mr. Park Rangers!
After Fredericksburg we drove over to Manassas, VA to another battle site. Very pretty area but we weren't able to stay too long. The heat and humidity were terrible and it almost made it unbearable to walk around for too long.
We left Manassas and headed for Alexandria, VA to meet back up with Chris' parents and have supper with his Aunt Linda. The original plan for the trip was to spend a couple days in D.C., but we knew we just didn't have enough time to get around to everything and would spend a majority of the day just trying to get to things. There are so many people, cars and craziness in that town. I was so glad Chris was with us to drive, it was madness trying to get just to Alexandria. D.C. would have been even worse! Plus the kids are too young to get anything out of the D.C. trip. That will be one of our destination vacations for the future. Spend a whole week touring D.C.
The next day (Thursday, 8/2/12) we went our separate ways again. Dan and Jane and Aunt Debbie went north to Pennsylvania to visit the area Dan grew up in and to stop at the cemetery and see the head stone for Tom and Betty. We continued on our battlefield tours. We went to the Antietam Battlefield. They had a nice driving tour and areas to get out and walk around. We climbed to the top of an old tower and could look for miles at the area. Madi was able to do another activity and earned her cards and this time she even got a Junior Ranger badge! So exciting!! After Antietam and getting lost and driving through the same town four times, we made our way to Harper's Ferry. Neat old town with a lot of historical buildings, re-enactors and another Junior Ranger Badge. She was hooked and loved doing the activities to get her badge. There is so much historically in this part of the US. You could easily spend weeks visiting all that is there. Definitely an area to go back to some day.
That evening we drove very late to try and get as close as we could to Lexington, KY. It was easier to drive late when the kids were tired and content to just sit and watch a movie. Then spend most of the day out and about. Finally figuring things out a week into the vacation :)
Friday (8/3/12) we drove the rest of the way to Lexington and spent some time at the Louisville Slugger Factory. They had a lot to see and a very nice factory tour. They even handed out little bats to everyone after the tour. Chris also got each of us a big bat with our names engraved on them. Madi picked out a pink bat, Evan a black one, and Chris got an original wood bat! Evan slept the entire factory tour, even though it was very noisy. Chris and I had to take turns caring him, he got very heavy. He woke up in time to pick up our souvenirs and take a picture with the big bat outside the factory before we hopped back in the car and spent the rest of the day driving to St. Louis.
We spent the night in St. Louis and then spent Saturday all day driving again. Since Chris flew to Atlanta, we had to make a large round about from Kansas City, down to Wichita and then finally home early evening on Saturday. But we were able to make a stop in Emporia and visit my grandparents at the cemetery. They were definitely guiding us to them. We haven't been back since Grandma's funeral 12 years ago and the cemetery had changed. Mom wanted to give up but we wouldn't let her, and we finally found them! I am so glad we stopped. We visited with Jason, Tabatha, and Jaxson for a bit and then we were ready to come home.
After such a long trip and lots of driving (11 days and over 3100 miles) we were ready to be home!! The kids did great overall, we were super excited that Chris was able to finish the vacation with us, we had a wonderful time spending time together, and I loved having my mom come with us!! Thank you for all your help Mom and hope you had as much fun as we did!
Love, Amy
No comments:
Post a Comment