Our last hurrah! Stepping back in time...

So...our last hurrah of Summer 2010 was not decided until about a week ago.  After much discussion about amusement parks, overnight adventures, and browsing the webs for places that we haven't yet been to...we decided to go for the educational! Yep, we're teachers and Carleigh fell in love with U.S. History this year, so we decided to head back in time.  Not to be forgotten that our lovely National parks and battlefields are relatively inexpensive!!

Don and I had been to Gettysburg and Antietam many times.  In fact, Gettysburg was the fifth grade field trip for our students in Sterling, but we hadn't returned in 8 years.  Antietam was another stop that we had happy memories of exploring together, before we were married.

A destination was chosen, a date was picked and the planning began. Not much planning was necessary for this adventure:

• program the addresses into the GPS
• determine driving distances to each and the distance between the two 
• figure out any hidden fees and what lunch would consist of
• give Katie a crash course on the Civil War prior to the trip, so she could get something out of it
• She really didn't need much. She had read, Magic Tree House - Civil War on Sunday...so she already had a basic knowledge
• decide what time to leave and who would let out our dog midday
• gather some snacks and a cooler of drinks for all 

And we were off.....

Our first stop was at Gettysburg.

(The night before, Don had talked to his sister, Chris, and she decided to join us for the day - it was a great surprise for everyone!)

We awoke at 6:30 a.m., on the road by 7:30 and at our first destination by 9:00....so far, so good.

Well, you know we can't do anything like the normal person.  The Rahns can't just "tour" a Civil War battlefield.  We can't just read the signs and look around......NOoooo.....we have to "become the Civil War Battlefield."  We have to act it out, and find a way to live it.

In order to achieve that goal, our first stop was at the gift shop to purchase these:

The girls were very excited to use the hats throughout our day to "act out" the battles - and we knew they would be great for some photo ops....

The Gettysburg Visitor Center has been remodeled over the past year or so and is BEAUTIFUL!  We chatted with President Lincoln for a while before entering.

We bought the hats and wandered around the museum and then we were on our way to the battlefield. We found a cannon right away.

We found the Virginia Memorial and stopped to visit there.

The girls had a fun time at each stop, trying to figure out where the North and the South were positioned - then they had to reenact it.....

We made our way to Little Round Top. They had a great explanation of how the North used the rocks on the mountain to create barricades, which they would use to protect themselves from enemy fire. We found one.

The story of Devil's Den intrigued the girls - we headed there next.  They had fun playing on all of the large rocks and boulders.

While we were on this journey, Chrissy took on the role of "Bonnet Girl."  She was our token civilian for the day.

Our drive around the 24 mile battlefield was complete. We found lunch and then we were on our way to Antietam Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland.

Once we got familiar with the area around Antietam, we headed out to explore the battlefield area.

First stop: Dunker Church - actually survived the battle, to be burned down in 1921 (and then rebuilt).

We then headed to "Bloody Lane."  A narrow road that saw way to much action on the day of the battle in Antietam.  Without a lot of graphic detail, the girls got the picture and thought it was interesting to walk on the exact spots where all of this happened...beneath their feet.......

They had to position themselves....and then the final outcome...

The south actually won this tiny skirmish - only about 3,000-5,000 dead here.

Along the tour of both battlefields, we explained to the girls how they honored the fallen Generals by creating a monument of an upside-down cannon to show the exact location where the general was mortally wounded, or killed.  The parks will tell you how many to look for, but not necessarily give you a location.  It is sort of like a scavenger hunt.  We didn't find them all, but did find quite a few at each park.

At the end of Bloody Lane was a watch tower, we climbed it and enjoyed the view.

Looking out on Bloody Lane.

Next stop...Burnside Bridge.  We had the most fun here.  It was our final stop before heading home.

Once on the other side of the bridge, we found a wall....and from behind, looking out at us....

These "strangers" decided to show themselves, and pretended to be surprised...

They then promised not to share what they had seen...

And we sent them on their way back across the bridge!

What a fun day! It was a great way to end our summer adventures, and gear up for another school year.

School starts for teacher in 5 days, and before we know it we will be on another road trip to northern New York, on the St. Lawrence River for my cousin's wedding.  That adventure is in the middle of September, and the girls are excited because they are both Junior Bridesmaids.

But first...LOBSTER DAY!! Our ninth annual Lobster Day is tomorrow!  What is Lobster Day you ask?  Well, stay tuned and you will find out.....with the Rahns....you just never know......