Back in the woods

It rained on our last day in Washington DC and both of us were not feeling very good. I felt like I was going to get a head cold. So, before I went to bed I took some Nyquil. I did sleep very well but woke up the next morning quite groggy. We had a very short ride through the Maryland country side and we were in our campsite at a state park before lunch. It is a very nice site. However, it is very odd. We have electriccity but no running water. It is good that Honey has such big tanks. There was a bicycle race going on throughout the park so we saw lots of bikes hurtling down the mountains. But lots of trees. Honey is no harder to park than Fanny was. In fact, in many ways it is easier. It is certainly more stable when we are driving. We are both very thankful for Honey when it is raining.

We spent the afternoon going to the Antietam battle site. They did a much better job of preserving the site than at Vicksburg and I really enjoyed it. There was a driving tour and we planned to take it, but I was so groggy and tired that I listened to the first half hour of the talk. We then left and came back to our camp site. It is a good thing that we did.

Very soon after we returned it started to POUR. And it started to thunder and lightning. (Welcome to spring.) The thunder kept going for hours. It was a very different kind of thunder that I have experienced in the west. I wonder why it is different? Anyway, I was snuggled safe and dry in Honey and slept well.

This morning we drove the backroads to Gettysburg. The rolling hills and green landscape of the Maryland countryside were beautiful. Every yard was well manicured, even if the house was not so fancy. Bob said that it looked like there was an ordinance requiring that yards be well maintained. We drove through a couple of parks on the way and enjoyed the ride.

Gettysburg was by far the most interesting of the civil war battle sites. We watched a "multi-media" movie about the entire war, not just Gettysburg. There was then a huge diorama that involved a huge circular painting of the battle and they had lights and sounds showing the day of the fiercest fighting. It was very moving. Bob especially was moved and had a few tears. He gets that way when he hears of the stupid loss of life.

We spent another hour or two going through the museum. We did not take the tours because it was still pouring rain and that did not seem like much fun in the rain. But we did get a very good idea of the battle and the horrendous loss of life both there and in Antietam. We also got a better sense of the impact of the Civil War on the populace. Wow. But I must say that I have had enough of the Civil War now. On to Hershey and some chocolate. (Bob says amen.)