Saturday, November 30th

So today heading south of DC, took us right through Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Another historical place.  Fredericksburg is located right in the middle between Washinton, DC and Richmond, Virginia.  They were the capitols of the North and the South during the Civil War.  So of course there were a lot of battles around here.  We toured part of one of the battlefields At Sunken Road and had a really good tour guide.  The Union Army had 13,000 casualties in this battle.  The Confederates were victorious at the Battle of Fredericksburg.   It was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.  Part of the original wall the Confederates fought behind is still there.  Also a small house still standing that you can see a lot of bullet holes in the walls.  It was very interesting and educational so we're glad we stopped, even though we're on tourist overload from DC for 5 straight days.  

George Washinton basically grew up in this town,so there is a lot of history related to him. When he headed off as an adult, he bought a house for his Mother.  Audree and I went to see it.  Pretty nice house!  She lived to be 81years old, pretty much unheard of in those days.  She died 4 months after George became the first president!

Nice little town there.  We had lunch at one of the oldest running pharmacy/soda fountain counters.  $5 sandwiches.......couldn't beat that.  

So we headed on south and we're Williamsburg, Virginia, tonight.  This Historic Triangle (which includes Jamestown and Yorktown) is known as the birthplace of American Democracy.  Much more to see in the next few days.  Then I think we're going to be ready for some fishing, golfing, or a beach somewhere!!!!  

Friday, November 29th

Well our last day in DC!  Wow are we on brain overload or what!?!  We really had hoped to not have to cram it all into a week's time, but it's so cold we just want to get it done and move SOUTH! So first today we went to the Iwo Jima Memorial.  This was the best statue we saw.  Much much bigger than we all thought.  It is the Marines' heroic struggle during World War II to reclaim the Philippines island for the Allies.  Iwo Jima is a tiny island south of Tokyo.  It was a main objective to capture the island from the Japanese. Once accomplished, five Marines and a Navy corpsman raised a large American flag on the mountain top.  Fortunately, the raising was witnessed by news photographer Joe Rosenthal whose pulitzer prize winning picture of the flag raising would become a symbol of the war in the Pacific.  Awesome site!

So after leaving the memorial, we ended up on a wrong road.  Well we went all the way around the Pentagon trying to find our way back to the cemetery to park.  We were just afraid we'd end up in downtown DC traffic before we got turned around or on the right road.  Garrett to the rescue once again in the GPS world.  Anyway, we had been seeing the Pentagon everyday on our drive into the city, but today we got to see the other side too!  :)

Took the subway a different route to go over the Potomac River even though we had walked over it on Day 1 (boy that was a long time ago!)  Went to a couple of Smithsonians today and saw some cool things.  The flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 when Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the song that became the Star-Spangled Banner.  Pretty incredible.  Then on to some lighter things like:   Archie Bunker's chair,  Apolo Ohno's speed skates, and Children's Little Golden Books.  We saw the fancy First Ladies' dresses. More history and more history.  Even a very early camper.  

Well that about concluded our time in DC.  It is amazing to get to spend time walking where some of our nation's greatest influencial people walked.  

**Sara

Happy Thanksgiving! November 28th

Happy Thanksgiving to all from the Nation's Capitol!  Many sites were even open today so we continued on being tourists.  We went to Mount Vernon where George Washington lived and is buried.  We toured the mansion that he lived in.  From the original mansion, he took off the roof and put on a second floor.  Can you imagine doing that in the 1770s?!  Later on he did it all over again and put an addition on each end.   By then there were 21 rooms, with 10 of them being bed chambers.  Crazy big!  They even had housing for the 'servants' of their guests.   Mount Vernon is located right on the Potomac River, an absolutely beautiful place.  We walked around some of the other buildings and went to his grave site.   

The next and only other tour of the day was the Holocaust Museum.  Ugh!  What a gruesome horrible thing.  The museum was very good and well done.  There was a small kids' museum within that was about a young boy that was about 12 years old whose family was Jewish and he narrated a story about his life and what happened.  At the end of the main exhibit we saw the Children's Tile Wall.  The tiles were painted by American schoolchildren in memory of the 1.5 million Holocaust Children.  

We came home and Jeff whipped up our thanksgiving dinner in about 30 minutes flat!  Yes for real.  We had bought a roasted chicken to heat up on the oven, mashed potatoes in a container,  gravy in a jar, Stove-Top stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie!  We pretty much had it all!  I don't know why you all spend hours on end in the kitchen!?!  :)

                                    We are very thankful for all of our blessings!  

**Sara

Wednesday, November 27

 Day 3 in DC. Another wonderful cold and rainy day, my feathers are starting to show. Isn't that just ducky. Got an early start, but not early enough to see Ford's Theatre where President Lincoln was assassinated. Only open from 9 to 10 am. Oh well went across the street to the home where he died the next day. Very informative museum about Lincoln and his assassin John Wilkes Booth. Caught some Chinese food in Chinatown, not even close to the Chinese food in Kremmling. Mountain Dragon you are the best, sure miss you. Decided to see if we could see what Obama was up to at the White House. No such luck he locked the gate on us, dirty rat. So we went to the souvenir shop instead to get a signed autographed picture of him instead. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We made it a short day and went back to the camper before dark trying to elude the traffic. NOT!!!  Folks we are spoiled back in Colorado. East coast gives a new meaning to traffic jams.  ^ Jeff

Tuesday, November 26th

Another successful day in DC.  We only accomplished 2 things, but that's how it goes.  We took the subway to get off near the Air and Space Museum.  We saw a lot of planes and spacecraft today!!!!  Then it was time to head out for the tour of the Capitol.  We were to meet at the Colorado Congressmen Doug Lamborn's office.  So after we figured out where we had to go, we knew we had to eat all our lunch before going to the Capitol.  So we found this lovely dining location.  Under our umbrellas and hoods (yes it was raining!) and under a tree for a little shelter, we huddled together and inhaled our sandwiches.  And with our cold cold fingers we struggled opening our chocolate kisses we had.  Couldn't let those go to waste. (can't take food inside).  Anyway, the tour was good.  We had a young guy from Boulder.  Found out a lot of details about the Capitol.  By then it was time to head towards the truck via the subway.  Oh my, 30 minutes later today and the traffic was way worse!  Ugh! Home finally and the soup was ready and great.

PS. Technical difficulties tonight so only couple pics of today for now!  Sorry!   **Sara

Monday, November 24th

Our first day in DC was great.  I think we walked 300 miles and it was freezing cold but was still great.  Thankfully the sun was out.  So, under the recommendation of the campground owner, we drove and parked at Arlington Cemetery.  That worked out really well.  The first thing we saw was the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Quite a ritual they go through for that.  Powerful!  They also had a family lay a wreath at the unknown tomb in honor of their family member that had passed away.  So we got to see two ceremonies.  We had walked by the graves of JFK and his family in the cemetery too.  So back to the truck since it was close, put on the backpacks and headed out and across the Potomac River.  The Lincoln Memorial was first.  Pretty awesome seeing his statue and the Gettysburg Address on the wall of the memorial since we were just in Gettysburg last week and that event there being all about him.  Before we went on we had a brief lesson on all the wars with the timeline of them.  The next stop was the Vietnam War Memorial where there were 59,000 names on that wall.  Incredible.  The next memorial was the Korean War.  We walked along the Reflecting Pool down to the end to the World War II Memorial.  The Washinton Monument is on the other end of that pool.  They are doing repairs on it from an earthquake from a few years ago.  The whole day consisted of memorials in that area.  We also saw Martin Luther King, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson.  By then it was time to head back to the truck and get back to the campground.  Traffic was busy busy, but once we got in the HOV lane (3+ people) it wasn't bad at all!  Back to the camper and Jeff got the pasties ready to eat and I called our Colorado congressmen to set up a Capitol tour (tentatively set for tomorrow).  After dinner Audree and I did laundry and Jeff made a pot of soup to cook all day tomorrow to eat when we get home.  That will be SO nice.  Being a tourist is exhausting!!!!!

Sunday, November 24th

Travel Day!  We are at a campground south of Washington DC tonight.  So you know what's coming the next several days.  Until then.........

           **Sara

Saturday, November 23rd

Today we went to see how the Amish community lives.  There are 30,000 Amish people in this area of Pennsylvania.  They don’t have electricity but they do use batteries and gas for some powered things.  They only have a few clothes: One for wash, one for wear, one for church and one for spare!  Crazy.  Jeff says I can get rid of 90% of my closet!  :)  There are horse/buggies ALL over the road here.  They drive right where we drive.  You have to be so careful driving!

Nancy and her grand daughter, Ava, who is about Audree's age went along today.  They've had a lot of fun together.   So after the Amish Village, we ate like the Dutch at a family style restaurant that was delicious as was the Shoo Fly Pie!  Then went to an Amish Farmer's Market.  We saw many Amish people in there.  They are just like all of us!  

So the other day when Audree did the blog, we forgot a very important event.  It's the most hill-billy, red-neck restaurant ever! It was all you can eat shrimp--great for everyone else.    They even have frozen chicken bowling tournaments and hog calling contests at times!  Hilarious!!  

Friday, November 22nd!!!!!!

Today we went to Herr's Potato Chip Factory for a tour. We saw pretzels, popcorn, and chips being made. They peel the potatoes, slice them, fry them, and finally get salted. Our tour guide got geared up with gloves, earplugs, and hairnet and went in and got us chips freshly made. So fresh that they were whole potatoes only 6 minutes before. After 20 months of waiting, Mom and I watched The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It was amazing. In the evening we went to a Dinner Theater and watched a funny holiday show. Nancy owns a gift shop there and I bought a wallet. Fun day in PA.

                      -Garrett %

Thursday, November 21st

We arrived in Quarryville, Pennsylvania, yesterday afternoon.  Joe lives here, another friend that has come to Colorado to hunt for years and has stayed with us at the RV Park.  We went to Philadelphia today to check out all the historical sites there.  Wow!!  Crazy to have walked where George Washington and Benjamin Franklin walked SO long ago!   We drove into the city which wasn't too bad.  Parking with the big truck was a little tough but we got into the 2nd parking lot.  We walked to the Independence Visitor Center to kind of get a good plan for the day.  Our first stop was Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were created.  We saw where they all sat and worked on it in the 1700s.  Crazy!  Next was the seeing the Liberty Bell. The bronze bell symbolizes freedom in the USA.  It was first cast in 1752.  It had cracked within the first year so they broke it down, melted it, added more copper to make it less brittle and re-cast it.  They rang the bell for important events during early American history.  It cracked again in 1835.  It was great to see that big, massive, old bell! 

Then we had a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich!  Had to get one of those while in Philly!  Yummy :)  On to Benjamin Franklin's Museum.  It was very interactive and interesting for the kids (and us!)  Not only was he a brilliant man, he was very generous and kind too.  Then off to the house of Betsy Ross.  We even got to meet her!  She's aged quite well.  Amazing that at age 24, George Washington came to her in her upholstery shop and asked her to sew the first American Flag! He had a drawing of it, but she also used her own creativity by putting the stars into a circle rather than in lines and by making them five points rather than six. 
 
We drove home in a some busy traffic and had a great home cooked meal with Joe and Nancy.  Another big day under our belts!    **Sara

Wednesday, November 20th

 Today we went to the sweetest place on earth, Hershey, Pennsylvania!  When I walked in, I smelled a sweet smell of milk chocolate.  Yum!  We took a little ride around the factory to see how chocolate is made.  When I walked into the gift shop it was amazing.  I found the biggest chocolate bar ever and I wanted to get it but mom wouldn't let me.  Garrett found a whole world of chocolate kisses and he loves kisses.  We walked by a little house and I noticed it was all made out of candy.  Every single bit!  We got to pick out some candy to buy.  Dad let us go do the ride again and after the ride this lady asked us to try a sample of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  It was for a survey or something.  We got a Hershey bar for helping her.  Then it was so sad because we had to leave the chocolate factory. 

           Audree <>

Tuesday, November 19th

We were part of history today.  It was the 150th anniversary celebration of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address given on November 19, 1863.   TODAY!  Crazy that we were here.   We were 4 out of about 10,000 people to attend the commemoration held at the cemetery.  We even got to listen to "Abraham Lincoln" give the Gettysburg Address.  President Lincoln was invited to the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery and was asked to give a few remarks.  His speech was only 272 words long but was one of the greatest speeches ever.   We learned a lot today about the Civil War and particularly the Battle of Gettysburg.  The battle was on July 1st-3rd, 1863.  There were 11,000 that died in this battle.  It was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.  The Union (aka the North) won.  This battle marked the beginning of the end for the Confederates (aka the South) even though the war went on for almost 2 more years.  

After the ceremony ended we went to the Visitor's Center for. First we watched a short film and then into a cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg, specifically Pickett's Charge.  A cyclorama is a massive oil-on-canvas painting that displays in special auditoriums and is enhanced with landscaped foregrounds sometimes featuring trees, grasses, fences and even life-sized figures. The result is a three-dimensional effect that surrounds the viewers who stand on a central platform, literally placing them in the center of the great historic scene.  (thank you Wikipedia)  It was awesome.  Completed in 1883, the original painting was 22 feet high and 279 feet in circumference.   

We then spent a hour or two in the museum.  Tons of info!  After that we drove around to see some of the memorials on the battlefields.  There are a lot of them!  We had an early dinner at a restaurant that the building was there when President Lincoln rode by on his horse to go give the famous speech.  What a historic town!  Another very educational day!   **Sara

Monday, November 18

We left Massachusetts and drove through five states. Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. We stopped at the New Jersey sign so mom could take a picture.  The sun was bright so it didn't turn out good. We found our campsite and I found a skate park that I rode up and down on my bike.  It was really fun.   We are in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Tomorrow we are going to see some battefields from The Civil War.    Audree <>

Saturday and Sunday, November, 16th and 17th

16th

We got to sleep in today, the first time in like 3 weeks. We had to do one assignment about the Statue of Liberty.  She was given to the USA from France for a friendship gift in 1886.  In the 1980's Lady Liberty had a major restoration because of wear and safety hazards at the age of 100ish years.  Mom, Audree, and I went to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. Norman Rockwell is a painter from the early 1900's known for his news post paintings of natural and funny scenes. Audree and I drew pictures and we looked at Norman Rockwell's pieces of art. For dinner we ate Indian food with Ariane, Jimmy, and George.  It was interesting.

17th

We got to sleep in again! We cleaned the camper and we got really sick of each other. For dinner we ate at a place with prices way too high. I always try to keep it cheap so I ended up with a salad and the place didn't even have ranch. George had about 1 million appetizers and 17 trillion entrées George is a crazy eater if you couldn't tell. For dessert Audree, Mom, and I had a crème brûlée. It was way too small so I stole one of George's 13 billion million billion desserts, another crème brûlée. Johnny O was also at the dinner with his daughter Kara. After dessert we said our goodbyes and hopped in the car for the ride of our life. George is also a crazy fast driver; he scares everybody. After arriving home safely we chilled and ate Hershey Kisses. This is our last night at George's home town of Sheffield, Massachusetts.

                -Garrett%