April 15, 2012

At the Koa there were free pancakes this morning....boy were our troops happy!!  It’s not like we have been making breakfasts like that lately!!  They played on the giant jumping pillow, volleyball court and basketball.  The morning was super fun for the little kids....they won candy in the contests and games down at the play area and were very excited when they came back to the RV.  Before we left, we walked around the campground.....there are actual Civil War trenches on the property and it was cool to find them and stand in it.

We visited Harpers Ferry today, great place to see...industrial town of the 1860's with a huge ammunitions plant and armory to store them in.  The factory made rifles and ammunition.  Christian loved it.....it was also the sight of the unsuccessful revolt against slavery led by John Brown........we did a Ranger walk and completed the Jr. Ranger program there.....the town is recreated to look just like it did during the Civil War times.....the National Park Service has done an outstanding job at all of the parks that we have visited so far...great visitor centers and exhibits!!  We walked down to the Point, where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet and merge, also where the 3 states of West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia meet.  There were a huge group of kayakers on the river and it made me want to be on the river in a kayak too.  Of course, there was a golden retriever to greet us as we followed the trail out on to the bridge on the Potomac....

Then on to Antietam Battlefield...........one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.....such a pretty place and so peaceful that is hard to imagine the horrific battle and ensuing deaths that occurred here from Sept. 14-17 1862.....it is tragic what happens as a result of human greed and pride.....History....we need to visit these places with our kids and teach them to learn from the trials/triumphs of those that have come before us....the kids completed the special Civil War 150 year Jr. Ranger Program here....you have to visit several other sites to qualify for this and we have been to other civil war parks so they were able to do this.....We drove around and did the self-guided auto tour of the battle field...towards the end we parked in the parking lot and made dinner....we ate outside and watched the sunset, bright orange and pink all streaking across the sky....

We drove about an hour to get to Harrisburg to pick up Brandon....the kids were so excited to see him.  From there, we had an hour to get to the Gettysburg KOA.  Even in the dark, it is a nice campground and very clean.....I fell asleep while we drove there, I was soooo tired.