Here's one of the trees through the front window.
Here's that same tree from the inside.
...and here's the Peanuts tree, covered entirely with lights and ornaments featuring the Peanuts gang, particularly Snoopy and Woodstock.
We're well on our way to our full complement of six trees, which should be completed any day now. 'Tis the season to be busy!
Here's Rebecca again, very early in the race.
Here's Rebecca midway through the race...
Here's the team, from a distance, getting in their last minute warm-ups before the race. Erik is in the center of the picture.
Afer the Visitor's Center, we went to the Old North Bridge, the location of the famous "Shot Heard 'Round The World". While shots were fired previous to the skirmish at the Old North Bridge, like at the Lexington Battle Green, the shots fired here were the first that were actually ordered by a military commander of the Colonies, giving the first shot that famous title.
Here's the Minute Man Statue itself.
We had a great day off and really enjoyed seeing some of the local sites that are very easy to take for granted. We've noticed over the years that the National Park Service has done a terrific job updating not only their overall facilities, but also their audio/visual presentations. Between these presentations, displays at the Visitor's Centers and talks from some of the park rangers, you get a much better sense of the history of each park. We encourage everyone to take a day and visit one of their local National Parks. It's a very interesting and inspiring thing to do!
A couple of weeks later, Erik had a movie party at a local restaurant/theatre called "Chunky's", where they served pizza, popcorn and birthday cake along with a current movie. Erik and his friends saw the new animated feature "Igor".Erik just started 7th grade and in addition to his studies, he's participating in a Cross Country program after school three days a week.
...and for Erik, who is beginning 7th grade, which is the middle grade at the local Middle School.
Here is the home that George Washington used as his lodging and headquarters during that same winter.
After Valley Forge, we drove about 360 miles and finally, we're...
After experiencing the weirdness of Gravity Hill, we moved on to Antietam. When we arrived, we watched a 26-minute orientation film and then took a driving tour of the battlefield. Seeing the places on the battlefield in person enhanced what we'd learned in the film. A very knowledgeable park ranger also filled us in on some of the finer points of the battle. Below is the Burnside Bridge, named for Union General Ambrose Burnside, a key landmark from the latter parts of the battle at Antietam.
Before leaving Antietam, we took a few moments to browse the Antietam bookstore. Erik took a few moments to imitate his favorite president...Abraham Lincoln.
After Antietam, we took a leisurely drive to our lodging for the night, just outside of Harrisburg, PA. We spent a relaxing couple of hours swimming and checking out the town we're in.
On the way back down, Erik and Anne picked out walking sticks from the woods. Anne found hers to be very beneficial. Erik's? Not so much!
When we got back down to the car, we were able to see where we'd been off in the distance.
We then drove to the Visitor's Center for the park and took a shuttle bus to the Historic District of Harper's Ferry. Here, we learned about John Brown and his raid on the armory at Harper's Ferry. The building below is the reassembled fire station where John Brown and his surviving accomplices were captured. John Brown was ultimately hanged for his actions at Harper's Ferry.
Tomorrow, we're heading towards the Antietam battlefield in western Maryland.
