I'm so thankful for places like Lexington and Concord, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor and Arlington. Thank you to all of the Men and Women who have provided and protected the freedoms that we continue to enjoy in this great country today. I'm especially grateful to those for whom I'm able to call my friends and family, one of which is my Grandfather in the photo below, who have served.  You all know who you are.  Whether I tell you directly or indirectly (such as posts like this one), please know how much my family and I appreciate your service, whether you are currently serving or it was many decades ago. I remember sitting in front of the TV on day that the US went into Iraq in 1991 listening to the reports of what was happening.  Hearing about the jets and were leading the attacks and that they were doing this to bring freedom to the Kuwaiti people. I wished that I could be there.  Secretly I've always wished that I could serve in the military and defend this great country myself, but due to some physical limitations they would never have taken me.  So my whole life I've sat on the sidelines and watched the rest of you with pride. So Thank You for your service.

If only I could borrow the Delorean, I'd high tail it to Gettysburg, PA and punch in the date of June 30, 1863. I'm not sure that it would have been possible to just watch and not been thrust into action, but it would have been cool and yet heartbreaking to have been able to see and hear history in the making. I guess that I'll have to settle for watching the Hollywood version.

Some of these tidbits from the Civil War are great.

144 years ago today marked the official beginning of the end of the U.S. Civil War. General Robert E. Lee officially surrendered but it still took a while for the word to get out and for the actual fighting to stop all around the country. Being able to visit Appomattox last summer was a bit of a lifelong dream finally able to come true.  Though we didn't get a chance to spend much time there, it was still neat to spend some time where some of the men that I've heard about my whole life actually walked and did the things that I've learned about in a classroom.

Today would have been Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday.

I selected and began reading the book that I'd like to read for the remainder of my break. It's Soul of the Lion - A Biography of General Joshua L. Chamberlain.  I bought it while in Gettysburg this summer.  I've always been interested in Chamberlain's life and am excited to read it.  Now I just need to force myself to sit down and take a few moments to read.  So far I'm on page 18.  I've got a long way to go before next Monday.

When I was a kid, we had an extra chair in the house that was placed in my bedroom with a hanging lamp above it.  I think that we originally put it there because a family member was coming to stay with us or something like that. After that it was left in my room.  I loved to turn on the light and sit in the chair and read.  It's been a long time since I've been able to do something like that (with the exception Textbooks for school). Today I got my wish, I had (and needed) a lazy Saturday.  We recently purchased a couch for our bedroom.  Early this afternoon I opened up a book and laid on the couch reading for a couple of hours.  It was great!  Now I just need the time to "unplug" and do it more often.  I didn't even fall asleep. Of course, the subject of the book is something that I'm really interested in.  It's called "Bayonet! Forward!" and is a collection of Civil War accounts written by Gen. Chamberlain.  It's one of three that I purchased on our vacation.   I got exactly what I wished for today and what I really needed, a lazy Saturday.  The only time I left the house was to go shopping for a few things that we needed. Other than that I've watched three movies, and did something that I haven't done in a very long time.

[hidepost]We spent the evening at Gettysburg, one of my most favorite places to visit.  My Father in Law graciously took us on a tour of the Battlefield. We first visited the new Gettysburg Visitors Center.  It is huge and beautiful.  The interactivity while walking through the museum exhibits is awesome.  Sadly we didn't have enough time to go through all of them and give them the proper amount of time. They now have it broken down into a time line.  It talks about the causes of the Civil War, why each side was fighting and what they were fighting for, etc.  It then walks you through several points of the war and then you go through the sections that talk about each day of the war. There are seperete sections for each day and they have a presentation for each day that describes the actions of each day.  There are tons of smaller exhibits and many have large touchscreen flat panel monitors where the kids can have some interaction with the exhibit. For example, my son (who plays the trumpet) was playing a "game" that played various pieces of Military Bugle calls from the Civil War and he had to match them up to the scenario that was visually and verbally presented to him on the screen. Some of my other children were next to him viewing the various parts of a soldiers uniform and what he would have carried on his person. I was very impressed with what we saw there.  Not only from a historical aspect but from a technology point of view.  it just so happens that I've been somewhat looking into the same type of flat panel touchscreen monitors for a project that I'm currently working on. As the center was closing I ran into the bookstore and spent my entire life savings in there.  I'm kidding, I only had to sell half of my kids.  Ok, now I'm really kidding.  I bought one book.  It is another one written by General Chamberlain and is about his experience at Gettysburg.  I'm excited to read it. Afterwards is when we toured the battlefield.  We drove along the tree line where the Confederates formed to make their charge (better known as Pickett's Charge) on the last day of the battle.  We drove past the Lutheran Seminary that was used during the battle. We visited Little Round Top, one of my personal favorites, and saw Devils Den.  My Father in Law told us stories that I had never heard before. Finally we visited the spot where the battle began a few miles outside of town. I wish that I had the time to spend all day there, or even a couple of days there, but it's not to happen on this trip.  Maybe next time. On our way home we stopped and got Ice Cream, though it was also a Nathan's Hot Dog stand and I almost bought a hot dog instead of an Ice Cream.  Though I think that we're probably going to go back there next week, because everyone saw something else that they wanted to try. [/hidepost]

The above quote is attributed to General George Pickett of the Confederate Army. 145 years ago today, was what has come to be known as "Pickett's Charge" at Gettysburg.  It was on that day that General Pickett was said to have uttered the famous words "General, I have no division...". While I don't know very much about the Civil War, I look forward to learning more, as much as I can really. My family and I have plans to visit Gettysburg this summer.  I can't wait.  I'm anxious to stand on Little Round Top again and I'm excited to share it with my children.

Spent part of the day at Camp Floyd, near Fairfield Utah. As a fan of Civil War history it was interesting to see a piece of Utah history that is connected to the Civil War. I bought a book on General John Buford.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to read it before visiting Gettysburg later this year.