Jour Four

Waking up in sleepy little Gettysburg after leaving Manhattan was as stark a contrast you can get in American life. It’s like the first 10 minutes of the Wizard of Oz replayed backwards. Part of you wonders how the sprawl of such a huge place like New York City could possibly end, and sure enough 200 miles away there was no sign of Manhattan, no skyline, no noise, no smells, just some fields and farms and simple little buildings that make up a small town thrust into history more than seven score ago.

This was not my first time to Gettysburg, but I wanted to go back and show Ashlee. For some reason when I visited this place when I was 17, it moved me. I couldn’t fathom the magnitude of this battle in this quiet countryside hamlet. Sure enough it did happen, and it changed the fabric of America permanently. Ashlee read the Gettysburg address for the first time, and she was fortunate to do it in the exact spot where it was delivered. I think it moved her. In hindsight it was a great preview of what she was going to see in DC that very night.

We drove by the battlefields and went into the museum and let Lance play on the cannons by the cemetery. He really loved the cannons. Mostly because he knows that’s what makes the big noise in the 1812 Overture. Our stay was brief but purposeful. It reminded me of what I once felt about freedom and struggle and purpose. It opened Ashlee’s eyes to the fact that history does happen in real places to real people, not just in some mediocre textbook and on a chalkboard.

Our next stop was Reston VA, the home of the Mudrick family. This was to be our base of operations for the next couple of days while we visited Washington DC. Ashlee was thrilled to be able to help cook a meal and let the kids just play on the floor. We went grocery shopping with Ben’s dad, David. I avoided the temptation to purchase an authentic Virginia ham (another Blog entry for another day). We had a wonderful meal and headed out to see the Nations Capitol at night.

It is moving to see the Mall at night. It was probably my 6^th time being there at night and I love it more each time. Ashlee had never been and I could tell she was in awe. Especially with the Lincoln Memorial. It is truly a temple, a holy place in our nation. Lance was even reverent and in awe of the giant statue of Lincoln. Ashlee read the giant reproductions of Lincoln’s most important speeches and we sat on the top steps and took it all in.

We proceeded to head to a monument I had not yet seen, the World War II memorial. This is a very special place and a fitting tribute to those who served and sacrificed. We spent over an hour looking at the whole monument, and finally had to leave because most of the lights were shut off and the fountains stopped. Both Ashlee and I have grandfathers that served our country during WWII. We then walked back down to the Vietnam Memorial. Being there after midnight was a unique experience. I think I valued this visit to that memorial more than before, mostly because I have a greater understanding of that conflict than I did years before.

We finished our long walk in the perfect night air, got back into our mini-van and drove around the District some more. We saw the Capitol, the White House, National Archives, the Smithsonian buildings and many other buildings that make DC so unique. After getting lost looking at some of the cool neighborhoods we set the GPS to head us back to the Mudrick home 20 or so minutes away. We went to sleep very tired and very happy, glad that we were on this trip, glad to be seeing the sights, glad to be doing it together as a family.