Our Ohio

Thursday, June 12th & Friday, June 13th
Vacation Post #9

This part of our vacation is the "cherry on top!" I just don't know how else to describe it. We left Gettysburg Thursday morning for Ohio. Derek and I met in Ohio. We began our friendship in Ohio. We fell in love in Ohio. The best part of Ohio today? My brother and his family live there!!! Right where our story began.

We arrived at Eric's house just before supper time. My sister-in-law treated us to our first home-cooked meal in almost 2 weeks. It felt so incredibly good to be there. Later I told Eric that being in his home felt like coming home to me. My 3 year old nephew quickly took to his big cousins and before long they were playing cars and dinosaurs and planes. :)

After supper we drove 10 minutes to our university. Of course the campus was empty--it's summer. We walked all over and although a lot has changed, our memories haven't changed. We shared a few stories from our college years with our boys. Braylen was especially interested, since college is only 4 years away for him. Yikes!!!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our walk down memory lane that evening. Pam, you will enjoy these pictures. :)

We're really here!

Countless layers of spray paint on "The Rock."

Eric has a little fun with his camera and I capture it with mine!

This is taken right outside my freshman dorm--it's where we first met...20 years ago this fall!

Derek shares a story with Braylen while we look at our beautiful campus.

Kaleb helps Will up the steps at the library.

2 out of 3 of them jumped!

Will and Aaron are buddies too!

I love the clouds reflected in the windows.

A new building in the background, but same Derek & Sarah :)

I love my brother

Derek even has a memory at this brick wall, and shares it with our boys.

We walked this path so many times, it felt good and right to walk it again.

Thank you Eric and Amber for coming with us to visit Cedarville. It was a special time for us! Hopefully we will be back before another 7 years go by.

Afterwards we went to our favorite ice cream place--Young's Dairy. It was just as good as we remembered it to be. I loved coming back with our kids!

That night back at the house, we tucked the kids into the cute little beds Aunt Amber had made for them and stayed up late into the night catching up on life. I wish for many more nights like that one...maybe when Eric and Amber come visit us at our house next time?!! :)

In the morning we hung out in our jammies while the boys played and watched Cars. Amber's french toast casserole was delish! Thank you Eric for these pictures.

Eventually we got dressed and had lunch together at Colonial Pizza in Cedarville. Saying goodbye to Eric, Amber, and Will was made easier knowing we would see them again the next day at Mom and Dad's house. Yes, they were going on their own vacation and we would have one more evening together in Illinois before our drive home!

Before getting on the interstate, Derek and I just had to make one more stop. John Bryan State Park was a special place for us during our college years. We drove through and stopped for a very quick look at our park. Next stop--my mom and dad's house! We are excited to see them and to get our Ginger Girl back!

How fun to be back here!

So pretty

Goodbye Ohio! We will be back!

Gettysburg, PA

Wednesday, June 11th

Vacation Post #8

We loved Gettysburg. All of it. The 20 minute movie, "A New Birth of Freedom." The Cyclorama painting which depicts "Pickett's Charge." The museum--well, we didn't make it through the entire museum. At this point in our vacation we were pretty "museum'ed out." Our bus tour began at 1:30, so we left the museum for a quick lunch of leftovers at our hotel.

One thing we'll always remember is boarding our bus. Apparently the 1:00 tour bus never showed up. When our bus arrived, the people who purchased tickets for the 1:00 tour were pretty steamed. The poor bus driver asked us to form a line and show him our tickets before we boarded. The 1:00 tour group had to walk back to the visitor's center for a refund or new tour time. Wow, we were so glad we chose the 1:30 tour!

Braylen (and Aaron's leg) waiting to board our bus

The bus tour was worth every penny. For 2 hours we let someone else drive us around and tell us all about The Battle at Gettysburg. Our kids were the only kids on the tour, and our guide kept calling Kaleb and Aaron the "little boys." She also said Derek looks like a hot movie star. :) I wish I could remember which one...

I can't really put into words all that we saw and all that we learned. We came away from the tour with a new appreciation for General George Meade. Who, you might ask? Well, he became the Union General of the Potomac Army 3 days before the Battle at Gettysburg began. He victoriously led his troops through 3 days of battles, turning the tide of the Civil War in favor of the Union. And hardly anyone knows who he was.

Derek and Braylen spin the supply wagon's "spare tire."

Our 3 kiddos

Braylen stands by Gen. George Meade's monument.

A cannon pointed towards the sky signifies a General's Headquarters.
This was at Meade's headquarters.

Our last stop before supper was at the Soldier's National Cemetery. This is where President Lincoln gave his now-famous Gettysburg Address. Of course there are also many Civil War soldiers buried here. 

Pennies are placed at the site where Lincoln gave his speech

The end of this day marked the end of our vacation. In the morning we will drive towards home, with a very special stop in Ohio and a walk down memory lane for Derek and me. With all that we've seen and all that we've shared together as a family, God gave us the best ending to our vacation. It goes like this...

For supper that night we chose Friendly's, an ice cream place that also serves food. There was something going on with our waitress that night. Everything was late. The manager brought us a free appetizer to apologize, and I don't think I've ever had such slow service anywhere. It was okay at first, but the longer it dragged on the more frustrated Derek and I felt. This was our last night here, and we had plans to drive to a few stops our bus had missed. But what could we do? We were stuck. 

Family selfie at Friendly's

After finally making it out of Friendly's, we had just enough daylight to visit one place. We chose Little Round Top. It is part of the key high ground the Union forces held at the Battle of Gettysburg. As we stood on that hallowed high ground, thunder rumbled in the distance...or was that cannon fire? We could almost see the Confederates rushing through the wide open fields below, as all we learned that day was fresh in our minds. And then a man dressed as a Civil War re-enactor began to play a trumpet. On that rocky outcropping of Little Round Top, we listened to "America the Beautiful." It rang out across the valley and I don't think I've ever heard anything as beautiful as that. Thunder continued to rumble, distant lightning flashed, and a gentle rain began to fall. We stood there and listened to more songs. "Amazing Grace," an assortment of hymns, and finally, "Taps." When it concluded, the gentle rain is all we heard. I thought about our first night in DC, how it had ended in rain. I looked at my kids and my husband and thought to myself, "This is one of those moments to treasure. This is why we took this family vacation." We saw so much. We learned so much. But most importantly, what we saw and learned and experienced knit our hearts together. 

Standing on Little Round Top, with our little guy photo bombing us.

I love my boys

Our view right before hearing the trumpet

If we had left Friendly's on our timetable, we would have missed this ending at Little Round Top. We are sure of it. Sometimes what looks like an inconvenience turns into a surprise blessing. I am beyond thankful for this vacation with my family. And I love how our last night ended. :)

Heroes Live Forever

Tuesday, June 10th
Vacation Post #7

Before we left Washington, DC we had one more stop to make. On this trip we saw many memorials dedicated to the bravery of our military. It was time to visit a memorial that hits a little closer to home: The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

"The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion."
Proverbs 28:1

So many names on these walls...

Indeed

There was a light mist falling this morning. No one else was there, so it was a quiet place. We walked around, took a few pictures, and then a man came up and offered to take a photo of all 5 of us. He looked like an off-duty officer to me. He probably was.

"This memorial is dedicated to all law enforcement officers in the United States of America.
Inscribed on these walls are the names of those men and women who died in the line of duty."

All Together

We had just enough time to walk a few blocks to the visitor's center and store. Derek bought a hat for himself, and we all picked up a "Heroes Live Forever" bracelet. Except Aaron. He wanted a little toy police car. :) This job Derek has chosen is a way of life for him. It is also a way of life for our family. So much of who we are is wrapped up in the thin blue line. Next year a National Law Enforcement Officers Museum will be opening. That alone is a great reason for Derek and I to return some day!

The Visitor's Center and Store

Back at our hotel, we loaded up our vehicle and began the drive to Gettysburg, PA. It was pouring rain, and we were glad to be on our way! The drive was not very long, maybe an hour and a half or so. We listened to our book on CD and I navigated Derek the driver to our new hotel. :)

We arrived at 2:00, checked in at our hotel, and decided to see what we could find. We wandered around the national park and learned what we needed to know for tomorrow's day-long Gettysburg experience. We stumbled upon a park ranger program beneath a tent and learned all about Civil War surgeons. The ranger was great with the kids, making it a very hands-on experience. It was one of my favorite parts of this day.

Just Abraham Lincoln with Kaleb and Aaron :)

Kaleb had his leg amputated Civil War style.

For supper we found a small diner where the waitresses know their customers by name. It was great! Aaron even ordered something other than mini cheeseburgers--fried haddock with dip-o sauce. :)

His fishhook french fry :)

That evening we decided to drive around some of the historical battlefields and look at monuments. We followed part of the auto route, without the CD's, since tomorrow we planned on taking the bus tour. Without really knowing what we were looking for, we ended up finding quite a bit.

Aaron LOVED the cannons

Kaleb stands at the Eternal Light Peace Memorial which was
dedicated on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

This barn and house behind it were there during the battle. The train tracks were not. :)

A few of MANY monuments symbolizing the various brigades/divisions/corps/battalions

We saw a double rainbow in the sky and the wild honeysuckle smelled so good--I wanted to bottle it up and bring it with me. We all loved wandering around. Braylen let Kaleb take pictures with his camera and Aaron had our camera for a while. It was peaceful and I loved every minute of it.

See the rainbow? I am on the left taking a picture of it.

 Kaleb took the rest of these pictures. We have another photographer in our family!

honeysuckle

This looks like a postcard to me.

When the sun set we knew it was time to call it a day. We treated ourselves to blizzards from DQ and looked forward to a full day at Gettysburg tomorrow.