I was there as a young teenager some 40+ years ago. I was mesmerized by the feelings and history of the place. I'm sorry it took so long to get back but it was worth it.
The temperature was over 100F both days but we made do.
We took most of Monday to drive down (about 751 kms) and got to our motel which turned out to be fairly comfortable. I found it on Expedia and the rates were like half of some of the other places. We had a king size bed and my only complaint was that the darn mattress would NOT stay on the foundation. Consequently the pillows kept going down between the wall and the mattress.
We did sleep WELL the first night. I think it was exhaustion from the drive. This is the view from our window.
The next day started with a trip to get hubby's dobro set up at the builder's store. That included a tour and was very interesting. They are built by hand and most of the pieces and attachments etc are built on site. Because the instrument is made of wood weather can affect them and so it just needed to be looked over and given a check up. The previous owner bought it and played it maybe once and then it sat neglected. Now it is one very special sounding instrument.
After that was all done, it was off through some little roads that were obviously the same ones used over 100 years ago. They wound through farms and mountains, just beautiful country. We were heading to Antietam first. That battle was considered "The Bloodiest One Day Battle in American History."
"23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862."
This picture was taken by Alexander Gardner, an assistant to Matthew Brady, on September 19th, 1862. The quote at the bottom says "In this road there lay so many dead rebels that they formed a line that one might have walked upon as far as I could see. They just lay as they had been killed apparently, amid the blood which was soaking the earth."
This battlefield was named "Bloody Row".
This picture shows how deep Bloody Row was and is taken looking the other direction.
In this next picture you can see the immense size of the battlefield and in the middle of it between the trees is the place where Bloody Row is.
If you are at all interested in history and especially any aspects of the Civil War it is worth taking a trip to the area. The American people seem to really care about their history and do a marvelous job of saving and respecting it.
I will continue tomorrow with pictures from day two of our trip.
An aside to the trip.
On both the way down and the way back we ran into LOTS of construction on the various highways. Those people down there really understand the signs. The Roads Department tell you in advance that one lane is ending and people move over. None of this waiting till the last minute and trying to squeeze in. None of this speeding up in the last 100 yards or so and hoping someone will let you in. The ONLY delays we had were for trucks trying to climb those mountains. Amazing. And you know what else. For the most part they followed the speed limit AND they knew how to use their signals. I tell you, considering that Canadians are considered so polite to talk to it all disappears on the road. We could learn a lot from our friends to the south. Also at places where there is construction and you are supposed to slow down they have these display boards that tell you the speed you should be doing and show you what you are doing. Very handy and a good reminder. Only very, very few drivers were the kind that tailgate and don't realize it.
And one last thing: When I got back to work after being gone for FIVE WHOLE DAYS my regular customers treated me like they hadn't seen me in MONTHS!! How can you not like a job like that?!
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