Civil War Weekend - Manassas

Continuing our Civil War Summer, 

the kids and I drove to Manassas, VA this morning,

which happened to be the anniversary 

of the second Battle of Bull Run.

Our first stop was at Stone Bridge,

which was an important crossing point during the war.

It was blown up after the first battle,

by the Confederates, as they left the area.

It was rebuilt after the war.

The view up the river was so pretty ^_^

Then we drove to the Henry Hill Visitor's Center.

They had a few nice displays, 

but the really interesting things were outside!

It really was the perfect weather for a day of sight-seeing

Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname here,

at the first battle of Manassas by closing a gap in the line, 

and keeping the Union soldiers at bay.

His memorial reads:

 "There stands Jackson, like a stone wall."

We toured the Henry House (above),

and saw amazing 3D photos of the aftermath

from the Battles on the house and surrounding area.

There was also a monument to the fallen soldiers,

which was erected in 1869.

We drove just down the road to tour the Stone House.

It was a tavern and inn prior to the battles,

and a field hospital during the war.

We met reenactors from the New York 5th regiment of Zouaves.

They lost over 80% of their men at Bull Run.

We had seen examples of their uniforms in museums before, 

but they were even more impressive in person,

Then we headed to Brawner Farm, to see live artillery drills.

We learned all about the guns they used, 

and saw how they were loaded and fired.

"It's so loud!"

Then they fired the cannon!

We toured the farm house, 

and went around back to meet this gentleman.  

He taught us all about what it would've been like

in Civil War encampments.

He had his trusty dog inside his tent,

and was cooking up some lunch over the fire.

Then I caught the second round of cannon fire from a different view,

just before we called it a day and headed home.

I'm grateful to the people who work so hard to keep history alive.

It wouldn't be near as exciting for my kids to learn about,

if it weren't for the reenactors, knowledgeable workers,

and other volunteers.

Tucahoe State Park

We spent this past weekend camping and exploring

 near Tucahoe State Park in Maryland with Jared's parents - 

Paul and Melodie Stanley.

There were thunderstorms in the forecast for the evening,

but Jared constructed a very comfortable, dry setup. 

S'MORES!

The kids had fun looking for creatures at camp...

These two moths were their favorites

And Caleb caught a frog!  These little guys were everywhere ^_^

By Saturday morning, the rain had cleared, 

so we went to the playground.

It was made of recycled tires -

The kids were so excited!

The playground was right next to the lake-

It was such a lovely day,

 that Jared took the kids out in shifts explore.

They saw tons of turtles, fish, and flowers-

and a beaver house!

They even went under a bridge

After all that excitement, we had a picnic in a pine grove.

It was so pretty ^_^

That evening, there was a hot air balloon festival 

only a few minutes down the road. 

Melodie loves hot air balloons, and it was the reason we'd 

gotten together for the weekend.

But, because the venue was at a winery, and we don't drink

(and the ticket prices reflected the free alcohol being offered)

we decided to just drive in that direction

and find our own vantage point to enjoy the mass balloon lift scheduled.

We saw them inflating when we drove past the vineyard,

and found a perfect spot a few miles down the road

We watched each balloon float up above the trees, and right overhead!

We had a clear view of them as the flew out over the farms & fields.

We got back in the van, and followed them to see if we could watch some land.

Melodie recognized one as a balloon from Bridgeton, NJ,

 where she had lived for many years.

In fact, she knew some of the crew.

**They invited us to follow them**

They finally landed at Willow Hill Farm,

in the kind owner, Florence's, yard.  

She was taking pictures alongside us,

and said she'd only ever had one other balloon land there,

about 25 years before.

Jared, Melodie, and Paul helped with walking the balloon to a safe place,

and the initial deflation.

Timber!

Then they invited all of the kids to join and help them wrap and pack it up.

The sun went down as we drove back to camp, 

and we packed up on Sunday morning.

We all agreed that we were happy we didn't go to the festival,

because we would've missed such a unique and fun opportunity.