November 19, 2004 –

Up this morning to an overcast but warm day. Took back roads into Gettysburg – and arrived just after the speech that was being given to commemorate the anniversary of Lincoln’s famous address.

Many of the people visiting – as well as the locals were in full re-enactment costumes – working hard to accurately represent people who were present at the civil war battle.   Although the parade is supposed to be tomorrow – people were in costume and role today. Apparently this was also added to as there were auditions for another reality TV show about the civil war times (Swords and Roses?). Therefore many people were trying their hardest to be in role – as there was some speculation that there were some secret judges out and about. Somehow four bumpkins for Canada with little accurate knowledge of the Civil War and battles – seemed to fit the bill of what they may have thought a secret judge might be – and therefore people were really working hard to put their best foot forward.

There was one poor fellow – who was sitting with his back to a monument on Cemetery Hill – who Deb approached and asked if he would explain to the kids how the war started. He was in a confederate uniform – and was from the Deep South – but worked hard to give a balanced explanation – and apologized for those times that he was not PC. Included in his explanation were the reasons for the war starting – how the slavery issue was brought into it at a later date as a “political spin” and how prior to Gettysburg – although greatly outnumbered – the South had not lost a major battle. He probably spent 20 minutes with us and would have continued on – had we not felt like we were intruding on his time. Some of the interesting things that he told us – included that all the barrels on the guns that were placed around the cemetery were original barrels – and that there was even one of them that still had a cannonball wedged in it. He even offered to go get a flashlight and show us which one. He also identified some of the inaccuracies in how the cannons were positioned – indicating that the ones on cemetery hill did not have a proper slanting trenches (so the guns would roll back after being fired) and that the ones across from the museum (in a valley) – were actually located on the hill – but were moved in the early part of the century as the tourists could not see them from the trolley line. It was interesting, though, after the versions of the war in Arlington – to hear about the start of the war from his perspective.

One of the shop keepers in a somewhat exclusive Civil War Artifacts store – was patient in his explanation to us – and when we apologized for our lack of knowledge about the Civil War – said not to worry – as he had been asked sillier questions before – “Like who fought here – the German’s or the French” – (Given that the question came from an American – I guess we do not have to feel too bad.)

Seeing the actual fields of engagement and the accounts of the battle – and how things may have changed on the first day should Lee have pushed his advantage – was somewhat overwhelming. By a peculiar circumstance – Lee was moving into Gettysburg from the North whereas the Union forces were coming up from the South. The somewhat chance meeting ended up in three days of battles – with there being various strategic situations that were subject to ongoing debate as to the wisdom of the manoeuvres. Among these was the belief that if Stonewall Jackson were still alive at the time of the battle – then he may have been able to make the difference for the South – and the ultimate failure of Pickett’s charge and it becoming the turning point of both the battle and the war. There are not only the formal monuments – and bus tour / driving tours of all the battle fields – there are also many small plaques in the underbrush. The sheer number of un-identified soldiers -and the efforts that were gone through to identify them were significant at the time. However – the treatment of the confederate dead was in not nearly as honourable – and again it goes to show the advantages as to being on the winning side.

After seeing many of the battle sites and a Cyclorama of the battle (one of only three left in N. America) – we spent some time walking around the tourist shops in the area. It was sort of an unbelievable world – with people there sight seeing – foreign tourists – bus tours of school kids – Union soldiers, Confederate officers, southern belles and even children in full costume – all walking and eating in the same places. The Confederate soldiers – always conscious of the more cultured southern manner – were always removing their head gear before ending a house – even saw one young confederate lad get dress down by a “superior” officer for failing to remove his headgear quick enough.

Some of the shops were interesting – offering a variety of Civil War memorabilia, ghost tours, and a variety of T-shirts and flags. The messages in some of the stores seem to indicate that maybe the wrong side won the war – others indicating that the Rebels have been fighting terrorism since 1863, etc. The one that Pat liked the best was a quote from a Southern General in which he indicated that he “would hunt down and shoot, anyone who killed him”. (Now that’s dedication).

With all the people in the town – we even managed to run into the couple from Front Royal who had initially invited us to come up. They have been coming up every year for the last 12 years for this event – and even though not in costume today were all ready to get going tomorrow. (Pat unfortunately did not get the opportunity to ask someone about the etiquette of how role / characters are picked – i.e. general, gunner, etc. although the efforts that are gone through to guarantee authenticity were clear).

Headed back to the campground – just before dark – and stopped at a Self-Serve Egg Farm. It was really neat seeing this sort of trusting operation – can still exist – and from all appearances – thrive.

November 20, 2004 –

Woke up this morning – and it had rained heavily most of the night. There was about 1/2″ of standing water on the ground – and a heavy cloud and fog. As a result we decided that we would not wait around until the afternoon for the parade (in the rain) and made a quick decision to pack up and head south.

We spent most of the day driving to Newport News – an area just outside of Williamsburg. As we drove into the town there were signs indicating that the road in front of the camp ground was on the hurricane evacuation route (good to know). There were some signs of damage in the park – that that was primarily from hurricanes last year – and this year they only saw a lot of rain from the storms (locals say that they are about 6 inches above normal rain fall so far this year). The campground is a state park – that was surprisingly busy for this time of year (they say as a result of the unseasonably warm weather and people continuing to camp). As a result we ended up in one of the last sites remaining. When we followed the instructions to get to our site we ended up passing under a sign that read “Moguls” and showed the picture of a skier. Now this was somewhat of a shock to see in Southern Virginia. However – we moved in and got set up. Shortly thereafter we found that many of the units around us were part of a Ski and activity club from the local area – who were on one of their outings / celebrations. They had a big marquee type tent and bonfire going. They invited us over after supper – to which we readily agreed.

Turned out to be a really great time – the kids ended up meeting another boy about their age (Hayden) that they played with for most of the night – while mom and dad enjoyed meeting many great people. Between the semi-retired contractor – who made a tradition out of burning unusual things in the bonfire (this year it was wooden chairs) while the rest of the group tried to guess which way it was going to fall, the multiple Jell-O shooters, the 73 year old psychiatrist, and the lady who apologized for her Yankee husband – and when asked acknowledged that the war really wasn’t over – but the south was just having a run of bad luck – we had a great time. We also got some really great ideas from them about where to go and what to see – and if we stay around for a couple of days – an invitation for Pat to go out ocean fishing – from a lady who committed her husband to do this – although he wasn’t here – as it was hunting season. What a great example of Southern Hospitality. As the one fellow explained – they were a drinking club that had a habit of skiing. We were made to feel right at home.

November 21, 2004 –

Up this morning – and the weather looks like it has cleared up. Most of the Mogul Ski Club were up and having breakfast. The boys ran out the door without breakfast to go and play with Hayden – and give him a Cranbrook City pin. We exchanged addresses and contact info with a number of the people from the club – and said our good-byes – as they would be packing up and leaving today – and we were going off to Jamestown.

Thanks “Moguls” for showing us a great time – and giving us some ideas about livening up camping trips to Horseshoe Lake when we get back home. Stay in touch.

Traveled to Jamestown historical site – and wandered around the site of the first English settlement in the Americas (1607). The “guide” that took us around the site was “John Rolfe” who is probably better known as the husband of Pocahontas. He described the trials of the first colonialists- how during the first several years – six out of seven perished (partially due to the drought, partially due to illness – and also due to being ill-equipped to deal with the environment. Many of the first colonialists were “gentlemen” “second-sons” who were unaccustomed to hard work – and were more driven by the desire of quick wealth). It said that without the assistance of Pocahontas in providing food the rest would not have survived.

We also witnessed some of the archaeological digs that were being conducted – and had a demonstration of glass making (as this was one of the first industries that was tried and failed in Jamestown). The first industry that did survive in the swampy land was tobacco. As we drove around Jamestown Island to see some of the first farm sites we saw two raccoons which both boys found very interesting. With the way the raccoons were straying close to the road – it is little wonder that so many ended up getting hit.

We then took a drive into colonial Williamsburg – and although did not buy a pass into the exhibits – wandered around the shops and some of the old village. The amount of surviving colonial architecture located in one place is phenomenal. Williamsburg is also the home of William and Mary College – one of the oldest and smallest Universities in the States. So you had the contrast of Colonial houses and people in period costumes, horse drawn carriages, mixing with tourists, and co-eds using the wide avenues for jogging. It would really be an interesting place to go to university – and with all the shops, restaurants and archaeological digs and the number of help wanted signs – it did not appear that there would be a shortage of jobs for those going to school. The shops and restaurants are fairly excusive but were a lot of fun to walk around.
November 22, 2004 –

Today was supposed to be a quick day at Jamestown historic settlement (re-creating the time period of the first settlement – early 1600s) complete with a reconstructed fort, ships and native village). Unfortunately, there were also 1700 school kids that were going through the settlement as part of their school program. Therefore things were a bit crowded and loud – at least for the early part of the day. We decided as a result that we would go with one of the guided tours – and then back track to things after the crowds clear out.

The Indian village – as well as some of their handcrafts (rope making, skin scraping, etc.) were fun especially as the kids were able to try to do most of the chores. – They also enjoyed the demonstrations on how to make needles, awls and fishhooks from bones. The boys also helped in the making of a dugout canoe – which the natives used fire to soften the inner part of log which is then scraped out by sea shells.

One of the interesting facts was that in the early days the locals used to view the local native customs as demon worship and tried to restrict them. As a result the local natives stated that they would never reveal the details of their religion – which they never have. There is a ‘circle of dancing’ made of carved poles at the site – that replicates one that was found nearby – but no one knows what they were actually used for. The local Powaten still come and use it on occasion leaving behind a bit of tobacco but they won’t explain what they did there or allow non-natives to attend.

The settlement also had reconstructions of the three ships that were used to come to Jamestown. The largest of these three ships is considerably smaller than the Mayflower. The smallest of the three ships (the Discovery) – was only 49 feet long – and was primarily used for exploring the James River and other parts of the coast. However, it is hard to imagine what it would have been like to cross the Atlantic in a ship this small.

The reconstructed fort – had demonstrations of the early muskets (lit with a wick) and small ship’s cannon. There were also smaller armoured breast plates and helmets that the kids could try on. There was even a house that was being built – and you could see how the walls and the thatching were done.

Plans for a campfire tonight had to be postponed – due to the rain storm that set in. Therefore we had to satisfy ourselves with a couple of hands of Canasta.

November 23, 2004 –

Although it was a cloudy day, and sprinkled rain throughout the day, we were still able to get a considerable amount of site seeing in. First stop was into Yorktown Settlement – to see the museum and historic settlement. The settlement was from the time of the American Revolutionary War (mid 1700s)- and demonstrates both a period rural farm as well as military camp.

On the “Time Line” into the settlement – there was a number of quotes around taxation from both British politicians and Colonists – that led up to the revolution. It is interesting to see how events were interpreted – depending on which side of the issue you were on. For example – the British tried to introduce taxation of the colonials to help pay for the war and the cost of the soldiers that were placed in the colonies to protect them from the French and Spanish. The colonists who boarded the ships in Boston disguised as Indians and dumped 100,000 pounds of tea into the harbour were viewed as patriots. In another place and time or with a different result they’d be viewed as terrorists – hiding their identities and trying to blame someone else.

While we were reading all the background on the revolution, Keelan found a large bug – that was about the size of a praying mantis – but had a large rough razor back. We’ll have to check our bug book to see if we can find out what it is.

The farm provided a good demonstration of the crops that were grown and picked (tobacco and cotton) as well as the process of turning flax into cloth. They had dried many of their summer crops – and were working on some of their winter crops – lettuce, broad beans, etc. There were even a couple of Muscovey ducks, guinea hens and turkeys (risky this close to Thanksgiving). The boys learned that their jobs on the farm would be picking the seeds out of the cotton or picking the slugs and worms off of the tobacco and feeding them to the turkeys.

The Military encampment – was brigade strength, and had an interesting display of both field medical treatment (or lack their off – considering their lack of knowledge of germs and bacteria – and the British embargo on pain relief medication), and their group cooking facilities. Each tent of six men had a hole in a circular earthen structure that had 8-10 similar holes where they’d have their cooking fire. They could bake or boil in the holes and the ashes went on top to form a mound. It was surprisingly smokeless. The military actors also demonstrated the loading and shooting of muskets (now with a flint lock) – as well as a cannon – which Mickey was delighted to help with (taking on the role of the munitions provider). He stood so proudly at attention during the exercise that he put some of the others to shame.

It was interesting to note that during the Revolutionary war – the American forces were assisted by the French – who they promised never to forget for their help, and that the British got assistance from a number of Africans who were promised freedom if they won. One British unit that was pinned down in Yorktown – was so short of food and supplies during the siege – that it cut the African soldiers loose – to the no-man’s land between the two lines. There was also mention of the burning of homes, torture and hunting of “Tory” or British supporters by American forces both as a part of the war effort – as well as by citizens in general.

After leaving the settlement area – we toured through the Village of Yorktown and the battle sites from the civil war. There were some interesting ramparts – and battle sites in the area (including one civil war trench earthworks that runs through our campground). The local area is also the site of a major naval base – as well as huge naval weapons facility. There were lots of large buildings around – and military police everywhere.

We headed back to the campground – and off on about an hour bike ride through the back woods. The state park has a series of bicycle trails – and with almost no one in the campground – the trails were empty and thickly covered with leaves. It was a great ride and with Mom and Dad fold down bikes with the small tires – we had to work hard to keep up with the boys.

November 24, 2004 –

Up this morning – and off on the road again. This is the day before American Thanksgiving – and the busiest travel day of the year – so we wanted to be off the road as soon as we could. We have reservation in another RPI resort in North Carolina – outside of Jackson Springs. However the detours around Suffolk and the construction through Durham (the town actually apologizes for the construction delays on their welcome signs) caused us to be later than we had hoped. In Durham it seemed that every road that we were on was under construction – and we changed highways four times.

We traveled beside both cotton and peanut fields today. They had the big combines out picking the cotton and making big square bales – (3 m. x 3 m. x 7 m.). Every where they are sat down – or when they are being transported – the loose little pieces of cotton. When we first came across the white fluff in the ditch – we thought it was snow and panicked. The peanuts were for the most part – picked – however there are lots of wholesale peanut outlets – with peanuts that are both plain and flavoured. We will have to see if we get time to try some.

Arrived at the resort in the early afternoon and got set up just before a short torrential rainstorm. By arriving – we seem to have reduced the median age considerably – as most people here seem to be well into their retirement years – and almost all of the sites have at least one golf cart. Apparently we are surrounded by about 30 golf courses within an hours drive and the town just down the road calls itself the Golf Capital of America. One of the golf courses that we saw on the way up even advertised night golf under the lights. The campground is also about half an hour away from Rockingham Raceway which would be another draw. Fort Bragg military facility is also close by so we seemed to have moved from a naval area to an army one.

The campground appears to be fairly nice – with a club house, store and a pool that is still open (nice to be far enough south that they are still open). There is also supposed to be a bass stocked lake down the road – so will have to see how well the port-a-bote works.

The weather forecast is predicting the possibility of high wind and more rain tonight – but this seems to be the best alternative. There are severe snow storms to the north and west of us, and gales and tornado warnings along the coast to the east. Think we will stay put for a couple of days and see what the morning brings.

November 25, 2004 –

American Thanksgiving. The store at the campground is closed. However the clubhouse has stoves in it that people have booked (on scheduled 2 hour blocks) – and you can see people riding by in their golf cart -carrying roasting pans with turkeys in them. There are a large variety of golf carts here – with a variety of custom made or home made attachments. Some come with covers and some have then added portable propane space heaters to – so that they can be warm as they travel around. They run around the campground silently, sometimes scaring the pants off of you and although we feel left out as we don’t have one, everyone waves at us anyway.

Apparently in talking to one of the people here – the campground offers a deal whereby you volunteer your time for upward of three months – helping out cooking, cleaning up, setting up for special functions, etc – and you get your site rental during that time for free. As most of the retired people are looking for something to do anyways – this makes for a good deal for them. Dad started thinking about this as a way we could extend our holidays longer – but Mom does feel that we need to go back to work at some point. Oh well – it may be an option for some future time.

As the boys had picked up putters and balls for the Mini Golf course and there was no one around today – they and mom played several games of mini-golf. Unfortunately it is a bit too cool for the outside pool – but maybe it will warm up a bit more later on this week.

The boys came back and started working on their school work – and we will see if we can put in some good efforts over the next couple of days in order to get ahead. It will also give them time to do some neater writing – when they do not have to contend with the RV bouncing down the road.

Dad is happy doing some puttering around the motor home and watching a number of the college football games that are on today. Although we are getting not bad television reception – and adequate cell reception, there is not enough strength for the computer internet connection – so are without the ability to do up emails (which we had planned on) plus some research as to where we are going to go from here.