I fear that there will be no ability to post to the Internet tonight – it is acting up and I keep losing a signal. However, I am composing, as promised, to recant the activities of the day.

As promised, we did complete the self-auto tour of the Gettysburg battlefields this morning – over 40 acres of historical locations commemorated by statues, memorials, placards and markers. Today, it was quiet and peaceful and reverent – the complete opposite of the chaos and destruction on July 1-3, 1863. Winding through the locations, one could get a first hand view of the terrain and the challenges of the battle that lasted 3 days and cost almost 55,000 dead, injured and missing. Looking out from Little Round Top (vantage point of the North), I got goose-bumps to imagine the fear and anticipation of the hand-to-hand combat, cannonballs flying and rifle-shot all around and the bloodied bodies strewn about the fields. War is Hell.

Our words of the day come from an American Red Cross billboard along the side of Route 81 – Change a Life…Be Changed. It got me to thinking about those who have changed and made an impact on my life and those of whom I have touched and may have changed. We all should take a moment to reflect on that, and if you have the ability to do so – thank a person that has made a positive impact on you. If they are gone or it is impossible to thank them personally, at least take that moment to think of them fondly. Most importantly, we need to be cognizant to “pay it forward” and pass it on to others. Change-makers manifest themselves in many titles: Parent, Grandparent, Spouse, Den Mother, Scout Leader, Teacher, Sponsor, Mentor, Lover, a Shoulder to Cry On, Advisor….. There are personal rewards in knowing that you have helped someone in need – it will be returned to you 10-fold. To quote Forrest Gump, “And that’s all I have to say about that.”

Our final destination today was Natural Bridge, VA (near Roanoke, between the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge mountain ranges along the Appalachian Trail). Only some of the Fall color has made it here – mostly the yellows and some of the red. We traveled through a lot of farm country and saw the greenest grass EVER – it was almost fluorescent and covered many vast fields. Sometimes, we would see horses, cows or sheep grazing – but most prolific of all were muskrats. I couldn’t get a picture of them scampering across the road (and I didn’t think you wanted to see roadkill), so I will make up for that by giving you this Youtube link to a cute song: Muskrat Love (I like the Captain and Tennille version with the synthesizer “twitter”): the Captain and Tennille – Muskrat Love   From the amount of muskrats we saw – there must be A Whole Lotta Love in these parts!

The advantage of RV-ing is that you can stop just about anywhere – so we stopped in a large parking lot and had some sandwiches and chips (also a cost saver to eat in) and stretched our legs and then took off again to reach our destination early. As we got to Natural Bridge, we stopped at a farm store to stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables. The proprietor was a nice, older gentleman with a very thick southern accent and hospitable manner. I noticed Steelers memorabilia and commented on that being a ways from home and he told us he had been a devoted Steelers fan as long as he can remember. Interestingly, it was not because they had won so many championships, but because he admired the owners (the Rooney family) for their integrity and generosity. Here was someone who understood our words of the day.

I was a little suspect when I saw our KOA was just across the exit on I-81 – but it is actually quite nice and woodsy and quiet. There are squirrels running about and crickets chirping and peepers peeping (sounds like the Bayou in Pirates of the Caribbean). Dad is tired from a long day of driving and is hitting the hay early. Tomorrow, we will head to Williamsburg, VA for a 2 day stay. Going to try and get this darn thing to post – one more time – then it is off to bed I go as well.