Antietam, Harpers Ferry and Ski's

I spent the Wednesday night in Martinsburg. I left the hotel about 8:30 and headed east toward Antietam. Two lane roads again in country that looks little touched since the civil war. I picked a good day to go as it wasn't crowded and the weather was nice (until the thunderclouds formed and made me think, "C'mon, not again."). But luck held and they blew away instead of opening up with a downpour.

I crossed the Potomac and was in Maryland. Short ride later and I was at Antietam.

Just before you arrive at the National Battlefield, you pass through Sharpsburg and Shepardstown, both of which are historic and patriotic. Many properties fly flags and banners, and on some of the houses are stars. Ski told me last night the stars indicate the houses were there during the Civil War.

Pretty sure everyone remembers their history, but for a quick refresher, here's a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antietam

I watched a movie in the museum and looked at the exhibits before wandering outside.

There were more than 100,000 men on the field that day and after the battle, 23,000 were either dead, wounded or missing. It's hard to even imagine it. You read about it in history books and then to see the terrain certainly puts it in perspective, but it remains difficult to visualize what a nightmare it must have been. Three million bullets were fired that day. Just unreal.

You need a vehicle to tour the entire battlefield so I rode the bike to most of the designated markers. My pictures really don't help anyone better understand it, I don't think.

I rode from there to Harpers Ferry (no apostrophe for some reason). More back roads, up and down gentle hills and easy curves.

Same deal for a quick refresher (I like Wikipedia...):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper%27s_Ferry

At Harpers Ferry, you catch a shuttle and take a 2 1/2 mile ride to the lower town. There are Park Rangers walking around to answer questions, but you're really on your own. Got some photos of John Brown's fort. It was originally at the site of the obelisk:

But, like the marker indicates, it was moved about 150 feet from the top of the hill:

And here's the confluence of the Shenandoa and the Potomac which made Harpers Ferry a travel route for Indians and explorers. Spectacular:

Lewis and Clark were even there, preparing for their trip. I thought this was an interesting story:

This is the replica of the boat they reference in the marker blurb. By current standards, there's nothing to it. A few pieces of thin metal that you put animal hides on? Man, the early explorers were more hardy than people can imagine:

Afterwards, I caught the shuttle back to head for Ski's. I heard an older woman speaking German to a man and woman so my ears picked up. I started talking to them and found they were from Stuttgart. The one woman had said to the other that after all the places they'd been, they probably knew more about American history than most Americans. She had an accent like my mom's and it was nice to yak with someone from the Old Country. We parted when the shuttle stopped and I was gearing up to leave. They passed me in the parking lot and gave big waves. Nice people.

I had good directions to Ski's but as I got close to the house, I was certain I missed a turn. I stopped on the shoulder and grabbed the gps. I hadn't uploaded the most current maps before I left so I should have been prepared for what happened next. Ski and Sharon had told me to come down a main thoroughfare and I'd driven for what I thought was too long. Instead of continuing on the road, I had a nagging feeling I missed the turn. The gps told me to get off the road I was on, take the toll road, make a few turns and I'd get to Ski's house. I sat on the bike, looked around and everything was familiar but I couldn't quite get my head around it. So, instead of going straight, I jumped on the toll road for about a mile. An unmanned booth took $4 off my credit card and then I circled around. I missed the turn to their house and as I u-turned, I looked off to my right and could see where I had been sitting 10 minutes before. The gps didn't know the road went all the way through so it took me on a circuitous route. If I'd ridden straight for another 100 yards, I would have been on the right street. Instead, I did roundabout to get there. Pretty stupid.

Met up with Sharon and we headed for Wegman's. (If you've never been in a Wegman's, you have to put it on your things-to-do list.) Some quick food shopping and then back to the house. Ski showed up soon after. Sharon picked Michael up and we headed for soccer practice. Michael is a great kid. He'll be 7 in November and is smart, funny, inquisitive, polite - I'm very impressed with him. And, he has one speed - all out full. Supper was grilled steak, salad and corn on the cob - everywhere I've been, people are feeding me really well on the trip.

Michael has a soccer game Saturday morning. The coach will be out of town, so Ski is subbing. He told me he's going to buy some of those short shorts coaches wear, get a whistle, a ball cap, and of course, a clip board. A speedwatch is another good thing to wear around your neck. You never know when you're going to have to time 6 year olds... Eight boys on a team; four playing at any time. Four quarter so everyone gets equal playing time. Should be lots of fun. It reminds me of when I coached soccer for Ruppert and Reilly when we were in Hanau. Reilly quit during the first practice and Rup chased the ball. Actually, all the kids chased the ball. It was like a snake every game. No positions, nothing. Just kick and run. It was fun, though. I let all the kids pick the name of the team and they came up with the Brown Three-Headed Timberwolves...

Anyway, looking forward to Michael's first game this year and to watch the coach run up and down the sidelines, yelling encouragement. As spectators, Sharon and I should have a blast.

I'll likely take a few days off on the blog. I anticipate leaving on Sunday but it's weather dependent. Even though I'm going to buy some rain gear while I'm here, I don't want to ride through it if I can help it. I woke up with a head cold this morning and I suspect it's from wet boots. Note to self: Next time, bring an extra pair of boots.

Thanks for reading and posting. I'll be talking to you.