4th Stop~ Fredericksburg

~So after we visited Mt. Vernon, we were off to Fredericksburg. Funny Story: We got a little lost in the town and pulled up to a KFC to grab some lunch. As we got our food we asked the lady -who only spoke spanish & fast food English- "Which way do we go to get to the Battlefield?"...She looked confused and then said to us ..."We only have forks!" Tim didn't understand what she had said and so I had to calmly pat his shoulder & without laughing say.."She only has forks." We both held in our chuckles and quickly drove away. We then laughed so hard tears were coming out. Even our kids were dying with laughter. Ok so maybe you had to be there but so, so funny.

~Oh I almost forgot to document our other funny trip moment. So we are driving in D.C. trying to find a flippin' parking spot on ANY street within a mile or two of the WHITE HOUSE. (notice we had no up close photos of it.) We think we finally are gonna get lucky and then suddenly we're on one of those round-abouts! All you have to do is THINK Chevy Chase Vacation! We went round and around and then around again. By the 3rd time around I was laughing so hard I couldn't speak and again.. tears. Finally we figured out that we needed to get in the far right lane in order to get out of it. 

....Ok so now moving on to more serious things.  Now we are back to Civil War stuff and are in a graveyard at the Battlefield in Fredericksburg. Tim is telling us the story of "Marye's Heights" as we see see more gravesites.

Warning: below picture is authentic & graphic

*Photo of Sunken Road & Stone Wall after the Battle 1862*

The Confederate Army had built this Stone Wall and they hid behind it waiting for the Union soldiers to come. As you can imagine it was a brutal battle.

*Photo of the same EXACT spot today 2008*

Kaylea & Daylan collecting rocks along the Sunken Road for grandma, grandpa, cousins. They insisted that so many people needed these special rocks.

contemplating the series of events

"Mom-look at the caterpillars!" Daylan said

This memorial is entitled "Angel of Marye's Heights." It depicts the story of a Confederate soldier who feels so bad for the Union soldiers dying in the field beyond the Stone Wall, that he runs out and gives them water from his canteen. A touching story that you can feel the emotion of there in the field. The monument states: "At the risk of his life, this American soldier of sublime compassion brought water to his wounded foes at Fredericksburg. The fighting men on both sides of the line called him The Angel of Marye's Heights."

This was our 3rd day.

And then about an hour after this sweet site of Daylan.....

THIS HAPPENED!

~We had arrived at our new hotel for the night and Daylan tripped over a bag as he tried to get out of the SUV. I had my hands full of bags and saw it all happening in slow motion helplessly just feet away. He fell flat on his face and hit his head on the curb we were parked next to. This is a picture of him about an hour afterwards. It was the hugest goose egg ever when it first swelled up. I thought Tim was gonna pass out. We were quite the scene in the hotel lobby. Day was fine after his bath and some orange soda pop.