The Easy Button & A Trip to the Crater

On Tuesday, we checked off a couple more "to-do's" for Spring Break and headed to Petersburg. First a visit to Dad at his office and then on to Petersburg National Battlefield to see the infamous "Crater".










1st- A Trip to Dad's Office...
A trip to Daddy's office always includes some candy and an unhealthy obsession over the "Easy Button". There is incessant pushing over the Easy Button.

THAT WAS EASY....

THAT WAS EASY....

THAT WAS EASY....





I don't know how those guys get anything done. If we had one of those at our house, I could just put it in the center of the room and fascinate our children for hours. Bizarre.

Then there was the dismay over the decor of Dad's office. The girls and I are now on a mission...to create a homey and smell-goody environment for poor Dad. What's the deal with all the paneling....and the maps....and the thumbtacks??? Don't worry Dad. "Team- Office Makeover" is on the job! We'll be bringing in some coordinating fabrics, some citrus fragrances, and of course a dozen pictures of us!







We enjoyed our visit and wished we could have wooed Dad to come with us, but hey...somebody has to fund these excursions, right?

Next- Petersburg National Battlefield...
The Siege of Petersburg was a 10-month struggle...the longest siege in American warfare. There are scores of battlefields scattered throughout the Petersburg/Richmond area. You could visit civil war sites for weeks and probably not see them all. The area we live in is rich in history and struggle and it is not lost on our children. The girls have each studied the Civil and Revolutionary Wars at length and are pretty avid history buffs. It is fascinating and embarrassing at the same time. Can I tell you without you judging me, that I asked my daughter at least 326 times:

"Union is the north, right?" or

"Hannah, the Federals were the north & the Rebels were the south...is that right?"




Samuel on the other hand just knows that some fightin' took place here and is there a possibility he might get his hand on a weapon? Please? Fire a cannon maybe? Light up some dynamite? OH yeah, and where is George Washington?

I won't bore you with the details of Civil War trivia. If you are at all interested, you can click here and check out more info on this particular battlefield. I will give you the skinny on the trail that we walked and the oh-so-famous "Crater".

The visitor's center had a small but quaint museum that we walked through.

















The trail is called Confederate Battery 5 and was probably about a mile long. It is considered on the of the strongest works of the original Confederate defense line (that's the south-wink, wink) and also known as the Dimmock Line. Besides noting the historical significance of our location, we were absolutely enamored with our surroundings. Spring buds are on every single living thing and it is a beautiful time to be outside. We took way too many pictures! It was a splendid day and I had wished we had more time to spend there.













































Now...prepare yourself for the picture below. At this very spot on July 30, 1864 at 4:44 a.m., a Union mine was exploded under a Confederate Battery in an attempt to create a breakthrough. "The charges exploded in a massive shower of earth, men, and guns." Between 250 & 350 Confederate soldiers were killed instantly. The battle which ensued resulted in the deaths of thousands and ultimately, the plan was a failure, ending with a Confederate victory. The area affected by this tremendous explosion is known simply as....THE CRATER. (tum-tum-tum)

We are giddy with excitement over the gigantic, monstrous, gaping hole that has been left in the Earth from this mighty blast! You'll need to sit down for this one....






















Yep. That's it. Notice Samuel can't even turn around because he's afraid he might miss something. WHERE'S DA HOLE? WHERE...IS...DA...BID...HOLE??????

Imagination must play a vital role at this point in the day.

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Tomorrow in our Spring Break adventures I'll share with you what we did on Wednesday and decide....are bowling alley's the armpit of America?