Last week was a pretty busy week with Valentines Day, my Birthday and President's Day. For Valentine's Day we really didn't do too much. I wanted to show my family how much they meant to me instead of buying them something so I made a really nice dinner and I made each of them little individual heart cakes. For me to even bake a cake is something special. It was a wonderful evening with my family. I love them so much.
My Birthday
For my birthday we went to dinner with our friends, Beth and Kevin, at Olive Garden. After dinner Beth and Kevin watched Dalton and Caitlynn while the rest of us went to the movies. It has been a very long time since we all went to the movies together. It was really nice. Beth and Kevin actually kidnapped Dalton and Cailtynn overnight so Jeff and I took advantage of the time and went out for a couple of hours after the movie. It was a rough night without the babies. I kept waking up every couple of hours straining my ear to here them. Of course I couldn't because they weren't home. I couldn't wait to see them on Sunday. We really did appreciate the evening without them, but we sure did miss them.
President's Day
Ok here is a little quiz for you for President's day.
Q. What is Camp David
A. It is a rustic vacation home for the President
A. It is a rustic vacation home for the President
Q. Where is Camp David located
A. About an hour from my house in Thurmont, Maryland!!
Q. Who cares?
Q. Who cares?
A. Ok I don't really care and no we didn't go see it. We were within a few miles of it though. I actually had no idea where this was and was very surprised to find it was so close to us. It was always so far away from me it seemed like it was in another world. And now it is only an hour from me!!!
Q. So where did we go on our little President's Day adventure?
A. The National Emergency Training center and Gettysburg.
Jeff's dream job would be to work at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The center is made up of the Fire Academy and Emergency Management Institue which is run by US Fire administration and FEMA. I was very excited to see the facility if only it was to walk around on the grounds. At the facility is the National Fallen Firefighters memorial. It was a wonderful memorial and dedication to the Fallen Firefighters. 
The plaques are on the ground are lists of names of every firefighter in the country who died in the line of duty since 1981.
This plaque is dedicated to just the 346 firefighters who died on September 11, 2001.
On the grounds is a monument that is a tribute to those heros of 9-11 and all who serve this nation. It isn't finished yet. From what is looks like so far it is going to be one amazing monument. You can't really tell how big this monument really is. I would guess the men are about 15 feet tall.
Gettysburg
Gettysburg is only about 10-15 miles from the Training Center so there is no way we could be that close and not at least have a little peak. A little peak is really all we had time for. I have so much literature on things to see and do in Gettysburg our plan was just to scope out the area. Gettysburg is 1 hour and 15 minutes from our house so we can go back anytime. We made our way to the visitors center which is right across the street from the Cemetry. We saw a 30 minute video explaining the events of the 3 day battle. In the Visitors Center there are several displays of uniforms, guns, camp life, etc of the Civil War. On our way out of town we drove through a little bit of the battlefield. What really is amazing about this place is you don't go into some gated area that is closed off from the rest of the community. The battle took place just outside of town and that is exactly what it looks like today. You are just driving along and then all of sudden you are on the battlefield. It really gives you a sense of what it looked like back then with farms just right there on the battlefield. The National Parks prides themselves on keeping this battlefield as close to what it looked like in July 1863 as they can.
I did not take these pictures. I found them on the internet. It gives you an idea of the area. As soon as the weather gets nice we plan on spending a whole day here.
Gettysburg is only about 10-15 miles from the Training Center so there is no way we could be that close and not at least have a little peak. A little peak is really all we had time for. I have so much literature on things to see and do in Gettysburg our plan was just to scope out the area. Gettysburg is 1 hour and 15 minutes from our house so we can go back anytime. We made our way to the visitors center which is right across the street from the Cemetry. We saw a 30 minute video explaining the events of the 3 day battle. In the Visitors Center there are several displays of uniforms, guns, camp life, etc of the Civil War. On our way out of town we drove through a little bit of the battlefield. What really is amazing about this place is you don't go into some gated area that is closed off from the rest of the community. The battle took place just outside of town and that is exactly what it looks like today. You are just driving along and then all of sudden you are on the battlefield. It really gives you a sense of what it looked like back then with farms just right there on the battlefield. The National Parks prides themselves on keeping this battlefield as close to what it looked like in July 1863 as they can.
I did not take these pictures. I found them on the internet. It gives you an idea of the area. As soon as the weather gets nice we plan on spending a whole day here.
1 comment:
Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Birthday! Happy Presidents Day! I love when you write about history stuff. Since Zach is studying American History indepth right now, your blog has become one of his reading assignments! No pressure! Love to you all!
Tanya
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