Day 1 - Conway, AR - Florence, AL

After nearly two years since our last road trip, we headed back out on the road!  And let's face it, given the COVID numbers in Arkansas right now, nearly any place is better than there at the moment.

We pulled out of Conway in a new acquisition:  a 2001 Chevy Express van.  The kiddos have gotten too big for us all to fit comfortably in the Durango, so we upgraded to Vansen!

We grabbed a bite to eat on the way out of Conway and we were soon headed east on I-40.  Unfortunately for our first day on the road, the wind was blowing heavily out of the northeast, meaning we were quite like a giant sail.  Add in the traffic on the interstate approaching Memphis (remember, one of the bridges is out), and poor Jason was white-knuckling it for a while.

After looping around Memphis, we headed into northern Mississippi and I took over the wheel.  Just outside Corinth a good line of storms fired up and again, we were at the whim of the wind.  Once in Corinth, we made a turn north and saw our first brown sign for Shiloh National Battlefield.

Crossing back into Tennessee, we arrived at Shiloh after the visitor center and bookshop closed, but we were able to grab some maps and do our own little tour.  Over two days in April 1862, over 23,000 died (more than all American wars combine up to that point) as the Union and Confederacy clashed at this outpost on the Tennessee River.  There were not many visitors today and I was especially struck by the stillness as we exited the van and walked around.  The National Cemetery is situated near the Visitor Center atop a hill overlooking the river.

Another line of rain started to move through so we loaded up and headed towards Florence, Alabama, with a stop in Savannah, TN for dinner.  We had the best chicken sandwich at Jack's (the old Jack in the Box).  With COVID, we aren't eating inside so we enjoyed in the parking lot inside Vansen.  A short time later we arrived at our hotel in Florence.  Tomorrow we head further east as we make our way to South Carolina.

Day 10 - Arlington, VA - Milford, NY

Today was a travel day, but before we left the Washington area, I wanted to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.  A quick drive from our hotel in Arlington across the Potomac and we arrived on a beautiful morning.  Dr. King has a great view of the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin from his spot.  After a quick stop by the north side of the White House (the kids and Caroline didn't see it the day before), we loaded up and drove towards Dulles Airport so we could arrive at the secondary Air and Space Museum located nearby.  I had been once before, but this visit was even better.  They've opened a new section which allows you to overlook their preservation lab/hangar.  The Apollo 11 Lunar Module was currently there having some work done to it.  In the main museum are several early aviation gliders and planes, an Air France Concorde, the Enola Gay, the Blackbird, and, of course, the Space Shuttle Discovery.  We all agreed that what we liked about this museum is that it doesn't go overboard trying to educate you.  What I mean by that is, the planes and space ships are displayed for you to enjoy fairly up close.  Placards nearby tell you what you're looking at and some of the history, but you're free to just roam around and gawk at the artifacts.  Be sure to make a visit here if you're ever in the DC area.

After a quick bite for lunch in Leesburg, VA, we headed north with our first stop at Gettysburg, PA.  Lena and I were the only ones really looking forward to the stop; Yorktown left a bad taste in the others' mouths for battlefields.  Fortunately, Gettysburg is better as there is so much more to look at.  This was my second visit, but it was fun to see all that has changed in the 30 or so years since I was last here.  We stopped at the Visitors' Center to load up on maps and snacks and then off we went.  We didn't drive the entire auto tour, but hit the highlights:  Pennsylvania Monument, National Soldier's Cemetery where Lincoln gave his famous speech, Virginia Monument, and the Arkansas Monument.  It was a short visit, but well worth it!  We got lucky too as a guided tour came up while we were in the cemetery so we got to hear where the real spot Lincoln gave his address:  spoiler alert, it's not where it's marked!  Instead, recent technology has confirmed it's located near two trees and the road in the middle of the adjoining city cemetery.

The rest of our day was driving as we made our way to central New York.  We stopped for dinner in Hazelton, PA, at a great local diner.  We unfortunately drove through the mountains and valleys around Wilkes-Barre and Scranton in the dark and didn't get to see any of the south central views of New York state.  We pulled into the hotel in Milford at about 11:00 pm (our latest yet) and all crashed into bed immediately.  Our journey continues tomorrow at Cooperstown!