Planes, Eggs, & Cannons

Finally a Saturday forecasted to be perfect for learning to tow-launch for My Man!  The only problem was he had to be there by 7:30 in the morning and we live 2 hours away.  That meant a 5am wake-up.  Oh yeah, and all the Easter egg hunts our kids had been sugar-lusting after for days would have to be forfeited.  But the kids were good sports and agreed to check out the new site.  I surreptitiously checked out the city webpages for both Shippensburg and the surrounding towns to see if there were any egg hunts we could crash, but couldn't find any that hadn't already happened.  I did find lots of great places to explore nearby, however, so I was hoping to keep the kids busy enough to forget their severe sugar deprivation.

I needn't have worried.  As we drove through town, all three sharp-eyed kids pointed and exclaimed excitedly, "LOOK, MOM!  An Easter egg hunt!"

We dropped My Man off at his air field and headed back to the park to participate in the community egg hunt.  The park was beautiful with a half-mile track, exercise equipment, soccer fields, a play ground, and, best of all, a tether-ball pole.  Since the egg hunt wasn't scheduled to start until after 10 and we got there just after 7, we had plenty of time to enjoy the perfect spring morning.  I got in several miles walking the loop while the kids played and read.  We also had several intense tetherball competitions (where I awed the kids with my amazing tetherball skills).

At last it was time for the Eggs-travaganza!  They advertised that they put out more than 10,000 plastic eggs altogether and I believe it!  The kids gathered more than they could carry and had more candy than they knew what to do with.  Darling Daughter even had two of the bonus prize eggs that scored her two full boxes of candy.  There were also some games and crafts that the kids enjoyed.  Combine all that with 70 degree, sunshiny weather, a beautiful park, and happy, laughing kids, and we had a wonderful morning. 

We could have stayed all day, but My Man called about noon to say he was done--he took to towing like a natural and was so good that the instructor waived the lesson fee!  It was too calm to get any long flights, but he got five tow-flights in and even got to try a little bit of powered paragliding (which is what most of the paragliders around there do).  Check out his video here. 

With so much of the day left, we decided to head out to Gettysburg for a bit of history since it was kind of on the way home.

Since we didn't have time to see it all, we opted for the visitor's center (with the movie, museum, and cyclorama) and the monuments at Cemetary Ridge, the site of Pickett's Charge, the last battle of Gettysburg.  When Funny Guy saw this sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, he ran over and gave him a big hug.  I'm glad these kids share my love for this great man.

We spent a lot of time in the museum, and I was impressed by how interested the kids were in the history of the Civil War and Gettysburg in particular.  They were especially excited to learn about Major General Reynolds (the highest ranking officer to die at Gettysburg) but were a bit peeved to learn that he'd been offered the position of Commander of the Army of the Potomac before General Meade but turned it down (we're not even sure if we're related, but the kids are claiming him!).

The Pennsylvania monument to those who fought at Gettysburg is beautiful.  There is another statue of Major General Reynolds there and his is one of the names engraved around the top of the monument.  The view from above looks out over all of Gettysburg.

Young Man was so inspired by our trip here, that he promptly started reading Killer Angels, one of my favorite Civil War novels.  It is such a terrible part of our history, but it is amazing to be here, to see it come alive.

And of course, none of the kids could resist a picture straddling one of the cannon replicas out front.  I hope we make it back here another day to take one of the more detailed tours that are offered.