Post Weekend Review: Battlefield Tour

In an effort to try and Carpe Diem the rest of my time here, I went on a substantial battlefield tour this weekend. On Friday, it hit the Antietam near Sharpsburg, MD. I kind of had to rush through it because I wanted to get to Lynchburg, VA at a decent hour. The battlefield was still pretty cool. It rained all the way to Lynchburg, where I stayed at the Super 8. On Saturday, I started out with Appomattox Court House, where General Lee surrendered to General Grant. I spent a couple hours there with beautiful sunny weather. I then traveled to Petersburg, which was kind of confusing since it's three fronts spread out over quite a few miles. I saw an abbreviated tour of the Eastern Front mostly concentrating on the Crater, which is depicted in the opening scenes of the movie Cold Mountain (it's over dramatized in the movie, the Crater is not as large as it is in the movie but still really cool to see). After that I went up to Fredricksburg. There are actually 4 battlefields up there and I had planned to see them all but I only made it through Fredrickburg as it was all pretty awesome. I stayed in Haggerstown, MD at the Days Inn and traveled to Gettysburg on Sunday. I had been there once before but a lot has changed. There is a new Visitor's Center, the Bus Tour was different, new museum. It was all awesome! I did the Bus Tour, the Movie, Cyclorama, Museum, and the drove the entire battlefield to take pictures. I arrived there at 9am and didn't leave until 7:30pm. Well worth the trip and price of admission. I have 550 pictures plus a few videos to prove it. I got home at 10pm exhausted, sore, and satisfied. I do know that a future vacation will be taken out here again as I want to go back and see the battlefields again with the one's I missed.
















Dunker Church, Antietam National Battlefield














McLean House, where General Lee Surrendered, Appomattox Courthouse















Union Tunnel at the Crater, Petersburg National Battlefield















Memorial at Marye's Heights on the Sunken Road, Fredicksburg National Battlefield
















Cannons at Little Roundtop with the Devil's Den in the background, Gettysburg National Military Park













End of my Trip, East Cemetery Hill near dusk, Gettysburg National Military Park

Friday and Post Weekend Report: Healing

Not much happened on Friday. I just worked on some recycling stuff. Overall, it was a disappointing weekend. I pretty much had to lay around so I could heal my back. It was all I really could do. I tried working on a few projects but technology failed me. It also dawned on me how little time I have left here at Penn College, which is like two weeks. I got a few other projects done and stayed out of the record heat. Definitely looking forward to work this next week.

Post Weekend Review: Heat!!!

OMG! It was so hot this weekend that I threw all plans out the window. I watched the World Cup Soccer match between the US and Ghana, which was a losing effort on Saturday and did my laundry Sunday night. Those were the only times I went outside. I was perfectly fine staying inside, posting New York Pics on Facebook, and creating a New York Picture video for this blog. I also started researching a possible Civil War Battlefield Tour for the 4th of July weekend. Like the New York Trip, it's ambitious and I'm not sure if there will be time to cover it all.

Post Weekend Review: New York, NY!!

So, this weekend I went to visit Tim and Lindsay Amundson in New York City. Tim is one of my best friends from the University of Minnesota and I was the best man in Tim and Lindsay's wedding. We had been talking about a possible visit to NYC for a long time but I've never had the money or time to go. Tim and Lindsay are moving back to Minnesota at the end of June so I had to go! Plus, it was my birthday weekend, so NYC was my present from me.

From Williamsport, I drove 2 hrs and 45 mins to Dover, NJ where I caught the Amtrak. Tim met me at Penn Station and we went to eat. After that, we went to their local pub where Lindsay's friends threw her and Tim a surprise going away party! Good times were had by all. The next morning, Tim and I hit the ground running with the touristy spots. In order, this is what we accomplished over the weekend:

Saturday

First New York Subway ride

Chrysler Building (outside, plus my first NYC taxi ride!)

Grand Central Station

Chinatown/Canal Street (Lots of replica stuff, I heard "Oakley, Rolex, Gucci" a lot)

Walked over Brooklyn Bridge

Grimaldi's Pizza (New York Style Pizza, delicious!!!)

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Boat Tour of the Hudson (aka view Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, USS Intrepid, Chelsea Pier)

Battery Park

Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian (George Gustav Heye Center)

Wall Street Bull

Outside of New York Stock Exchange

Outside of Federal Hall

Ground Zero (Lots of construction here, tough to see and understand what is what)

NHL Pro Shop (Lot's of Blackhawks stuff, aka awesome!)

Outside of Radio City Music Hall

Sunset at The Rockefeller Center (Amazing view, probably better than at the Empire)

Mexican Radio (It's a restaurant, amazing food!!)

Times Square at Night

Sunday

John Lennon Tribute in Central Park (Went early to get pics before tons of people showed up)

- Strawberry Fields

- Dakota Hotel (Across the street from Central Park)

Shake Shack (Great little burger place!)

Columbia University Campus (One of the original colonial colleges! Beautiful campus!)

Grant's Tomb (Pretty awesome little museum, got some sweet pics and video)

Central Park (Took some pictures, tossed a baseball around, there is so much to see there!)

After Central Park, I was beat. I'd been in the heat all weekend and decided to throw in the towel. We went back to Tim's, I gathered my gear, and pushed west to Williamsport. I got home about 10pm. I may have been exhausted but it was well worth it.

I will recommend two things: 1. make sure you have an extra camera battery with you at all times and 2. you can do so much more with someone who knows the city and subway really well. I would not have seen half the things had it not been for Tim. I'm not sure how I'm going to post the pictures. There's kind of a lot. Maybe a movie? We'll see. Overall, great weekend! Thanks to Tim and Lindsay for their hospitality!

Post Weekend Review: Good Times

I got off to a lazy start, sleeping to about 11:30 on Saturday morning. However, things took off from there. It was the opening match for the US in World Cup Soccer against England. Krista and I went with Erin and Keith to Rivals to watch the game. They had some good wings and the match was a well contested tie. I thought about being lazy the rest of the day but Link Bryann Bingaman and his girlfriend Jess were looking for something to do, so Krista and I went to dinner with them at a great bbq rib place and then we toured around Bryann's home area, especially going to the awesome river shore park (can't remember it's name). It was a great little evening.

On Sunday, once I confirmed a New York City trip, I solidified a list of places to go. I also made a large push for on my homework. Since I was going to be gone much of the next weekend, I needed to get ahead cause I know I won't want to do homework next weekend. Great little weekend!

Post Weekend Review: Hockey!!

Friday night was Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs!! Unfortunately my Blackhawks were not victorious. They got handled for most of the game and started making a comeback but they were down by too much. The series is tied 2-2. Sad face.

I didn't do much Saturday morning but I spent Saturday night with Krista. Neither of us had plans so we went to the Bullfrog Brewery and had some great food. Highly recommended! We then decided to have an mini Office marathon, watching 4 of our favorite episodes. It was good times!

Sunday was Game 5 of the Stanley Cup and the Blackhawks dominated! I went shopping before the game started, picked up a few new clothes but I was super focused on the game. Byfuglein finally woke up and Pronger is finally wearing out! The line changes worked out really well. One more game. Victory is in our grasp!

Post Weekend Review: Memorial Day

Great weekend! I put away more of my stuff and hung some more signs on Saturday. Then it was all Chicago Blackhawk time!!! My Blackhawks were victorious 6-5 but it was an awfully sloppy game. The top line of Toews, Kane, and Byfuglien barely did anything and Niemi looked horrible. I'm a little nervous about the series.

On Sunday, I spent most of the time with Krista and Kevin, one of the Links. We explored Williamsport, went to the Mall, and went to Iron Man 2. It was all great!

Monday, it was back to Blackhawk time! I worked on some reviews for my Greek Life supervisor at Western but then it was all hockey. The Hawks won 2-1. It was a defensive/goalie standoff. Again, a little nervous but it's great being up 2-0 in the series!!

Post Weekend Review: First Weekend

I have unpacked most of my stuff and hung up most of my decorations and sports stuff. Still have a bit to go though before I post some pictures. I have successfully found the Lycoming County Mall area, equipped with a Target and Best Buy!!! I have also found various Subways, where I can eat fresh, and a Starbucks. I also drove around for a while just to get the lay of the land. Solid weekend, ready to start tomorrow!