We arrived in Gettysburg in the afternoon and scouted out where our hotel was. As a Canadian, I wanted to see the importance of this locale and try to get a better understanding of the history here. A civil war hurts my heart and soul as I wish all could live in peace and harmony. As I came to understand why the Unionists (northern USA) and the Confederates (southern USA) were at odds, it’s difficult to see a place where not only a battle occurred but how this affects hundreds of thousands of people from north to south. The displacement of local folk, the loss of property, brother fighting against brother, with a country at risk, it makes a person sit up and think as to how this may have been different. We live in a world of instant messaging, emails, “Find My Friend”, location services; it goes on and on. It doesn’t take us long to receive news from anywhere in the world. Yet 163 years ago, there wasn’t anything except telegraphs, mail and word-of-mouth. President Lincoln used telegraph for tactical control of armies. The U.S. Signal Corps was founded in 1863 and they used flags and kerosene torches to send coded messages which could be seen from 10 to 15 miles. As well, field signals were still being used which included bugles, drums, and flags to direct troop movement during battles.

Erik and I were both reminded of Book of Mormon battles when we viewed this battlefield. Messages sent to either side and agreeing to meet at a certain place to fight it out. The battles were a fight for freedoms and here we see the same played out. The Union believed in freedom for all men and the Confederates wanted to keep slavery to run their plantations. I think on Alma 54 where Moroni is negotiating for an exchange of prisoners and Ammoron demands that the Nephite army lay down their weapons and become slaves to the Lamanites. Angry words were exchanged and a strategy was formed to aid the Nephites to escape without killing Lamanites. Well, that was only one part of the battles that were to ensue. Both sides feel that they are right but we see that when one side winning hurts not only their own but others, it’s hard to have a winner. Freedom is something that we may take for granted depending on where you live in the world. I love my freedom to worship, work, have family, travel and live a life with God in it.

We drove around the battle field with a downloaded driving tour narrated for us to understand what we were seeing. The weather was brutally cold so it felt good to be in the car. It was basically, one monument after another of the battalions.

It took a couple of hours and could have been longer if we got out at all the auto stops to see things. The battle of Gettysburg lasted three days (July 1-3, 1863). The battle was won by the Union and is widely considered the turning point in the Civil War. It was the bloodiest battle in the Civil War, claiming over 50,000 casualties. I was amazed at the work this large area entails for upkeep. There are so many artillery pieces placed to show where the battles occurred. There were also bus tours during our drive around and I can imagine how busy it will be in warmer months.

The crazy part of this trip seems to be the hotels. Our room was on the third floor right across the hall from the breakfast room. At 5:45 am, Erik could hear people lining the hallway to wait for the breakfast room to open. It turns out that it was a bus tour and they needed a 6 am breakfast. I wear ear plugs so I didn’t hear a thing (a good thing, because Mrs. Cranky-Pants would have done something about it). Lesson to all is: if you are in a hotel where rooms are situated, please use some discretion in your voice volume at a very early hour of the day. I explained to the front desk that the noise was unacceptable. They said, “Well, the bus had to leave early.” I replied, “Well, I DIDN”T have to leave early, and sleeping was on my agenda!” All said in my sweet, Southern mama voice, laced with sarcasm.

On to Lancaster, Pennsylvania we went. We had tickets to see Joshua (a musical) at the famous Sight & Sound Theatre. This was an exceptional experience! They also have a theatre in Branson, Missouri. This musical was in the works for the past four years and it is now being shown. The theatre seats two thousand guests. Everything runs like a well-oiled machine from the parking to the entrance and everything inside. We had floor seating and made our way there. As I wait, I love to watch everyone around me. The two rows in front of us were from a bus load of women from Queen’s New York. The youngest of the bunch (in her 30’s) was a “problem child”. She wanted to sit on the aisle seat but she got bumped by an older lady in her group who actually had the ticket for that seat. Then she moved to our row but of course, was bumped by the actual ticket holders. She was never in a hurry to get out of the way or move herself and I was laughing out loud at her audacity. When the house lights went down, instructions were to turn phones off and no recording. This woman opens her phone and proceeds to scroll through her feed with her phone held high so that everyone around her could see what she was doing! Then she takes a call!!! She kept saying and doing things to push her mama’s buttons. Mama glared at her a couple of times and from then on, ignored her. Oh, the drama!

My take away from this experience was that it was a theatre full of believer’s in Jesus Christ. We were there for a biblical experience and we received it. The live animals were amazing! Roman soldiers riding horses down the aisles, sheep running across the stage and up the aisles. Doves flying overhead and the most beautiful llama were to be seen. Hence, all arms, legs and body parts were not to be in the aisles.

The covered bridges were wonderful to see and experience their design and construction. We went to three different ones to see them.

We stayed in an Airbnb nearby and it was a delightful nest. “Martha’s Guest Suite” was a gem; lovingly appointed and comfortable. The next day we drove around to see a few covered bridges before heading south. I did go to a quilt shop and was stunned at the amount of inventory. I met an amazing husband and wife, quilting duo. They lived in Baltimore and came to Lancaster to this quilt shop, “The Log Cabin Quilt Shop”.

They were bringing in a few quilts to be quilted on the long arm. In the Amish quilt shops, you will see many finished quilts for sale; hundreds of them. The queen size quilts cost $1000 and the king size cost $1100. They are beautiful and have wonderful designs. A quilt kit for an American themed quilt came home with me.

We drove to Washington D.C. as we planned to attend the temple there on Wednesday and Thursday. This was the only temple on the eastern part of the USA and Canada for many years. It was built in 1974. I remember as a 14 year old, we came to the temple for a Youth trip. My memory of this temple (what little I saw) was of an industrial building, sort of like a city hall or a commercial building. The other temple I had been in was Cardston, Alberta with it’s beauty and ornate trimmings. My memory was correct. While the D.C. temple is the third largest temple in the world, it definitely speaks of mid-century modern design.

Our hotel here was very interesting because it was called a BWP (Best Western Premier). The marketing department calls it a 4 Star rating upscale, boutique hotel that offers unique, independent properties with curated designs, high-end amenities and local character. Positioned in premier destinations, these hotels offer refined experiences, on-site dining, bars, and, in many cases, spas or fitness centers. Now let’s talk about our experience…hotel room on the 7th floor. Door opens to a tiny area with a strange shelving unit with a mini fridge below it. The bathroom was tiny; barely able to turn around in, with a single sink. The walls were unfinished with drywall mud everywhere and not even sanded. There was peeling paint along the floor boards. The shower had a poor dribble of water flow that might have been a blessing because the controls were inside the shower away from the door opening. There was one arm chair for sitting. My take on this hotel was that it was lipstick on a pig, with the pig being greased like it was at the county fair with 100 screaming children chasing it down. The lipstick didn’t even hit the pig. The wallpaper outside the room was peeling away from the wall. I think that there was no communication between the marketing team, the design team and the construction team.

Thursday after we were at the temple, we made the long drive back to Palmyra. Leaving Washington with 25C weather, we hit Palmyra with heavy rain and 2C. Erik had a headache and I said that we had done a lot in the past four days with tons of driving in heavy traffic; hopefully after a good night’s sleep, he’ll feel better. He awoke refreshed and feeling much better!

Sunday came around to a lovely Easter service at church. The Primary sang a song and everyone knows what a treat it is to see the youngsters performing. Our Ward choir also did a beautiful number and we had a great reminder of the purpose of celebrating Easter. Marc and Kathy Clay invited us to come to their home for lunch. We enjoyed a lovely meal together, great company and a cute Easter basket to take home.

I hope you have the opportunity to really reflect on the atonement of Christ. I look forward to that day that I too can feel the prints in his hands but most importantly to feel the warmth of his embrace.

John 16:33 “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

I do believe this and am eternally grateful for my Savior and his example to the world.