Visit with Family and the Battlefields at Antietam

Before beginning my internship in Washington DC, I decided to visit my family members that live in the DC area. Just before New Year's I flew in and spent some time with my in-laws who live in Virginia and West Virginia. I love this area of the country! It is so beautiful with the gentle rolling hills and trees everywhere. Right now everything is kind of brown and icky, but it is still a beautiful landscape. My father-in-law and I have an ongoing debate about whether or not the "mountains" out here on the east coast are "better" than the rocky mountains back home in Utah. I think we have agreed that though both landscapes are very different, they both have very admirable qualities that make them beautiful in their own right.

My father-in-law lives on a beautiful farm in Delaplane, Virginia. He recently acquired a flock of turkeys, chickens, and guinea hens that make all sorts of noises. Our favorite thing was to interpret what they were saying like "Who's that?! Who's That?! Who's That?!" or "Hi, Val! Hi, Val! Hi, Val!" or "Hey Frank! Hey Frank! Hey Frank!"

I love visiting this farm for many reasons. The first reason is because it is absolutely beautiful. The quaint farmhouse is so unique and has all the charm you would expect of a century-old Virginia homestead. The rolling hills are covered with trees and everywhere you look is as picturesque as a postcard. The second reason is because I love the people there. My father-in-law, John, is a great man. He always tells entertaining stories that make us laugh. Sometimes he doesn't say a lot, but what he does say is always either packed with a punch line, or very meaningful in other ways. Uncle Robert and Aunt Sally and Cousin Megan live just up the lane on the farm and I like to catch up with them whenever I stop by. I am very blessed to have married into such a wonderful family. And the third reason why I love this place so much is because it reminds me of my husband. I remember the first time he brought me to the farm and he showed me all his favorite places. I knew I was in love with him before he brought me there, but I quickly fell even more in love with him and in love with the landscape after being here a short time with him.

They say Virginia is for Lovers, and I agree. Even though Lucien is no longer here with me physically, I sense his presence here in these places that he loved so much. With that being said, though I will always love Lucien and know that he loves me, I also recognize that I need to move forward with my life and allow myself to love again. So one of the hopes that many of my family have mentioned to me is that I can find another wonderful young man who I can continue to build dreams and make memories with. Who knows... maybe he will be here in Washington DC! ;-)


Antietam, Maryland:

I found out that my mother-in-law lives just a few miles from the Antietam battlefields in Maryland, so we decided to make a little visit. If I had realized sooner that she lived so close, I would have visited before! Oh well, now I know where it is and can visit again.

For those of you who aren't U.S. History buffs, Antietam is where one of the worst battles of the Civil War was fought. It is the place where the bloodiest single day of the war took place. There were over 23,000 soldiers killed there. Other battles had more deaths, but those battles were longer in duration. The majority of these soldiers were killed in less than 12 hours. It is very sobering to see so many graves and think about what these people died for. There are a lot of graves for unknown soldiers.

To learn more about what happened here, visit the official website:

http://www.nps.gov/anti/