Checking In

Just stopped by to see what was going on and sonofabitch! Not only is Mr. The Armadillo Joe minding the store, he's restocking the shelves, rotating the stock and sales are going through the roof! You go, you bad motherfucker! Hope you don't blow your wad on the first day.

Things are good here in the lovely fields of Gettysburg. The Mrs. and I along with our in-laws stopped in to the Jennie Wade House (the only civilian killed during the battle of Gettysburg) and spent last evening fine dining at an excellent restaurant call The Herr Tavern. Today we spend the bulk of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon in the newly renovated Gettysburg Museum and Visitors Center and then started touring the battlegrounds. Luckily my father-in-law is a huge Civil War buff and gave us a run down of the battles during the first day of fighting in Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. His detailed information, from what brigades fought where and what leaders made what decisions is pretty damned impressive.

The only problem we've encountered so far is the weather. It was kind of misty yesterday and we had light rain this morning. During today's battle ground walk we were blessed with a little sunshine but were quickly overtaken by a thunderstorm. Apparently, there's a tornado that touched ground about 35 miles northeast of us in Lancaster, so I can't complain.

We'll spend our second day on the grounds recounting the events of Day Two's battles. We'll also check out the cemetery. (One of my favorite things to do is explore cemeteries... I don't know why, it just is.) In the meantime, I'll leave you in the capable typing fingers of Mr. The Armadillo Joe.

By the way, yes, I read the Gettysburg Address in the room reserved for that at the museum, along with some criticism from the day's Lincoln detractors. Some of the newspapers wouldn't even reprint his speech " to spare the reader insult." It only reminded me that the more things change, the more they remain the same.