Gettysburg, PA-Front Royal, VA 10/2 130 driving miles; 4.65 walking miles

The butts are flatter, if not fatter due to a couple factors. First, today was a travel day. Second, the weather, which had us muttering grateful prayers that we aren't biking, is plain lousy: cold, wet, windy-no letup in sight. We visited the battlefield at Antietam, the bloodiest battle on record during the Civil War. Although we're not finished viewing war memorials, I've enjoyed about as much of this as I can stand. I can hardly wait until our tour turns to live mountain music in a few days. I'd like to feel my toe tapping instead of my heart wrenching. We also toured Harper's Ferry, WV where John Brown, the abolitionist, was captured. The town, deep in a mountainous hollow, retains much of its Civil War ambience. The cold rain emphasized the hard living people of the area. For me, a small town boy from out West, it lived up to every stereotype I have of West Virginia. Before we knew it, we'd left the hard scrabble West Virginians in our wake as we cruised through the gently rolling hills of Virginia. Drawing from a small sample, our "best" human is the day clerk at our one star accommodations (Cool Harbor Motel), Wanda Flynn, a spunky middle aged toothless gal from Plains, Virginia. She immediately put Edward into his place, threatening to "bop him upside the head" if he didn't fill out the registration card properly. Even at that, Ed when forgot to sign the card, Wanda squealed, "Edward can't you read, as she pecked her finger on the line at the bottom of the card?" We all know Ed's hearing can be suspect, but with Wanda's scratchy Southern drawl, he could be forgiven for barely understanding her. I asked her how she got here (Meaning Front Royal) and she quipped, "From my mammy's belly, a course." Once we stopped the verbal dueling, she escorted us to our room to make sure it was done up right. I liked her right away. (By the way, Plains, VA, Wanda's hometown, has a population of 266). Its main claim to fame is that the actor, Robert Duval, has a home there. Ed chose thin gruel for dinner, but I had a craving for the best burger in Front Royal (Spelunkers). It was pure beef, charbroiled, and trimmed in what I know as California style: lettuce, grilled onion, tomato, catsup, and mustard. The fries were fresh cut, but in a fit of desperate discipline, I threw most of them away (A fat belly doesn't look so good hanging over a fat butt). Now that I'm dry, warm, and fed, I can once again acknowledge that life is good, especially today.

 My motto as we tour these military memories.

12,134 died in twelve hours at Antietam.

 A coal train crosses the river at Harper's Ferry.

Harper's Ferry as viewed from the train trestle.

Several buildings in Harper's Ferry are restored as dioramas. This is the town tavern.

 Obvious.

Dr's office.

Harper's Ferry as viewed from St Peter's Catholic Church on the hill.

St. Peters overlooking the Potomac River.

Thomas Jefferson stood atop this rock gazed down the Potomac and exclaimed, "This is perhaps the most stupendous scene I've ever seen in nature."

Selfie of the day: Downtown Harper's Ferry in the background.

"Edward, would you like me to bop you upside your head?"

Thin gruel: Spelunker's Burger along side a slathering pile of thick fresh cut fries.