Jr Park Ranger: Petersburg National Battlefield

We rounded out our road trip with another visit to a Civil War Battlefield.   Petersburg is home to the "Dictator" a monstrosity of a cannon.   The Siege of Petersburg was also "staged" from this area.  There are a number of sites that are associated with this Battlefield, we only made it to this one.   Basically, Grant concluded that if you cut off the supply line to Petersburg, you cut off the supply line Richmond and end the war.  The siege lasted for about 10 months.    During this time, there were wins and losses for both sides.   At one point the Union soldiers  dug a tunnel under the Confederate line with the plan to blow it up and create a hole in the line thus straight shot into Petersburg.  Unfortunately, after the huge blast the soldiers didn't follow the directions of naviagting the gigantic crater in the field and ran through the crater and lost many men in a chaotic battle within the crater. The movie (that we did watch) made it sound like you wouldn't be able to tell who you were fighting and that some men turned on each other.     In the above picture, the top left shows part of the tunnel (the ceiling collapsed a little).  The boys earned a patch here. 

Jr Park: Charles Pinckney

Who was Charles Pinckney?   Chances are you have never heard of him.  He was a signer of the Constitution and politician from South Carolina, although I don't agree with all of his views, much of what he had to say was good and he made many of the changes to the Constitution from the original draft to what was agreed upon by the original 13 colonies.   His homestead in South Carolina is a reproduction, his burnt to the ground.   Much of his paperwork and "proof' of redrafting the Constitution also burned.  If you are interested in seeing a traditional plantation house, Boone Hall is literally across the street (with the picturesque tree lined drive).  

Jr Park Ranger: DeSoto National Memorial

This memorial has several "key" spots.   There is a beautiful walk through the wooded area that leads you by some markers and historical sites (i.e. shell piles from the Native Americans) and other monuments to the priests who, unfortunately, do not have the best testimony to their faith.    DeSoto was an explorer who helped map out areas of the South East to the Mississippi river.     There was a weapons demonstration here, the boys were interested in seeing all the different tools that were used to maim people and how the technology changed over time.   They also discovered that the bow and arrow was much more accurate and quicker than the rifle at the time.    There is a movie in the Visitor's Center, we skipped it due to wanting to go get lunch.     Overall, a nice park, would definitely go back. 

Jr. Park Ranger: Castillo De San Marcos

Welcome to sunny Florida!   We stopped by St. Augustine on our way to Legoland.   This park has limited parking so we ended up finding parking in a parking garage nearby.  The traffic in this city is busy, especially since it was a warm Saturday.       The Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine is one of the oldest (or the oldest?) in the US.   It was the first fortified area to help protect the early people of Florida from attacks.  The moat around the fort was often used as grazing area for livestock or as an area of protection for the town people...   Anyway the fort itself is made out of Coquina, a limestone that is rather hole-y.  The holes actually help the solidification of this fort because when fired upon the cannon balls sank into the coquina doing relatively little damage.   This is one of the more "famous" structures in St. Augustine.    We watched a cannon firing, always fun, always loud and I realized the best view of it was not from the top of the fort (where we were), but outside the fort along the waterfront....I think you could still hear the man shouting (in Spanish) and follow the steps of the firing, but also have the tranquil sounds of the water....just a thought. 

Jr park ranger: Fort Pulaski Savannah, GA

Stop #2 this road trip, For Pulaski, Savannah (or Tybee Island depending how you read the map).   This is a beautiful site with lots of nature paths to wander and a lighthouse to walk to (it is in the water so you can't get directly to it), we unfortunately, were dealing with a puking child so no long walks for us.   This was the site of the last brick built fort.   During the Civil War the Union soldiers use the new rifled cannon to force the Confederates into surrender after a very short bombardment.    Look at the picture of the outside of the fort... it has been rebuilt somewhat (the newer, redder bricks), but this is what it looked like post surrender.   The new cannons meant business.    The boys earned a badge here, and Big Bro earned the Centennial Jr. Park Civil War Ranger patch (basically means we've completed 3 Civil War programs : *Underground Railroad, Fort McHenry, & Fort Pulaski)

Jr park ranger: George Washington Birthplace

It was a beautiful, WINTER, day and we traveled for 10 hours to the George Washington Birthplace in Virginia.  This area of Virginia, albeit coastal is very rural.   We arrived late in the day (around 4pm) and were told that all of the buildings stopped at 4pm, we were welcome to walk around the grounds but the Jr.Park program would be difficult for us to accomplish.   Well, we saw the challenge, accepted it and finished!   The site is beautiful, fabulous views of a river, ranging cattle, random buildings (that are historical, but not GW's) and lots of trees.    We learned quickly that the birth-site burned to the ground and we moved on to finishing the various aspects of the program. Thankfully, we are Jr.Park savvy and understand Colonial history, most of the work could be deduced from knowledge of the time period.    We were only able to finish one book (and the ranger did not take pity on the very cute, very pitiful, little brother) and ended with one badge for BigBro and a sticker for Little Bro.    Would we go back?   If we were in the area, yes, for a specific trip, probably not, I feel Mt. Vernon had more to offer as far as historical things, but that could be the cold fingers talking.

Jr Park Ranger: Secret Service: FDR

We went to FDR's house south of Albany, New York.  The site houses his presidential library and museum, the house he was born in and lived in, his burial site, and many artifacts.  The boys thought that his car was cool to see and all of the movies about WW2.  There was an admission ticket to the house, based on time, we decided not to go into it.  You could also take a walk or drive to Eleanor's retreat for women and the Vanderbuilt mansion.   Well, maybe I should say, a Vanderbuilt mansion.   The tour of the library was nice and a comprehensive timeline of his life, work and what was happening in America.  The weather wasn't great so we didn't complete all of the hikes.   This national park earns the boys a star shapes badge for Secret Service.  This is our fourth presidential home tour and second library.