Time Traveling: Planning Your Next Civil War Visit, Part I
May is finally upon us, and summer will be here before we know it. And that can mean only one thing - vacation time! Back yard barbecues, splashing in the pool, lounging in the hammock, hiking around a Civil War park...
Hiking around a Civil War park? For summer vacation? Am I serious? You bet I am!
Visiting a Civil War park, or any historic site for that matter, can be a great addition to any summer vacation plans. In fact, planning a trip to one or more historic sites can make for a great vacation all by itself any time of year.
I've done this myself from time to time. During spring break my junior year in high school I flew out to meet my sister in Tennessee, after which the two of us drove to Virginia and crammed in as many Civil War sites as we could in one week. The following year, while most of my fellow graduates from Carl Albert High hit the beaches at South Padre Island the first week of June, I hit I-40 East in my sometimes reliable, no-air-conditioning Mustang II, headed back to more of those transfixing historic sites.
I must have had the Civil War bug pretty bad to choose monuments and markers over beaches and bikinis. (Sigh.) To this day, that probably remains the most superbly disorganized trip I've ever taken. And I'm still amazed that that car held up long enough to get me home. I clearly remember the stops along the side of the road every 100 miles or so to add another quart of oil. And the relief I always felt when the engine actually started once again, when I was alone in some remote area of a park with the sun going down. But it was great fun. Well, most of it was. ;)
Much of what I did and saw on that trip was spontaneous, "get out the map and let's see where I'll go today" sort of planning. And while that can be fun, a little more advanced planning isn't a bad idea either. A visit to a Civil War site can be both enjoyable and educational, whether you're by yourself or with a large group. It's worth a little time to plan ahead.
Don't think you'll have a lot of time to visit? That's okay - you can still plan ahead for the time that you will have. Don't think you're heading someplace that has any war-related history? You might be surprised! The war touched more areas of the country, including what today is the western United States, than is generally known. A little advanced snooping around might just turn up a site or two where you're headed that is related to the war in some way. You just never know until you look. So let's get started on planning your next (or first) Civil War visit.
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