This past Monday was my first big set of a days off. I’m a bit of a history buff, I read a lot of biographies and nonfiction. Highlights on Goodreads this year include “All Road s Led to Gettysburg: A New Look at the Civil War’s Pivotal Battle” and “Lee is Trapped and Must be Taken”. It’s always been a goal of mine to go and check out Gettysburg. I went and had a very good time.

I started off decently early (I thought). I made sure to wear my big puffy coat — this weather is really cold for my Southeast bones — and got there around 10 a.m. I got the ticket to the movie, narrated by Morgan Freeman, museum, and cyclorama. I really enjoyed the cyclorama more than I thought that I would. They’ve added lights and sounds that really bring the giant painting to life.

I ate at the coffee shop at the museum, so-called “Battle Grounds” (har-har) and picked up the map to go on the driving tour. I drove and got out at several spots, but the weather was not agreeable. It was 41 with a 31 degree windchill and it was.. just cold as hell. Of the 17 stops, I made it to 10. The sunset entirely too early (1651). I will have to continue another day. Is there any dream of a balmy day in the 50s showing up one more time? The fellow nurses on my floor tell me that no, it will only get colder from here. But I’ll hold out my hope.

I got a few snaps of the area with some beautiful leaf changing and some sunset spots.

In the evening, I made my way over to a tavern in the area for dinner. After all that freezing, I had a nice steaming bowl of chili and a beer.

I made my way back to my lodgings and slept delightfully (after all of that walking, to be expected I guess. And got ready for work the next day. I’m spending the next month or so on days, and then will flip to nights. I’m going to try to explore the area while I can during the daylight hours. I’m probably not going to want to go out and do much once real winter sets in.

I’m missing my family significantly, the sacrifice continues. We’re all making it, as best we can. Waiting on my first real travel paycheck to show up and can pay down some leftover government shutdown loans.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for staying with me.

-K., RN