THE FOOTNOTES

Okay, I know you've all driven past this exit on I-81 through Virginia. Well, I actually stopped and paid the $15 to see the famous bridge. Here it is. Not sure it's worth $15, but it was interesting to see it. The entire corridor along I-81 is very pretty. We went along the Blue Ridge Parkway (and part of Skyline Drive, which just means that part of the Parkway is in a National Park). We ended that particular day by stopping at Gettysburg, which is worth the trip! They have a good video introduction, a cyclorama, and then (if you choose) various tours of the battlefield. If you're driving through in a hurry, there are quicker self-guided auto tour options, too. More than anything else, I was struck by the incredible toll the Civil War took on local communities -- Gettysburg was transformed by this battle, not only by the gunfire, but by the need for burial/funeral services, having families of fallen soldiers coming to town to look for their loved ones for months and months afterwards, etc. Someone had to feed and house all these people. Imagine what would happen to Tolland if thousands of out-of-towners showed up one day and stayed for a year or two. The town was never the same. Given that so much of the fighting occurred in the south, the same is true of many small towns across the Confederate states. I also learned (by going to the bookstore) that there were a few hundred women who disguised themselves as men to get into the Civil War. Some were caught when they got pregnant (oops), while others were never discovered at all. No, they weren't all lesbians!! Some wanted to follow their brothers or husbands; others just wanted adventure. What a risky venture that must have been.