Valley Forge

First of all, I got my wish for a day at home. Tyler got the dreaded stomach bug that is going around like wildfire. Word on the street is that it is only a 24 hour deal, so for that I am grateful. Sleep sounds so nice right about now. Poor little guy is just lethargic on the couch. I am letting him eat a big candy cane, because he hasn't eaten anything since lunch yesterday and it was the only thing he seemed interested in.

A few weeks ago Mom and I threw the kids in the car and went to Valley Forge. James has been asking to go for a while now. It turned out to be a little cold, but we still had fun. The real story of Valley Forge is actually very sad. So many soldiers died there. The docent at the park said that it is a myth that they died from cold. He said they were all good, strong farm boys who knew how to build a cabin and a fire. Instead, disease and lack of food caused the deaths of 2,000 soldiers between 1777 and 1778. The soldier huts have been reconstructed, which are very neat to see. There are three bunks on each side of the fire that are VERY, VERY small. The top bunk is at James' height, and the lower bunks are so tight I don't think a grown man could roll over once he squeezed in.

Here are a few of the artifacts in the museum. The bottom left picture shows what they would strap to their shoes to walk in the mud. 

This is one of the soldier huts. Those are the bunks on the wall.

James was thrilled to find a play rifle for sale at the store that was in his price range. He has been wanting a 'hunting gun' for a long time. He has been using just about every day since. In fact, one morning before school he went outside to 'do farm chores.' He came back in and told Jeff had had 'shot like 5 squirrels.' Jeff told him he better go out and pick them all up, because he can't go around leaving dead squirrels everywhere. James had to think for a second before he realized Jeff was joking!