Today was another great day on the National Treasure Quest. We left the great city of Brotherly Love this morning around 9am on a charter bus. Our first stop was Valley Forge. There we learned about the revolutionary war. We saw how the soldiers lived, we saw where George Washington had his headquarters and we learned about the conditions and circumstances of wartime living in the late 1700s. We also learned about how Valley Forge was the turning point in the war and gained a better appreciation for the sacrifices that were made to make our country free.

Our second stop solidified those feelings as we saw with our own eyes the battle fields of Gettysburg. We actually walked on the grass at High Water Mark and saw where Lee's forces tried to break through the Union lines during the famous "Pickett's Charge." They were, as you know, unsuccessful and this marked a turning point in the Civil War. Walking on those grounds was an special experience, it was as if it required a quiet reverence to even stand in the place where those great men died for our freedom. When we met with Mayor Billings, he suggested that if we were able to go to Gettysburg that we take off our shoes because we would be walking on hallowed ground. That is exactly what it felt like. What a great sacrifice those men made to preserve and protect this American "experiment" of a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" that ensures we are free today. What continues to amaze me is that there are people like that today, that put themselves in harms way to protect our way of life.

After walking the fields of Gettysburg we walked over to the cemetery and had a small devotional where Abraham Lincoln gave the great Gettysburg address. It was neat to see the monument there and reflect on the great moments of our nation's history. Lincoln was truly a leader worth emulating. What a great man!

After we left Gettysburg we did some group team building activities on the bus and eventually arrived at the Crowne Plaza in Silver Springs. We are all going to bed now but we are excited for the adventures that lay in wait for us tomorrow.

Until then...