And the trip continues...

Since we ended up staying the first night in Tuscaloosa, and just one mile from University of Alabama, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a quick picture in my TCU shirt.  I mean, come on...who knows how many times a Horned Frog will have the chance to be this close in the rankings to the number one team in the nation in college football! 

 Then, for reasons unknown to my normal Krispy Kreme radar...we totally missed this coming in the night before, but J & I spotted it pretty quickly the next morning :)  After a quick stop for gas and the world's best donuts (yes, Round Rock donuts still just about tie Krispy Kreme, but there's just something about KK donuts!), we headed on to Georgia. 

 Our goal was ultimately Chickamauga National Military park, but on the way, we found a Lego store...so to appease the youngest member of the traveling party, we hopped on over to a mall in Birmingham.  He even made a quick video tour of the store to send his cousin.

 

We had to head up through Chattanooga, TN to get back down to the battlefield, but it was a great drive.  Not only is this a Civil War battlefied, where the bloodiest of the battles occurred, but my great-great-great grandmother lived in a house as a girl that was on this battlefield.  There is even a bridge (has been modernized a bit) named after the family, the Alexander Bridge.  

Where the house once stood.

Alexander Bridge

All that's left of the house is remnants of a root cellar and cistern, but it was cool to see the name Alexander on all of the battlefield signs throughout this part of the park.  At the visitors center, once the park rangers knew we were related to the Alexander family, Grandma was given a copy of the contents of a folder that had all of the information the rangers had on that family.  We learned that the Alexander family had actually left this home in December 1862, months before the battle.  We also learned that the house burned down the day before the battle (when a different family was living there) because of what they think was a misfired artillary shell (mom can correct me here).  It was really interesting and made a bit of history much more personal for us all.  Ok...well, by this time I will admit that J was about done with touring for the day, but he thought having a bridge in his family was pretty cool :)

After taking this picture, J noticed that this canon was actually called a 12-pounder Rifled James, ha!

The "Butterfly Man" never stops, even in Georgia!

Decided on Cracker Barrel for supper, stopped somewhere around Rome, GA to stay the night.

Poor J, the schooling never stopped...although I promise I didn't make him do much.  He really got into writing postcards and we collected state information at all borders and fun tourist stops.  Notice the Legos...they were never far from his hands from this day on.