Day Trip In July

We got a jump start on the 2010 summer travels with a day trip to the Manassas Battlefield Park on July 7th.  As Civil War outings go, this is a doubleheader.  The first Battle of Bull Run was in 1861 and they decided to hold a rematch in 1862.

Cathie was at work all day and missed out on the fun, but Matthew was out at George Mason University for another day of basketball camp.  That is at least in the direction of Manassas, so I picked him up after camp and we headed to the park.

It was getting on in the afternoon as we finally sorted out our bearings and got close to the Visitors Center.  But traffic is so bad in these parts that I don't know why anyone wanted a second battle.  Or even how anyone got to the first battle on time.

At that first battle on July 21, 1861, Beauregard's Confederates were on the verge of losing to McDowell's Union forces.  But additional Confederates under the command of Johnston finally showed up and turned the tide.  Given the traffic we sat in, I can't fault Johnston for his tardiness.

The exhibits and historic buildings tend to close up at five o'clock, so our tour was pretty much limited to the first battle.  The temperature was right around one hundred as we headed off on the half mile or so of walking tour.  In that heat, it had a certain forced march feel to it.  And we were, indeed, the only fools tramping around in the parched grasses of Henry House Hill, past the decorative cannons and to the edge of the woods where Jackson's troops emerged to charge the Union positions.

That's the spot where the Union forces were advancing strongly in the first part of the battle, but Jackson's men held firm.  Someone said it was like a stonewall, and that's why no one today knows that Stonewall Jackson's first name was actually Thomas.

We got back in the car, amped the AC, and took in a few of the driving tour stops.  That got us into the terrain of Second Bull Run, including the ground (Hazel Plain) where Longstreet's troops were held up by stubbon Ohio regiments.  But our tour was incomplete, putting aside a full account of the second battle for another time.

Our excursion moved on from history to recreation.  Matthew and I played nine holes of golf at Oak Marr, a nice little par-3 course in Oakton.  Although it was nearly seven o'clock when we teed off on the first hole, the temperature had still not dropped much below one hundred degrees.

And, as at Manassas, we were the only fools tramping around the dry grasses of Oak Marr's fairways and the firm turf of its greens.

I popped two ice cubes into my golf hat and stayed relatively cool for the round.  This is a trick I learned twenty years ago on a golf course, but have only started to use it this summer.

Matthew was eager to get in on the chill, so he put a couple of ice cubes in his hat.  No benefit.  He kept having to take off his hat and swat at the gnats that seemed delighted to find golfers out in the heat.  He would then catch the cubes and put them back in the hat.

After about three holes, he ditched the ice.  We realized his thick head of hair was making ice in the hat a moot point.

I, on the other hand, did not have that disadvantage.

Oak Marr is a nice little course.  I shot nine holes below my age, while Matthew scored something below the temperature.  Unfortunately, the pool at the rec center at the course had already closed when we walked off the ninth green.