History is all around us.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, a bit chilly, with a mix of sun and clouds, but spring is definitely in the air. We decided to go for a drive and just wander around on the back roads near our house. We took off down Cold Harbor Road and found a very upscale housing area tucked away in the woods called Gaines' Mill. The homes here are very nice and the lots are huge all set around a large pond in the rolling hills and woods.

After we left that area, a few short miles away, down Cold Harbor, we found a history marker for the Cold Harbor Battlefield and Visitor Center, so we made a quick hard left turn to go check it out. We were impressed with a very neat clean office full of books, artifacts, photos with stories of what happened there and an interactive map with lights and sound telling of the battle that took place there in 1864 and also of the Battle of Gaines' Mill in 1862. The man working there was very informative, welcomed us to the neighborhood and gave us maps and information about the area, telling us about all the other sites around town.

There is both a driving trail with audio markers and there is a nice, 1.5 mile hiking trail. We did manage to walk a short distance, just to enjoy the gorgeous day. This is too strenuous for me at this point, so we went back to the car to do the rest of the driving trail. One day, I would like to go back and do the hike...you see and sense so much more that way. When looking around at this very peaceful place with the tall trees and green fields, it's hard to believe so many young men died such horrifying deaths here.

We also stopped by the Garthwright House, which was used as a Union field hospital during the Cold Harbor Battle, later becoming a Confederate hospital. There was an interesting old abandoned gas station across the road - we just had to get a photo of that too. It almost seemed like a modern day type of building after what we've been seeing up to then.

After a quick lunch, we looked for some more places to visit and came across the battlefields at Glendale (Frayser's Farm) and Malvern Hill. The vast rolling fields were bright green. The wind was blustery and quite chilly by this time, but the area is really peaceful, so we got out to see the cannons all in a row. There is also an audio historic marker explaining about the battle that took place here. Again, the quiet serenity of this place must be in sharp contrast to the days of fighting and misery that happened so long ago. You can't help but wonder if some lost spirits are walking along side of you in places like this. At least that's how I feel.

Check out the links inserted throughout this entry for more information and you can click to enlarge all photos.

"A" is where our house is and you can see two of the areas we visited in the green. The other places are a little farther south.