This weekend has found us on the road. My dad and I flew out to Atlanta to attend the memorial service for my late Grandfather’s second wife, Edna. A few years after my grandmother passed away he married Edna.

We flew into Atlanta to ride up with my dad’s brother, Daniel and my cousin Melanie. I’m writing from the road, currently in the middle of North Carolina. It’s been nice spending some extra time with my dad.

Before getting on the road, we visited the Kenesaw Mountain Civil War battlefield near Dan’s house. The Illinois Monument (below) is situated on the steep point of Cheatam Hill where despite the steepness and difficulty of the assault, the Union charged and broke through the line, prompting the Confederate retreat. The survivors of the battle referred to this position as “the dead angle.”

April 1865, by Jay Winik

The area is beautiful, full of tall, old oak trees, pines and vines that are typically of the deep south. Visiting these sites is so fascinating for me to consider the blood, violence and death of that was had there, and to juxtapose that against the tranquil scene before me. It’s all a little extra poignant as I’m currently rereading through one of my favorite books of all time: April 1865.