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Other people go to Gettysburg for the history, the education, the connection to the past.

We went for The Land of Little Horses.

On our trip to Niagara Falls, the plan was to visit this icon of American animal miniatures as a break in the eight-hour journey. But it made sense to change the itinerary — which we only did with a promise to the third grader that we would visit The Land of Little Horses very soon. (Incidentally, it would help the tone of this post if you could speak the name of the place with a tone of grandeur. Thanks.)

Today was the day.

It actually was nicely done, The Land of Little Horses. They had loads of stables and outside enclosures, and a few of the horses roamed freely around. Along paths through the woods, there were several other animals — most of the pettable type — to see and visit. There was an arena show, and a presentation of several horses, which included a history of the breed and of The Land of Little Horses (established in 1971). I had the girls do a happy dance for a future Brotherhood 2.0 video — because while it’s likely that someone will think to do their happy dance in front of a monument in D.C., I’m fairly certain that no one else will do one at The Land of Little Horses.

In all honesty, we did do a quick tour of the Gettysburg battlefield and cemetery, and there are two things I will always remember. First, as we went up to the monument to Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, I was moved by the woman sitting on the ground in front, apparently contemplating this divisive time in America’s history. As we drew closer (passing the sign about observing respect and silence on the grounds), I realized that the woman was chatting on her cell phone. And not quietly. I just had to laugh.

The second moment was at the crest of Little Round Top. As I was taking a picture of my girls waving from the top of the turret-shaped monument, my husband was behind them videotaping me taking the photo. Now I remember why I didn’t rush to replace our video camera.

Tomorrow I’ll post the list Best Books of 2007 (So Far). At least I hope so. Come to think of it, I should probably have been working on that now instead of this post. But how could I deprive you of either the photo of the smallest horse I’ve ever seen or the catchy destination name of The Land of Little Horses?

See how the adding importance to the sound of the name makes the whole reading go better? Thanks again.