What are tile speakers talking about?

W: Hi, Jackson, you’re so lucky to have finished your final exam and term papers. I still have 2 more finals to take. What are you doing this summer, anything special?
M: Well, actually yeah. My parents have always liked taking my sister and me to different places in the United  States. You know, places with historical significance. I guess they wanted to reinforce the stuff we learned in school about history. And so even though we are older now, they still do once in a while. Oh so where are you going this summer?
W: Well, this summer we’ll finally go to Gettysburg.
M: Finally? You mean they never took you yet? I mean Gettysburg; it’s probably the most famous Civil War site in the country. It’s only a couple of hours away. I think that would be one of the first places that they’d have taken you. I have been there a couple of times.
W: We were going to go about ten, well, no it was exactly ten years ago, but I don’t know, something happened,  I cannot remember what. But we ended up not going anywhere that year. I hope that doesn’t happen again this year. I wrote a paper about Gettysburg last semester for a history class I was taking.
Well about the political situation in the United States right after the battle at Gettysburg, so I’m eager to see the place.