Today we were out early and off to see George Washington’s Mount Vernon. The day almost took a really ugly turn as we were pulling into the parking lot there. Trying to find where to park, we came to a roundabout that led to the main lot, but as we came around the circle, a brand new white BMW came out of nowhere, honking his horn and scaring us all half to death. I swerved a bit and started to break hard, then he went around me and was gone. It was only a close call and we were all shaken for a few minutes. Poor Julianna spilled her smoothie on the floor of the minivan.
I think that I have a pretty good sense of direction and that I am a pretty good driver, but I’m telling you that the streets around here are just crazy. They don’t seem to make any sense; they run in every direction; and they are very poorly marked with signs. And, several times I have been following signs telling you how to get somewhere when I got to a “T” or a fork in the road, and the signs were gone, leaving you to guess which way to go. It’s maddening!
If you have never been to George Washington’s Mount Vernon, you are missing a real treat. The whole area is just beautiful and sits along the shores of the Potomac River. There was a bit of a crowd, but not too bad. We toured the main house, which is in wonderful shape, and saw most of the grounds. While George Washington lived there, Mount Vernon had so much going on and was almost completely self-sufficient that it was practically a village unto itself. We also saw the tomb where he and Martha are buried.
After the main tour, we went on the National Treasure Tour. This tour takes visitors on a special behind the scenes trip through areas at Mount Vernon that most people never get to see. If you have seen the movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets, you’ll remember that Nicholas Cage’s character, Ben Gates, crashes a party for the President that is being held at Mount Vernon. We got to see a hidden basement below the mansion and some places behind it that you can usually only get to by boat on the Potomac.
This view is from the back side of the mansion and down by the river.
When our tour was done, we went into Historic Alexandria and had lunch at Gadsby’s Tavern, a place where George Washington and other Founding Fathers are known to have frequented. Food was very good, but for some reason, we were pretty much by ourselves eating there, except for the private party that was going on in the dining room above us.
After lunch, we drove into McLean, Virginia to show the kids the neighborhood and house where Kirsten and her family lived for about ten years, during the 1970s and early 80s. We found some former neighbors who still lived there and talked with them for a bit, then went to the Whitneys' old house and knocked on the door. A very nice lady, named Laura, answered the door and graciously let us come in and see the house and the backyard. Many things had changed, but much was still the same.
This is the creek behind their old house. The kids liked walking around here.
The evening was spent at a baseball game at Nationals Park, between the Washington Nationals and the Toronto Blue Jays. This one year-old ballpark was beautiful, even though we had to pay WAY TOO MUCH to park close to the stadium. But, it’s a good thing we did, because the game went into the 11th inning and ended after 11:00pm. They do have other places to park in the surrounding neighborhoods, but it isn’t a place where we wanted to go wandering around that late at night. Because the game went so long, they cancelled the fireworks show that they usually do on Friday nights, but we did get free beach towels as a promotional giveaway.
Saturday is our last day in Washington, DC, so we are going to try to get to all the things we have missed or didn't spend enough time on.
After the main tour, we went on the National Treasure Tour. This tour takes visitors on a special behind the scenes trip through areas at Mount Vernon that most people never get to see. If you have seen the movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets, you’ll remember that Nicholas Cage’s character, Ben Gates, crashes a party for the President that is being held at Mount Vernon. We got to see a hidden basement below the mansion and some places behind it that you can usually only get to by boat on the Potomac.
This view is from the back side of the mansion and down by the river.
When our tour was done, we went into Historic Alexandria and had lunch at Gadsby’s Tavern, a place where George Washington and other Founding Fathers are known to have frequented. Food was very good, but for some reason, we were pretty much by ourselves eating there, except for the private party that was going on in the dining room above us.
After lunch, we drove into McLean, Virginia to show the kids the neighborhood and house where Kirsten and her family lived for about ten years, during the 1970s and early 80s. We found some former neighbors who still lived there and talked with them for a bit, then went to the Whitneys' old house and knocked on the door. A very nice lady, named Laura, answered the door and graciously let us come in and see the house and the backyard. Many things had changed, but much was still the same.
This is the creek behind their old house. The kids liked walking around here.
The evening was spent at a baseball game at Nationals Park, between the Washington Nationals and the Toronto Blue Jays. This one year-old ballpark was beautiful, even though we had to pay WAY TOO MUCH to park close to the stadium. But, it’s a good thing we did, because the game went into the 11th inning and ended after 11:00pm. They do have other places to park in the surrounding neighborhoods, but it isn’t a place where we wanted to go wandering around that late at night. Because the game went so long, they cancelled the fireworks show that they usually do on Friday nights, but we did get free beach towels as a promotional giveaway.
Saturday is our last day in Washington, DC, so we are going to try to get to all the things we have missed or didn't spend enough time on.
Great family photos!!!
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