Summer Fun-My Favorites Part II

Normal people who visit a place like Washington D.C., so rich in history and so full of interesting and meaningful places to see, would plan such a trip quite far in advance, making sure to eek out all that they could from each minute of each day.  Efficiency is key when your destination is our nation's capital and you only have two full days plus a little bit of time on your two travel days.

If you wanted "normal" and "efficient" then you would not be here.  For we are the antithesis to both.  Therein lies our great charm...  Isn't that what you call it?

So.  Here are some highlights from our trip to Mt. Vernon and D.C., along with some tips from some real Road Warriors (heavy artillery and tanks were left behind this time).

The first thing I highly recommend is to begin your trip several hours later than you meant to on a lovely Sunday afternoon, especially when you are headed up I-95 to Mt. Vernon, which closes early on the first day of each week.  You see, I-95 actually exists in a parallel universe where the space-time continuum does not correlate to our 60-second-per-minute-60-minute-per-hour-24-hours-per-day reality.  Instead, you drive what seems like 20 miles, but you have really only gone 3 1/2 miles.  The distance which should take two hours to cover takes seven.  The good news is that entering, traveling in, and exiting this alternate dimension does not cause physical harm, unless you count one's elevated blood pressure, and the pinches and kicks your children inflict on one another while crammed into the back seat of a sedan.

Once we arrived at Mt. Vernon we decided that we would have enough time to see a lot of what we wanted to see.  As we walked up to the Welcome Center it began to rain.  This was great!  By the time we had purchased our tickets it was pouring.

Crazy enough, it stopped raining very soon after it began.  You would think that a good, hard rain would have cooled things off, but it was not so.  It was about as hot as I ever remember it being in Virginia, and humid in ALL CAPS.  So...HUMID.  Walking around was more like swimming, the air was so wet.  Even so, I can still say that it was great.

The line to get in Washington's house was long even though it was close to closing time, so we thought we could wander through the garden first, then head back around to the house.  The garden was very beautiful.

There were many, many kinds of flowers and plants.  More than I will show here.

Mike told the kids,"George Washington was not only a great general and military leader, but he also loved gardening!"  I love that, the strength that it took to lead a new nation as it was blossoming, as well as the appreciation for the beauty he encountered in nature, and the desire to cultivate it.

We finally made it back around to Washington's home and toured it...no pictures allowed inside.  It was lovely.  What a place!  And then the kids ran about in the grass just behind the mansion...how about that for a backyard?

We wandered down the path and had time to visit the original and then the final resting places of our first president, and his wife, and then it was time to go.  Here is one good thing about being the very last people at a tourist attraction.  I got a sweet picture of the house!  I like looking at the positive side of things.

Although we did things a bit unconventionally, I think our visit was a success.  We were all hot messes, so we headed to our hotel to get cleaned up, have dinner, and chill.  Here is where I have some more tips.  First of all, I suggest you get a hotel in a town where there are no fast food places, and all the restaurants close at 6pm on Sunday.  Feeding hungry children after a scorching, sweaty visit to a dead guy's house should be a challenge...it makes it fun!  We did finally eat, though, and watch a movie.  Then the kids went to sleep.  Since there were only two beds in the room, they had to triple up.  We didn't have a guard to keep Eliana from falling out of the bed, so we opted for the next best thing.

It was important that she not fall out...we had to get rest for the following day and the adventures that were about to unfold!

Comments

[Lorrie]

I love it. Your trip and your family are so full of character. Doing things unconventionally make it memorable. You are teaching me that I need to loosen up and jots go with the flow! Can't wait to see the next installment.

[Beki - TheRustedChain]

What a fun trip! You crack me up.