George Washington's Home

Well, this morning didn't turn out as we planned, but it turned out like it was supposed to. We had originally thought to get up early and attend an early (8:30 am) service, but both Brock and I had a hard time waking up this morning and by the time we succeeded, we didn't have enough time to get all of us ready and to drive at least 20 minutes to get to that service.

Brock decided to go for a run with Heidi. There was, I think, about 100% humidity out there and they came back soaking wet, but it hadn't actually rained yet. While they were gone, I searched along a google route to "George Washington's Birthplace" to find a different church. We wanted to try to find the earliest service we could and I found one that was at 10:30. Once we actually got on the road though, the driving time estimate extended to 45 minutes instead of 30 so then we would not make that service in time either. AND, while we were driving, Brock started questioning my route and we figured out that my google map wasn't taking us in the direction of George Washington's birthplace, which is very close to where we are camped, instead we were headed toward Mount Vernon which is actually much closer to D.C. than we realized.

We decided to go with the flow and just watch for a church along the way. We pulled into a Baptist church parking lot. We couldn't see service times on their sign, but just went ahead and parked. Turned out to be an 11 am service and we arrived about 10:40. Their greeter was a very nice, funny and friendly gentleman, named Mac, who related to the kids right away and put them at ease. He got out a measuring tape to see how tall each of the boys were. Spencer was 4' 6". Skylar was 4' 2".  Brighton was 5' 7"!! That is pretty close to how tall I am. Can't believe how much they've each grown so far this year.

The service was really good. The congregation felt like they were a family. They did one hymn, some announcements and then the choir came up to sing. It felt like half the church was in the choir as they had a great mix of men and women and even some kids. They did a great job singing and then a few different church members stood up and gave some powerful testimonies. The main Pastor delivered an excellent sermon related to the Samaritan woman at the well. It provided some great insight into how Jesus set the example of what we need to do and be in relating to everyone. It was great to be back in God's house with fellowship vs. just the family church we have had the past few weeks.

After church was out we decided we needed a pick me up and we each used some "experience" money for some coffees and cocoa. Unfortunately Brighton had spent his money but was a great sport about not getting a coffee. We followed Tom's directions and finally ended up at Mount Vernon around 2PM, although he still took us an awkward way that was not the fastest. It was a beautiful but very humid and sunny afternoon, nearly 90 degrees. We bought our tickets and proceeded to the mansion after watching a short introductory film.

They have really done a great job maintaining and rebuilding Mount Vernon. It is a beautiful spot, very peaceful and right on the Potomac River. Our first stop was in front of the mansion which gave us a scale of the size of the property. We then went to George and Martha's tomb and the commemorative tomb of the slaves that worked on the property. Our tour of the house was not for a half an hour so we viewed a few of the out buildings and then got in line. It was amazing how hot and sticky it was waiting. Everyone has warned us about the humidity here and now we know what they were talking about!

The original family vault. As this was in need of repairs and wasn't properly situated,
George's will directed that a new tomb be built.

The remains of George and Martha Washington were moved here in their newly constructed tomb in 1831.

We toured the house which was really neat to see. No indoor plumbing of course but lots of guest rooms. The key to the Bastille that was given to Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette was hanging on the wall by the stairs. Apparently they had to do a lot of entertaining with the positions George held and the people he knew. We saw a room where Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry had played cards. We saw the over 200-year-old harpsichord that George had purchased for his granddaughter Nelly to play. In his den, we saw the swivel chair that he had used as President as well as an awesome pedal powered fan chair. We saw George and Martha's bedroom with the original bed that they shared and that he died in in 1799.  We then toured the rest of the outbuildings before heading into the Education Center/Museum.

There was a gorgeous view and really nice breezes on the veranda overlooking the Potomac.

There was a sign stating Pecan, 1881, on this huge tree.

There were all kinds of exhibits and displays in the museum including a description of how scientists used lasers to create pinpoint measurements of a life mask and bust that a French sculptor had done of Washington when he was 52 years old. A team of experts has worked backward to create a figure of what he looked like at 19 years of age. They believe he was 6' 2" and about 175 lbs. We got to see his sword that he carried in the French and Indian War. We even got to look at his lower plate of dentures that were created for him in the 1780's. We watched a 4D movie about the Revolutionary War that was about 15 minutes long. They had snow falling in the theater, surround sound, flashing lights and vibrating under our seats for the rumble of cannon.

An interpretive display of Washington, surveyor, age 19.

I think the overall impression we have of George Washington after visiting Mount Vernon is just how impressive an individual he was. He sacrificed so much for the love of his country. He was so brave. He showed such commitment and was so determined. He was able to step up to each of the challenges that he faced and yet maintained such a humility his whole life. He seems like someone really worth of admiration.

A Little Closer to D.C.

We woke up and ate a very sugary treat breakfast of lemon poppyseed muffins, chocolate covered mini doughnuts and raspberries and blueberries. It was a fun way to celebrate the weekend.

We noticed Heidi's eye is looking a lot better today. It is still kind of crusty looking, but much of the swelling and redness is down and she is not tearing at it, scratching so that is good. Her medicines seem to be working well for her.

Brock got himself ready and then we worked on a couple cleaning/maintenance tasks and then he left to go get gas and inflate the Yukon tires to the recommended levels now that the air has been a little cooler. While he and Brighton were gone, the rest of us worked on getting ourselves and the trailer ready to go.

When they returned, we all completed the last tasks to get ready and thankfully, the truck that was parked in the site across from us was gone so Brock was able to pull right out of our site. (We'd thought we might have to back out.) As were were completely ready to go, we quickly realized that Brighton's shoe had discovered a doggy deposit somewhere between the campground restrooms and the car (?!?) Irritating. That took a little while to take care of and de-stink the car so that we could start the road trip.

We had a bit of a different drive as shortly after starting out, I discovered that I had a voice mail on my phone. I checked and it was from the resort that we were heading to. They asked me to please call them for directions rather than relying on our gps because our gps would lead us on a road that washed out last year. I called and the lady I talked to told us which highway to avoid and then tried giving me directions, but she was asking questions that I couldn't answer yet based on the instruction set that I was getting from the gps. So, Brock told Tom to avoid that "bad" highway and I agreed to call them back when we reached a certain highway so that I could tell her from which direction we were approaching. After the "avoid" command, Tom led us down this crazy narrow, backcountry road that I could see NO reason that we should be on, but we decided to trust him since I don't have any way of knowing if there's low bridges or high railroad crossing bumps on a road and he does.

When we were about three miles from the resort, I called back and got the directions and drove straight on in. At first glance, I was pretty disappointed. The online reviews had stated that this park had "huge" sites, but even from the entrance I could tell that they were pretty closed packed. I went into the office and was informed that they are a first come, first serve park and so she had me hop in her golf cart so that I could ride along and choose a site. The first available sites she showed me were way too short for our trailer so I began to get a little anxious, but she then led me to another loop. There were about three sites that were empty, but I could see that we wouldn't be able to get into any of them except for one based on where the utilities or where trees were located. I told her we'd take the one and she said we'd better make sure the water was working at it. (Phew, it was!) She also said that they were doing some utility work and we might want to fill up our tanks just in case they cut a line or something. Thankfully, we got into the site just fine and we got setup and leveled. One drawback...there is a concrete pad that we parked next to, but I can't put the steps all the way down because of the height so we'll have to watch our comings and goings for the next week so we don't trip. The next thing we always check is the internet availability. It turned out to be non-existent at least from the free wifi perspective. Our Verizon coverage seems to be really inconsistent. We got excited because at first it seemed strong and super fast. Then, without warning it seems to go away completely. Hopefully, Brock will be able to work here.

First impressions aside, once we were setup, we ate our snacky lunch outside, under the shade of the awning and a large tree and the site seems like it will be nice. We are right across from the basketball court so the kids played a little while there and met a new friend. There is a large L-shaped outdoor pool and another mini golf course that I'm sure we will try out at some point soon. We are very near the birthplace of George Washington and hoped to be able to check it out today, but realized that they closed at 5 and we wouldn't have enough time to look around. Maybe tomorrow.

We decided to check out the town of Colonial Beach so after our late lunch, we hopped back into the Yukon and drove 15 minutes or so to this little "beach town". It is a little circuitous to get there because of all the waterways and marshes that the roads have to work around. The town is not too impressive, but it was fun to see a beach again. We drove along the waterfront of the Potomac River. We ended up just parking and hopping out for a quick pic and then getting back on the road because we didn't want to pay for parking.

Spencer works out a way to feel the water without getting his new shoes wet. ;o)

Back at the campground, Spencer and Skylar took right off for the playground and had some fun monkeying around and playing with their new friend some more.

We had a snacky (but healthy :O) dinner and then it was little boys' bed time.

Brock and Brighton had another job they wanted to accomplish in the game they started last night so Brynna and I decided to read a chapter in our read aloud book that we are reading for school. Brighton read ahead last week and finished the book. Bryn and I have a few more chapters scheduled to read for next week, but decided to get a jump on it, since we are enjoying it. Ender's Game is futuristic and doesn't have anything to do with our US History subject matter for this year, but it has been entertaining and thought provoking, and at times a little disturbing. The kids are very excited to learn that a movie based on the story and starring Harrison Ford, is coming out this November.

Friday Night Game Night

We contemplated checking out the Jamestown and Yorktown areas, but eventually just decided to hang around the campground for today checking out some of the park's features that we hadn't taken advantage of yet.

The kids felt a little "sore" from all the walking yesterday at Colonial Williamsburg.

So, we made it our goal to get our school work done as early as possible and enjoy some of the park's amenities. Spencer and Skylar spent a good part of the day playing outside, riding scooters, playing with playdough on the picnic table and even playing their DS's outside with their friend Holly and another little kid from somewhere.

Brighton and Brynna and I got our stuff done in the early afternoon. Brock had a full work schedule for the day so I took the boys and went to Walmart to pick up a few things while Brynna stayed here at the trailer and enjoyed some quiet time.

When we got back to the trailer, we all put our suits on and checked out the pools. We started at the outdoor pool. It had some water spraying in at the deep end in several arcs from a water park style pvc setup. The kids thought it was fun. The skies were overcast and the water was slightly cool so we decided to check out the indoor pool. The water in there was much warmer and there was a spa in that area so I took advantage of that. No one under 16 was allowed in the spa. :O) It was pretty hot though so I didn't last long in there either, but it felt good while it lasted. Relaxing...

When we left the pool, it was about 7:15 and everyone needed to eat some dinner. Brock and Brighton had a computer game night planned as part of Weston team building. Brighton was stoked to get to participate and from the laughter it sounded like everyone that played had fun. I let the little boys play more DS games in the back room while I made some pasta and then we all ate dinner and shortly after, the little boys went to bed. Brynna was looking forward to playing some Minecraft, but the camp wifi was unuseable so she ended up playing offline and Brock and Bri had to use our mifi for their multiplayer gaming session.

I didn't make it nearly as late as they stayed up. I eventually sent Bryn to bed and I fell asleep to the background sounds of the computer game.