Mt. Vernon, driving, and the pool (Mostly Mt. Vernon)!

Today we went to Mt. Vernon. This was the home of George Washington. Technically, it is his home because he is buried there. We saw a lot of interesting places at Mt. Vernon. Like a Blacksmith's shop.

 

 

The grounds there were amazing and well taken care of! There was beautiful greenery all over!! One of my favorite things was the "ha-ha" wall. It was a brick wall usually separating animals from the house. On one side you could not see the wall. Sometimes children would fall down the wall and everyone would laugh! That is why it is called the "ha-ha" wall.

 

 

 

The mansion was really big! But it didn't start out that way. At first it was a little farm house. Then George got married to a rich widow, Martha Custis. George couldn't bring her home to that! So he renovated! Now it is this giant thing:

We got to see the wheat farm and some oxen. It was very interesting.

After we left Mt. Vernon we drove down to the Historic Triangle. It was supposed to be a 2 hour drive, but there were two accidents! So it took 3 hours!!!

After we got to the hotel, the pool was our next stop! It was really fun!

 

Today was great!

-Kate

 

 

Tomorrow's edition:

Jamestown!

YAY!!!!

 

 

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So many museums... So little time!!

 

 

The title is right. Today we went to Washington, D.C. There was more than just museums to see.

There were memorials, the Metro, and monuments, too. These four Ms kept us busy all day.

 

First we went to the Metro Station to ride the train to the Capitol Mall. The train wasn't very crowded, thankfully.

 

 

This is Nana (my grandma) with me. The train was very fast... and fun! We could see other trains going by. The train had a lot of windows! When we arrived at the stop in D.C. we got lost! We found a map and got out.

 

After arriving, we went to the Air and Space Museum. We saw lots of cool things like, an interesting presentation about the forces of flight. Which are, lift, thrust, drag, and wieght. There were lots of hands-on activities. Lunar module, Apollo, space navigation models, and regular airplane cockpit displays we could see or walk through.

 

 

 

After this, we walked forever to the Washington Monument. I even got to touch it.

 

 

 

Then we had a really long walk to the Lincoln Memorial. We walked along the Reflecting Pool. There was a rally taking place at the Memorial so we had to walk around it a little. There were a lot of stairs.

We saw a humungo sized statue of Abraham Lincoln. The sculptor who made that must have been really talented. The detail was amazing. His fingernails were detailed and probably measured a foot.

 

 

 

Today was packed! But we had lots of fun!!

Again, So many museums... So little time!!

-Kate

:)

 

Tomorrow's edition:

Mt. Vernon and travel to the Historic Triangle

 

 

 

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Two National Parks in one day

Today we went to Valley Forge and Ft. McHenry. There was a lot of driving and riding involved to do this great feat.

First, we went to Valley Forge which was just down the road from our hotel. We watched a movie about Valley Forge and its history. Then we followed a Park Ranger for a while, later went back to the Visitor's Center to work on our Junior Ranger badge. Afterward, we drove through the area listening to an informational CD about the events that took place there. We saw the huts and talked to an interpreter in one. We found out the winter weather did not kill the large numbers of soldiers, but the lack of food and clean medical attention did. The food was available but could not be brought to the encampments because the roads were muddy and transportation could not bring the food to the men regularly. Antibiotics and antiseptics were unknown and undeveloped at that time.

 

 

 

Further down the road, we came to Washington's Headquarters. It was originally owned by a wealthy grist mill owner who allowed the rental of the property for General Washington to use. The kitchen was interestingly separated from the house for safety because kitchens often caught on fire.

 

 

We left Pennsyvania, drove through Delaware and arrived at Ft. McHenry in Maryland.

While there we saw an impressive film about the Francis Scott Key poem put to music and in 1931 became our national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner." In 1814 there was a huge battle between the Crowned Forces and soldiers in Ft. McHenry as they fought for 25 hours. The soldiers were protecting Baltimore and its large population and the freedoms we enjoy today.

 

We earned our second Junior Ranger badge here.

 

We ate snack foods for lunch so we had time to get down to Ft. McHenry before it closed.

Dinner was carefully selected to give us better nutrition to finish the day.

 

Today was a full day! If you look closely at the picture, you can see that Chase and I have our two Junior Ranger badges on our shirts.

Three States, Two National Parks, One day

WOW!!!!

-Kate

 

Tomorrow's edition:

Washington D.C.

 

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Philadelphia "phun"

Today we went to Philadelphia! We woke up early and got ready for the day. I had a quick breakfast at the hotel, then drove to Independence Hall. Tickets for tours of Independence Hall disappear so quickly! Happily, we got some. Between the drizzly weather and security inspections, we finally got onto our tour.

Before the tour, we saw the Liberty Bell. Did you know that it weighs 2080 lbs?

A friendly security guard told us, " Most people like the Liberty Bell, but some say it is not all that it is cracked up to be."

 

You can see Independence Hall in the background.

Our fabulous tour guide met us afterward and asked us questions so we could earn some trading cards about historic people and things.

By the time we finished our tour, hungry tummies told us it was time for lunch. We took a walk through town to Johnny Rockets. It looks like you have gone back in time to the 1950s. They play oldies-but-goodies songs and serve burgers, fries and malts. I had cute little mini-hamburgers and a chocolate malt topped with whipped cream.

 

 

We followed the map and walked to the home of Betsy Ross. The tour was very interesting to see the furniture and meet a person acting as Betsy. She showed us how to make a five-pointed star out of folded paper. Pop was going to take a picture, Betsy saw him, asked if he would like a portrait and if she should come up closer.

Shopping at the gift shop in Independence Hall, was fun and I thought you might like to see an option.

 

All through the tours and videos, they talked of the importance of our protecting our freedoms and creating freedom for others.

We also went to visit a Quaker meetinghouse. We learned about the Quaker religion and other things.

Today was very "phun"!

-Kate

 

Tomorrows edition:

Valley Forge and Fort McHenry

 

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Planes and cars! Oct. 10, 2014

Today we defied gravity! The plane ride was long! It was approximately 3hr. and 56min. Before we departed, we found a "magic" drinking fountian! After our arrival in Baltimore, we took a shuttle to the car rental place and rented a car. We drove from Baltimore to Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

In Pennsylvania we ate dinner at a Costco! Chase and I split a piece of pizza. The pizza was really good! We bought food for along the way. We bought water and snack foods. We are staying in a town called "King of Prussia" Why it is called that, no idea.

 

 

 

Exhausted, but having fun!

-Kate

 

 

 

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THE DAY HAS ARRIVED!! Oct. 9, 2014

Tonight is the night before our departure to Williamsburg! This is the first blog post! This is one of many planned!

Here I am making this post!!!!! We have to get up early for a 9A.M. flight.

For dinner we had potstickers! Those are my favorite!

 

My cousin and I each have dog tags. They are like the ones given to military personel. This is meant for identification.

 

This is me satisfied with my blog entries. The other kid is one of my closest cousins, Chase. He lives in a small town near here. He is such an awesome friend!

 

Having so much fun!

-Kate

 

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THE DAY HAS ARRIVED!! Oct. 9, 2014

Tonight is the night before our departure to Williamsburg! This is the first blog post! This is one of many planned!

Here I am making this post!!!!! We have to get up early for a 9A.M. flight.

For dinner we had potstickers! Those are my favorite!

 

My cousin and I each have dog tags. They are like the ones given to military personel. This is meant for identification.

 

This is me satisfied with my blog entries. The other kid is one of my closest cousins. He lives in a small town near here. He is such an awesome friend!

 

Having so much fun!!

-Kate

 

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