Planned our Sunday to attend Mass at the National Shrine at noon on Sunday on our way out of DC. Apparently this is the fourth largest church in the world, which I did not believe for one minute, until I saw it. This shrine was built, with the enthusiastic support of the Vatican, in the early 1900's. The director of the Catholic University of America was the man behind the shrine, and it shares the property with the campus.
Some photos of this stunning basilica.
And this is for you, E.W. friend of Scout:
But, as much fun as we had in DC, it was time to head a little more south for a little more adventure. A week or so ago, we had decided to cut a couple of things we had tentatively planned, which I am grateful for, as it gave us more time to explore the places we were in. The things we cut were going further into the heart of Virginia, and Philadelphia, primarily. There is so much to do, and so much to see it is really hard to pick and choose.
But, we did dip down into Virgina just a little to Mount Vernon. We knew we were in the South, as grits, biscuits and gravy comprised a new part of our breakfast buffet.
This is the family home of George and Martha Washington, which was pronounced the first national historic site in the US. The Mansion, and surrounding plantation land has been preserved and turned into a living museum, with costumed interpreters who take on characters to answer questions on the visit here. This kind of museum has been a huge hit for our kids, and they were completely absorbed in George Washington and life on the plantation.
Getting smarter as we move along on the journey, we planned A Whole Day at this living museum, and very glad we did. There are acres and acres and acres and ACRES of land to walk along the Potomac River, including gardens, wharf, yard, plantation, slave quarters, and all the various occupations that were at the estate, including blacksmith, clerk, kitchen staff, shoemaker and the like, the Washington's tombs, museum, interpretive center. We took the behind the scenes tour of the movie "National Treasure Two," which was partly filmed here at Mount Vernon, and were privy to some areas of the estate not on the regular tour.
George Washington was a genius. While he was a successful General, and first president of the United States after the Revolutionary War, he would call himself first and foremost a farmer. He approached farming scientifically, and with the mind of a businessman.
Part of his farming included building up his soil to increase production, and making use of the natural fertilizer at hand. Thought this might be of interest to you, Mr. D.
The votes are starting to be put forth as to What Our Favourite Part of the Trip Has Been. We still have a few days to go, but this is clearly a sign that spare moments are spent thinking about what it will be like to home again.
After leaving a very fun day at Mount Vernon, our trip has taken a turn. Literally. We headed northwest, to a little town called Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Now, that means that today we went through Virginia, back through DC, into Virginia again, stepped over the border of West Virginia to go to Harper's Ferry, and then back into Maryland. That's crazy, don't you think? But all that took about an hour. So it wasn't too bad. Our soul purpose for going to this cute little town was because Sparky thought it was really super important to see the Shenandoah River because....We Really Like That Song.
So we were all happy, and he played the song. We are staying tonight in a town called, um...Hagerstown. Um...Maryland. It had the nearest hotel to Harper's Ferry. It is quite dark as we arrive, and we are tired. Bedtime and tomorrow we head to Emmitsburg, Gettysburg (we hope to blast through those) and then on to Lancaster County, which is the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Amish-ville. So excited. I'll bring you some pickled stuff.
Except Mrs. D. I'll bring you some Vodka, like you asked.
More photos coming tonight.
Some photos of this stunning basilica.
 |
| the ceiling is all mosaic, as are the stations and artwork in the church |
 |
| Our Mother of Good Counsel, patroness of our homeschool group |
And this is for you, E.W. friend of Scout:
 |
| beautiful Virginia town and country |
But, as much fun as we had in DC, it was time to head a little more south for a little more adventure. A week or so ago, we had decided to cut a couple of things we had tentatively planned, which I am grateful for, as it gave us more time to explore the places we were in. The things we cut were going further into the heart of Virginia, and Philadelphia, primarily. There is so much to do, and so much to see it is really hard to pick and choose.
But, we did dip down into Virgina just a little to Mount Vernon. We knew we were in the South, as grits, biscuits and gravy comprised a new part of our breakfast buffet.
This is the family home of George and Martha Washington, which was pronounced the first national historic site in the US. The Mansion, and surrounding plantation land has been preserved and turned into a living museum, with costumed interpreters who take on characters to answer questions on the visit here. This kind of museum has been a huge hit for our kids, and they were completely absorbed in George Washington and life on the plantation.
Getting smarter as we move along on the journey, we planned A Whole Day at this living museum, and very glad we did. There are acres and acres and acres and ACRES of land to walk along the Potomac River, including gardens, wharf, yard, plantation, slave quarters, and all the various occupations that were at the estate, including blacksmith, clerk, kitchen staff, shoemaker and the like, the Washington's tombs, museum, interpretive center. We took the behind the scenes tour of the movie "National Treasure Two," which was partly filmed here at Mount Vernon, and were privy to some areas of the estate not on the regular tour.
 |
| The Washington's special experimental garden |
 |
| the back of the mansion, overlooking the Potomac River |
 |
| servant's quarters |
George Washington was a genius. While he was a successful General, and first president of the United States after the Revolutionary War, he would call himself first and foremost a farmer. He approached farming scientifically, and with the mind of a businessman.
Part of his farming included building up his soil to increase production, and making use of the natural fertilizer at hand. Thought this might be of interest to you, Mr. D.
The votes are starting to be put forth as to What Our Favourite Part of the Trip Has Been. We still have a few days to go, but this is clearly a sign that spare moments are spent thinking about what it will be like to home again.
After leaving a very fun day at Mount Vernon, our trip has taken a turn. Literally. We headed northwest, to a little town called Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Now, that means that today we went through Virginia, back through DC, into Virginia again, stepped over the border of West Virginia to go to Harper's Ferry, and then back into Maryland. That's crazy, don't you think? But all that took about an hour. So it wasn't too bad. Our soul purpose for going to this cute little town was because Sparky thought it was really super important to see the Shenandoah River because....We Really Like That Song.
 |
| Shenandoah River from the car |
So we were all happy, and he played the song. We are staying tonight in a town called, um...Hagerstown. Um...Maryland. It had the nearest hotel to Harper's Ferry. It is quite dark as we arrive, and we are tired. Bedtime and tomorrow we head to Emmitsburg, Gettysburg (we hope to blast through those) and then on to Lancaster County, which is the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Amish-ville. So excited. I'll bring you some pickled stuff.
Except Mrs. D. I'll bring you some Vodka, like you asked.
More photos coming tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment