If you have been reading our blog for any length of time, you probably already know that our family really enjoys visiting Mount Vernon. We enjoy going a couple a times a year because we have season passes for the adults (it is $25 for the year) and is free for children 5 and under.
It is an absolutely beautiful drive to Washington's home. As you make the trip, you get a view of Georgetown, the monuments in downtown D.C. and old towne Alexandria. There are more beautiful views to behold as you look in Washington's "backyard" at the Potomac River. The estate is quite expansive and to me it is always feels quiet and relaxing.
Recently on Living Social Deals they had a $40 gift certificate to the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant for $20. So I grabbed it so that we could go in the month of March to celebrate Brad's birthday! I am so glad that I did, the girls were wonderful in the restaurant for us. All of our place-mats had different historical information about George Washington and we talked about the unique lighting in the restaurant too. I love all of the teachable moments that present themselves when we are having fun with our family!
It is an absolutely beautiful drive to Washington's home. As you make the trip, you get a view of Georgetown, the monuments in downtown D.C. and old towne Alexandria. There are more beautiful views to behold as you look in Washington's "backyard" at the Potomac River. The estate is quite expansive and to me it is always feels quiet and relaxing.
Recently on Living Social Deals they had a $40 gift certificate to the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant for $20. So I grabbed it so that we could go in the month of March to celebrate Brad's birthday! I am so glad that I did, the girls were wonderful in the restaurant for us. All of our place-mats had different historical information about George Washington and we talked about the unique lighting in the restaurant too. I love all of the teachable moments that present themselves when we are having fun with our family!
The food was delicious at the restaurant. The girls had a kids meal with chicken tenders, Brad had fried salmon cakes, and I had meatloaf. Brad didn't like his vegetable medley (cabbage, carrots, brocolli) much, so Faith ate it all for him! So funny.
Standing in a short line to go into Mount Vernon
Daddy with his three little girls. We love the blessing of being parents to our sweet kids!
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Despite our many visits to Mount Vernon (and it being completely FREE), this was our first time to do the Adventure Map. Previously, we always thought it was a little too advanced for our girls, but this time we decided to give it a shot and we had a lot of fun doing it. The girls were especially excited that they got a treasure (it was a crushed penny with a picture of Mount Vernon on it) at the end.
Faith and Daddy running on the trail together.
Something new that is at Mount Vernon is the "Meet Martha Washington" room. It is not a skit or a show, but an ongoing conversation with Martha. You can ask "Martha" any questions and she will share her recollections of the "General" and of their life together.
The woman who played Martha Washington did a remarkable job. She was very entertaining and well-informed. I could have spent hours listening to her. While we were listening to her talk, there were several young people in the room. And "Martha" wanted to send them away with a nugget of wisdom. So she taught all of us one of her famous quotes (we repeated it five to six times to learn it)... be "steady as a clock, busy as a bee, and cheerful as a cricket". :-)
Throughout Mount Vernon there are dressed workers who can share about their trade and life in colonial times. We really enjoyed the blacksmith.
The fire is really hot, when he takes the metal out of the fire it is at 1400 degrees F!
It was a little colder outside than we anticipated. Jillian turned her sweater around to make her feel warmer.
The stables are fun because they have all the old carriages and wagons stored there.
Then we went to see some of the animals on the farm.
After our exploring outside, we went to the museum to the kids section for a special storytelling. Brad volunteered with Faith to go up front to help demonstrate George Washington's cistern that he used to irrigate his crops.
Jillian loves the special coloring pages in the museum.
Daddy and Faith sharing tea and learning about what kinds of food George Washington ate in his day.
Faith was exhausted at the end of the day. I love these moments.
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