The Lee Family: Spring Break, Day 5: Mt. Vernon!

On Wednesday morning we picked up Aunt Shirl around 10:15am to go tour Mt. Vernon. Both girls' shoes were soaking wet still so they wore their rain boots (I'm so thankful Bonnie suggested we bring a pair). As we drove down the George Washington Parkway toward Mt. Vernon, I had a lot of fun memories of running and biking on the walking path that runs along the road. It's such a beautiful path and my friend Brian and I ran a lot of miles on it.

We parked and bought our tickets and decided to get a quick snack before the movie on George Washington's life started. While we were enjoying our snack, a man dressed in period played his flute and recorder for the girls and explained all of the various instruments someone from George Washington's time would have and use. It was fascinating and Sofia really loved it since she has music in school and plays the piano at home. After our snack we headed to the visitor center and watched the 30-minute movie on George Washington's life and the crossing of the Delaware. It was well made and very interesting. After the movie we walked out onto his estate and toward his house. The roads are dirt and gravel and were very muddy with many puddles. Of course, the girls loved jumping in the puddles and trudging through the mud. It was probably the highlight of their visit.

We walked through the Washington mansion which was really beautiful and I couldn't imagine how hot in the summer and cold in the winter it must have been back then. Pictures were not allowed, so I carried Olivia, mainly to contain her, while Sofia stuck with CK and Aunt Shirl. It was a beautiful view from the back patio with fog completely covered the Potomac. The tour was really interesting and it's hard to imagine how much domestic life has changed in the past few hundred years. After we left the mansion, we visited the outdoor kitchen, where all of the food was made before being delivered to the house. Both girls realized they needed to go to the bathroom, so we walked over toward the slave quarters to find a bathroom. Just after the bathroom break, Aunt Shirl needed to return home to get work done. I offered to take her to the Braddock Road Metro while CK and the girls continued to tour the estate.

After I dropped Aunt Shirl off at the Metro, I drove the short distance to the very first row house I rented when I moved to D.C. The area around the Metro had changed so much with new shops, condo buildings and updated businesses where there used to be blocks of public housing. The street I rented on - East Luray Ave - hadn't changed at all, it seemed. I actually couldn't even remember which row house it was since they all are attached and look identical. After my drive down memory lane, I returned to Mt. Vernon where I met CK and the girls in the gift shop where they both bought Washington DC sticker books before we loaded up and headed back into the city. On our way, Olivia fell asleep so we decided to drive through downtown Alexandria to see how some of our favorite places had changed. We were both pleasantly surprised that it hasn't changed much at all and our favorite places are still there.

We returned to the apartment and CK took Olivia inside so she could continue napping and he could get some work done. Meanwhile, Sofia and I stopped at the little Italian store that used to be Marvelous Market and we each got a hot cocoa, which was amazingly yummy! Sofia chatted up the sales girl for awhile and wanted to walk to the park, but I didn't want to pay for parking at Eastern Market and risk a parking ticket. We drove to Turtle Park and parked right across from the house we brought Sofia home to - 409 South Carolina Ave. S.E. It looked exactly the same and even had the same light fixtures and paint on the walls. Of course, Sofia immediately found a friend and had fun playing. After awhile, I saw a man in the front yard of our old house and walked over to talk to him. He and his family are renting and have only been there for 6 months, but he offered me a tour! I couldn't believe how it looked exactly as it did when we sold it. Of course, I didn't see upstairs, but I'm sure it too is the same. It was so little! I couldn't even remember living in such a small space!

After taking a few pictures of Sofia at the park where she used to crawl around and took her first steps, we returned to our apartment and found Olivia still sleeping! I woke Olivia up and she decided to go with me up to Bethesda, Maryland, to have dinner with my friend Brian, his wife Melissa and their almost 4 month old baby boy, Jack. CK and Sofia decided to stay in the neighborhood and go to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. It took Olivia and I nearly an hour to get to Bethesda, which is only 12 miles away! It was tedious! It was great to meet Jack and visit with Brian and Melissa, who had ordered pizza for us to enjoy. It was fun to hold Jack and Olivia was so interested in when he would walk and why he doesn't talk, etc. It was a good decision to bring Olivia and let CK and Sofia have an evening together. After we were done with dinner, Olivia played quietly on the ground with the bag of toys I have in my purse while Brian and I caught up and Melissa put Jack to bed. After awhile, we returned to our apartment. Another fun day!

Ready to explore Mt. Vernon