Day 5

On the morning of Day 5, we headed back into Washington D.C. We had tickets to go up in the Washington monument. The traffic was horrible, so the guys dropped us off to pick up our tickets while they hunted for a parking spot.
See the Capitol in the background!

It was fun to look out over the city and see famous landmarks.
Part of the Mall and the Lincoln Memorial

The Mall and the Capitol at the end.

The Pentagon

The White House

Mel and Jason flopped down on the bench while we were waiting for Mom and Dad to come back down. They didn't realize I was snapping their picture.

Once they realized what I did, they had to pose. ;)

We left D.C. and went to Mt. Vernon where we met George and Martha Washington along with their grandchildren.

They were a little hard to get to know--not very communicative.

Throughout the years he lived there, Washington added on to the original house.

He drew up the designs himself.

Looking out over the front yard at the Potomac River.

What a pretty view to have each morning as he woke up!

We were not allowed to take photos in the house itself, but the grounds were beautiful!

Washington was very knowledgeable in farming, building, and gardening. He had very innovative ideas for his time.

A barn he designed to thresh wheat.

This covered walkway led to the kitchen; it was separate from the house because fires were very common and was better to have just the kitchen burn down and not the entire house!

This tree is called a Crepe Myrtle and it reminded us of our Flowering Crab Apple trees back in Illinois. The main difference is that ours bloom in the spring and it was fall when we visited Maryland and Virginia! They were quite lovely.

Washington owned a lot of land and the grounds were just gorgeous...

This is where our first president is interred on a hillside below his home...

One thing that impressed us about Washington is the fact that he could have been king had he wanted to. His courage and skills during the war made him a hero; many people wanted him to be the ruler over the newly formed United States, but Washington firmly believed in the freedom he fought for. Later he did accept presidency and became the only man to ever be unanimously elected as president!