With Benjamin's arrival came a lot of visitors (well my mom and sisters were here before he got here). With Benjamin being such a good baby/eater and me feeling great physically, we headed out sight seeing while everyone was here. There really is so much to see in the area. It was hard to choose.
(These pictures are in no paticular order)
Mount Vernon, VA
We went to Mt. Vernon, which is a little over an hour south/west of us. It is a beautiful estate on the Potomac River. There really is a lot to see in addition to the house. Unfortunatly we went on a really hot and humid day and only spent a couple hours there. The museum in very interesting and I enjoyed seeing the house and walking in the rooms that George Washington lived in. We even got to see the key to the Bastille which Washington had hung in his foyer. They also had black smiths working at the forage and there was an actor in a little room playing Martha Washington. She just sat there and rambled and answered questions like she was Martha. We took the opprotunity to sit and listen to her and cool off while I discreetly nursed Ben (I LOVE my nursing cover). As we were leaving she noticed Ben and said he was "a well formed child." Anyway, she played her role well.
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Rachel and Elijah standing amid statues of George, Martha and their grandchildren. Martha Washington was very short, under 5 feet tall. |
Gettysburg, PA
We went to Gettysburg twice, once with my family and once with Josh's. The trip with my parents was really fast, we mostly drove around and saw the town and the battlegrounds. With the Strongs we went through the museum and drove around the grounds. The museum is worth paying for. You really get a good idea of what happened. The battlegrounds are very beautiful, especially during the Fall season. It is amazing the sacrafice that took place there to preserve freedom. It is a moving place to visit.
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The gang sitting with Abe Lincoln outside the Gettysburg visitors center |
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Strong boys with Abe |
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Climbing Little Round Top |
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Dobbin House in Gettysburg. Was actually a stop on the underground railroad. They let us go in and see the nook where they stashed slaves. |
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Birthday cake icecream at Friendlys on the way home from Gettysburg. That stuff was SO blue. |
The MALL/Smithsonians, Washington DC
We breezed through the National Gallery of Art. Not exactly a place for preschoolers but the boys were good. We made a point of seeing pieces by Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Da Vinci, and Vermeer among others. Absolutely breathtaking!
We also went in the National Air and Space Museum. Overall not my favorite of the Smithsonian museums. It was stuffy and stunk like rotting metal. There were some cool things to see though. I particularly like seeing the Spirit of St. Louis (because my grandma told me about when she went to see the plane fly into Saint Louis after its notorious flight) and the Wright Brother's plane.
Annopolis, MD
We actually got to touch the ocean, well via the Chesapeake bay. We went down to Annopolis to drive around. Yet another place were there is a lot to see but isn't particularly up a preschoolers alley. We ended up driving through some residential and found a little open space area that opend up onto the bay with a small stretch of beach. It was a beautiful day and a nice quite place to enjoy the view of the bay and all the boats out for the annual boat show. Sam was mesmorized with the water and the sand. He found a stick and started spelling his name in the sand.
Baltimore, MD
We went to the Baltimore aquarium again while Josh's parents were here too. Elijah and Sam were excited to see the dolphin show again. Unfortunatly Ben decided he wanted to eat more than watch the show so he and I missed it. The aquarium has a rainforest exhibit at the top and they have a sloth in among the trees. The day we were there he was rather active. I actually saw him sit up and eat something. I swear I took a picture of him but I can't find it. Oh well.
Anyway, all this travel happened in the first few weeks of Benjamin's life. He sure gets around for such a little guy. Thank you family for coming out. We really enjoyed having you here and exploring the area with you.