WASHINGTON DC: Brittany's 16 today - Georgetown & Washington Mall

Brittany’s birthday!  My baby girl is 16!  Wow, I can't believe it!  We are celebrating today with going to Georgetown, DC cupcakes, and Washington DC.   Brooke made her a special donut with Twizzlers as candles and watermelon slices for a special birthday treat this morning.   

 DC Cupcakes was the first stop.   But first we have to find a place to park our Big RV, which is not an easy task in Georgetown.  We found the Ohio Canal National Park and thought that we could park there, but NOPE . . .  there is not a visitors center or parking place.   Trying to navigate Dave through the oh so narrow streets was quite a challenge . . . . . good thing we are not any bigger than 26 feet.  We finally pulling into an empty school parking lot and Dave went to ask if we could park there – thankfully they said “Sure, no problem” because it was spring break!  The moral of the story is TAKE THE METRO, it’s much easier!! 

Famous on TV for their amazing cupcakes, we had to stand in line for 20 minutes to get in the door.  It was totally worth every minute because the cupcakes were YUMMY!  Brittany got the Oreo cookie, Brooke got the chocolate mint, and Dave and I shared a chocolate coconut.  We paid for 3 but oops we got an extra Oreo cookie one in our adorable pink box.  I guess it was a birthday bonus for Brittany!!  J

Then we walked down to the water front on the Potomac River.  Georgetown is beautiful with all the old brick buildings and the adorable shops.  All of a sudden we saw the presidents helicopter fly by – don’t know who was in it but it was exciting all the same for the kids. 

We actually didn’t know it but we were walking straight towards the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  As we walked up the street to the Kennedy Center we noticed the building to the left across the street that said Watergate building.  We thought that it might be the actual building where Watergate happened during Nixon’s presidency.   It turns out that we were right.  The kids remembered that he was the first president to get impeached for the Watergate Scandal.

The Kennedy Center, which is right on Potomac River opened to the public in September 1971. But it really began 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation creating a National Cultural Center. To honor Eisenhower's vision for such a facility, one of the Kennedy Center's theaters is named for him.   The legislation said that the center will present a wide variety of both classical and contemporary performances, have an educational mission for the Center, and stated that the Center was to be an independent facility, self-sustaining and privately funded. As a result of this last stipulation, a mammoth fundraising campaign began immediately following the Act's passage into law.    President John F. Kennedy was a lifelong supporter and promoter of the arts, and frequently steered the public’s eye toward what he called "our contribution to the human spirit." Kennedy took the lead in raising funds for the new National Cultural Center, holding special White House luncheons and receptions, appointing his wife Jacqueline and Mrs. Eisenhower as honorary co-chairwomen, and in other ways placing the prestige of his office firmly behind the project.  Two months after President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Congress designated the National Cultural Center as a "living memorial" to Kennedy, and authorized $23 million to help build what was now known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

We started in the Hall of States where the state flags are all lined up according to what year they joined America.  Next we went to the top floor terrace to overlook all of DC.   It was a beautiful view of the Potomac and DC.

Next we took a tour of the center and sat in the Concert Hall.  This is the home of the Washington symphony and the acoustics are incredible in this room.  The chandeliers were a gift from Denmark and they are on a wire that allows them to be pulled down to clean periodically – they were beautiful.  

We walked down the hall of Nations, which is all the countries who are in good relations with the US.  They are in alphabetical order starting with Argentina and ending with Zimbabwe.  We looked into the Eisenhower Theater but they were getting ready for Alice and Wonderland so we couldn’t tour it, and they were having a special function in the Opera house so we couldn’t see that one.  Bummer, because I remember it being incredibly beautiful.  While we toured the center Dave went to get the RV (he has already been here) because he got permission from a supervisor at the center to park the RV in their bus parking . . . a huge blessing for today was not having to pay for any parking!!  J

When we were finished with the Kennedy Center, we walked down the walkway on the Potomac River to the DC Capital Mall.   That’s what they call the area between the Capital and the Lincoln Memorial.   The pathway took us right to the Lincoln Memorial and the kids were in awe of the size of it!!  Of course they remember many of the details of Washington DC from the movie National Treasure, including the scene at the Lincoln Memorial, but they loved seeing it in real life.

The Lincoln Memorial is a memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln and it started construction in 1920.  Commission president William H. Taft – who was then Chief Justice of the United States – dedicated the Memorial on May 30, 1922 and presented it to President Warren G. Harding, who accepted  it on behalf of the American people. Lincoln's only remaining son, 79-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln, was in attendance.^[   The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln which is 19 feet tall and wide, and it has inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address, on the walls next to the statue.   The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963 during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  From 1959 to 2008, the Lincoln Memorial was shown on the reverse of the United States one cent coin, which has Lincoln's portrait on the front.. This was done to mark the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.   The memorial also appears on the back of the U.S. five dollar bill, the front of which bears Lincoln's portrait.

The kids got the Capital Mall junior ranger book and after listening to a ranger talk, taking a ton of pictures and looking at everything on the memorial we walked to the Korean Memorial.  They answered their junior ranger questions there and we moved on to the World War II Memorial and to the Washington Monument.  The World War II Memorial honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home. The Second World War is the only 20th Century event commemorated on the National Mall’s central area.  

The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to honor  the first U.S. president, General George Washington. The monument, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk  It stands 555 feet 5¹⁄₈ inches tall.  Taller monumental columns exist, but they are neither all stone nor true obelisks. Construction of the monument began in 1848, but was halted from 1854 to 1877, and finally completed in 1884. The completed monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885. The monument was damaged during the Virginia earthquake of August 23, 2011 and  it unfortunately remains closed to the public indefinitely while the structure is assessed and repaired.^[

Then directly over to the left of the Washington Memorial is the White House which looks directly at the memorial and beyond the Memorial to right is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.  The mall is all laid out so beautifully.   The kids were incredibly excited to see the White House so we walked over to the lawn area to see where the annual Egg Roll took place today that we didn’t get picked for in the lottery of 10,000 people!  Bummer!  They were cleaning everything up from that today.   I’m sure God had a reason for us not getting picked!!

We walked all the way  back to RV (be prepared to walk everywhere in DC)  that was parked graciously in free parking at the Kennedy Center, and then we found a yummy pizza place on the way home because that is what Brittany wanted for her birthday dinner.  We ate, she opened her cards, and she had yummy coffee Gelato (homemade at the restaurant) for dessert and was completely happy about a fabulous day!

 

VIRGINIA: Easter Sunday

Easter Morning!!  I love Easter Day . . . the resurrection of our Lord Jesus form the grave, giving us a hope in the eternal life of those who believe.  What a gift.

We planed on going to go to church this morning in DC, but we totally overslept.  I think we were physically & emotionally exhausted, and it’s probably just as well because parking an RV in DC is a nightmare.   We just had our own special service worshiping with the Berchtold’s music CD’s that they gave us and listening to Chuck Swindoll’s Easter message online.  It was all about ! Corinthians 15. 

Everyone voted just to hang around the campground and play.  They rode bikes, played miniature golf, swam, and had a great time.  Shelley and I went on a bike ride to figure out how to get to and how long to the Metro.  We found a beautiful bike path that actually goes right through University of Maryland. 

When it got dark, we had a special candy hunt in the dark..  They loved it and even said, “That was the best Easter hunt ever!!” 

We saved our special $8 rum cake as a special Easter treat for dessert.  Everyone loved it but only got a bite because it was so small!!

VIRGINA: Mount Vernon

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Today is my birthday!!  I’m excited to do something different, like I’ve never done before, for my birthday . . . . go to Mount Vernon.  How many people do you know that get to go to beautiful Mount Vernon, Virginia,  for their birthday?  And I woke up to a beautiful sunny day - It’s been so hot in the south, but today the temperature is the perfect jeans and t-shirt kind of day.  I also hadmany adorable little voices saying “Happy Birthday Mom”, or “Auntie Pam” this morning.  What a special beginning to my day – it can’t get any better than that!.  I’m feeling very blessed.We drove to Mount Vernon, purchased tickets and once again we were able to get a homeschool discount.  Right on!  We scheduled a boat ride up the Potomac River as a birthday treat!  J

The boat boarded at the old Mount Vernon dock where it was used for Washington’s farming and fishing business to transport goods up the river to Alexandria.   George built an octagon shaped barn which he called the treading barn.   The outside portion of inside the barn was made for horse to trot around on top of wheat they would lay on the ground.  The flooring was wooden panels that were exact 1 and a quarter inch apart so that all the seeds would fall through to the ground below and the hay would remain on top.  Ingenious way of being productive and George invented it.  Many farmers started to use his method after they learned of it. 

Potomac is an Indian name given to the river in honor to the Indians that used to live here.   The river runs 385 miles to the Chesapeake Bay and it can at some point be 8 miles wide.   We rode up the Potomac River to Fort Washington, built during the Revolutionary War, and then turned around to go back down to Mount Vernon.  The view of Mount Vernon from the river was spectacular.  Hard to believe at one time in Washington’s life he had 8000 acres of land. 

After the boat ride, we toured the grounds on the north and sound lanes of  the house called the outbuildings.  From dawn to dusk, six days a week, slaves worked this plantation spinning wool and lines, laundering the Washington’s clothes and guests, preparing foods, curing meats, shoeing horses, tending the garden, and many other jobs to keep the plantation running.  

They had a working blacksmith who was making a link chain that was fascinating to watch.  This was exactly what a blacksmith would have made back then, producing one foot of chain in one hour (4 links).  He had to constantly put it back into the fire to work on it and bend it into the shape that he wanted.  Then he had to work on linking it with the chain and then sealing it.  Wow . . . that Is quite the process of heating & hammering again and again.  

 

Next it was our time to go through the main house where we filed in a large line to wait to get in.  George Washington acquired the house in 1754 from his older half brother Lawrence after he died from TB.  George was very blessed to inherit such an estate because as the old tradition went, he was the younger brother and would have received nothing.  He went out into the world to make his own way by becoming a surveyor, which ultimately is what God had planned for him because that skill allowed him to serve in the military and moving up in rank quickly because of his bravery and special skill.  God has an amazing way to direct our paths, even in the suffering.  He was very close with his brother Lawrencea, so I’m sure that it was difficult to inherit the house at that time. 

During the next 45 years he greatly expanded the home to reflect his status as a Virginian gentleman, personally overseeing every detail of design, construction and decorating, even when he was away at war.  He was an incredible business man who did an excellent job of making Mount Vernon a thriving and profitably plantation. 

As we walked through each room there were docents telling about the special features.  George had immaculate taste in decorating for that time period with a bright green dinning room and a bright blue  living room which was a very expensive task back then.   The most interesting fact was that Martha was very practical and frugal, so she decorated their own room with all white – still beautiful but very plain compared to the others rooms.    And off course . .  there was no photography in the house.

Next we toured the slave quarters which actually looked nicer than what we have seen so far.  There were 10 bunk beds in each of the women’s & men’s rooms with a fire place and a sitting area.  They had a spinning wheel where one slave would work on spinning wool day and night.  In another chamber a slave would have to continually monitor a fire and stoke heat through an underground area to the plants, to help the crops grow.  

George was very conflicted about keeping slaves because of his leadership and his fight for liberty. When he died he freed his slaves, and several of them left and many of them stayed to work on Mount Vernon.   We viewed the grave site of many blacks who remained on the property. 

George Washington and Martha are also buried there in a tomb built into the side of the hill.  It was beautiful and very respectful.   Several other close family members are buried there as well.

The kids finished up their scaneger hunt that they were working on and found the secret mark!  It was easy but they had a great time. 

Last we went to the museum which was spectacular.  It had 2 movies, one from Martha Custis Washington’s perspective on her husband which portrayed her as humble, gentle, helpful to his service, but also very lonely when he was away.  It seemed that she loved him very much and even went to the battlefields several times to be with him.  She would always bring homemade treats to the soldiers who loved them.  The second movie was about his leadership at Valley Forge where they camped out for months and finally attacked on Christmas Day when the British wouldn’t expect it.  They rowed boats across the frozen Potomac River and during the movie it snowed in the audience.  The seats would also vibrate as shots were fired.  It was awesome.

Do you know George's favorite horse's name???

Nelson . . . the white horse!!

Did you know that George was the one to make the mule?  Yes, it’s true . . . he knew that donkey’s were strong, but horses were bigger, and so he had some bourght to his plantation to breed with the horses.  Many people started buying mules from him after they realized what an asset they were to a farm.

To top off a wonderful day at Mount Vernon we went out to eat at a yummy Mexican food restaurant.  They sang Happy Birthday to me and I had to wear the dorky Mexican hat, but this one was much nicer than our traditional Chevy’s hat.  Then I realized that you can’t keep this hat which was a good thing because we have no room for it.  What a wonderful birthday day it was - I am so blessed.  . 

VIRGINIA: A Tribute to Bill Gillette

We woke this morning without any expectations.  Just another day began as any other, but unfortunately life can change in an instant.  We spent the morning with the Berchtold’s visiting, kids playing, going for a beautiful walk, and packing up.  We were headed to Fredericksburg and then on to Washington DC.   But with a phone call at 12:30 pm, everything changed.  Shelley’s father in law, Bill Gillette had a massive heart attack last night and passed away.  Shelley and the kid’s were heart broken and we spent the afternoon crying and praying.  The Berchtold’s in their beautiful way ministered again to our hearts by singing and praying for the Gillette family in a very special way. 

Life is precious – God is the giver of life, and God takes away at His perfect time!!    As it says in Psalms, our days are numbered even before we are born.  But heart wrenching to say goodbye to those we love!    Thankfully Bill is with Jesus and not suffering any more.  Praise the Lord.  

 After 5 hours extra at the Berchtold’s, and several fosse ball games,  we finally said goodbye and got on the road to our Washington DC campground. 

This day was not like any other, and we will dearly miss Mrs. Gillette.   

VIRGINIA: Berchtold Family & Monticello

We woke up to take a real shower this morning and didn’t have to wear my flip flops in the public shower – thanking God for the little things.  We also woke up to the beautiful Berchtold music playing throughout the house.  They have several CD’s out and what a joy to listen to their beautiful voices worshiping the Lord this morning.

We enjoyed breakfast together and were gracious to let us do laundry.  Dave and Brandon has packed ahead of time and put their things in one of those travel bags that are made for the top of the car, on top of the camper.  When we had the 3 nights of incredible down pouring rain Shelley and I said to each other, “I hope Dave’s clothes are not getting wet,”  We thought about going to check on them way on top of the RV but never did because it seemed like a daunting task to climb around all the bikes on the back . . . oops!  I guess that bag is not completely water proof because his and Brandon’s clothes were soaking wet, and mildewed.  Yuck – thankfully we had a place and the time to thoroughly get them clean. 

They were also very excited to show us their chickens, so we walked down their pathway into a beautifully wooded area to their chicken coop.  Each one of us got to hold a chicken and they were much more tame than I thought they would be.   One even went to perch on the special area made just for that and Christian found an egg that had just been laid this morning.  The name for the chicken pen was The Perchtold’s . . . adorable

Before we were off to Monticello, which in Thomas Jefferson’s home, we all gathered to sing and have a devotion together.  Clare Ann is the mom of the Berchtold bunch and she is the musical genius.  Almost every morning as she reads her Bible she writes a song with the scripture that God gives her to meditate on for the day.  She uses music to memorize the scripture at the same time she writes a song.  All five girls at home have beautiful voices and love to sing the amazing songs that she creates.  As we started singing together, she pulls out a song with yesterdays date on it and tells us that she just wrote it, and wants to sing it with us.  It was beautiful and amazing that she just whipped that together in a moments time . . . what a gift!!  And the best part is that they share their gift all over the world – they have traveled many different places and have shared their beautiful voices with many people

After devotions we all piled into their two cars to go to Monticello.  They had a beautiful brand new van with as big of a TV that my girls have in their room, so where do you think all of the kids ended up??  Of course, in the van and they instantly put on a movie.  Little Clare was in heaven to have all these playmates around.

We arrived at Monticello and they were willing to give us a homeschool entrance rate. . . right on, that’s the way it should always be because again, if we paid regular fees, Brooke would have been an adult at 12!!   And they were willing to squeeze us right into a house tour with another school group rather than waiting for 3 hours with the rest of the pubic.  Homeschooling definitely has it’s perks!!

Thomas Jefferson was an amazing man.  His most famous words when writing the Declaration of the Independence in 1776 inspire all people around the world . . . “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”    He is most known for writing the Delcartion of Independence and for being the 3^rd president but did you know that he was also a delegate to the Virginia General Assembly and to Congress; the govenore of Virginia, minister to France, secretary of state, vice president, and president for 2 terms???  Other most notable achievements are the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Unfortunately we could not take pictures inside the house again but the tour was fascinating and our decent was wonderful.  Jefferson was a very detailed man and designed every aspect of Monticello, teaching himself architecture for the mountaintop house.   He began construction of his home in 1768 and included all the kinds of rooms typically found in Virginia plantation houses, but also incorporating many European, particularly French,  designs.   In 1796 he began adding onto Monticello making it a 3-story, 21-room home, and added a dome over the west front which was the first on an America house.   He was so detailed that all the aspects of the house design and decoration was all done my him.  He selected all of the furnishings, and every window drapery.   In the entrance hall, Jefferson made a museum of all the North American object given by western tribes to Lewis & Clark on their expedition.   In the parlor he placed many portraits or busts of men who inspired or influenced him including George Washington, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and John Locke. 

Jefferson’s bedroom contained a 2-sided alcove for his bed, and a 3-sided one in his guest room, and space saving idea that he incorporated into his home from Europe.   Jefferson’s study contained a 4-sided reading console that he could turn to read several books at a time, and a polygraph machine that he invented to copy letters.   His library had over 7000 books as his favorite thing to do was read and educate himself on many subjects. 

Monticello was a working plantation and Jefferson had about 600 slaves over the course of his life.  He was very conflicted about owning slaves after writing the Declaration of Independence, but it was part of the culture at the time that he didn’t try to change as he felt that the country wasn’t ready for it.  He also knew that someday it would be a bitter source of conflict. 

After the house tour we walked around beautiful the grounds, went in the basement cellar, listened to another docent talk about Mulberry Row and the slave quarters, and visited his grave site.   It was all so fascinating.

Brooke and Gracie writing with a quill pen

The gardens

Finishing the tour with a wonderful movie of Jefferson completed the wonderful day at Monticello.  We went back to the Berchtold’s house and walked into the wonderful aroma of spaghetti being made by all of the sisters.  Wow, we are getting spoiled!!  They had some snacks ready and wine, and we sat outside and visited while dinner was finishing cooking.

After a lovely dinner the kids all played some games and then the sisters sang for all of us.  We all sat and listening intently while we ALL videoed with our phones or Itouches.  It was quite funny, but it didn’t bother them at all as they kept on singing their beautiful songs.  They sang some good ol’ classics one of which is my favorite – “Sisters” from White Christmas!!

Then Dave and Lisa had everyone in stiched laughing with their voice interpretations of different actors!

It was a wonderful day and a heavenly evening and we ended it with a group shot of us all!