And the answer is . . . Mount Vernon

Our final destination for this journey was Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. I will admit that I have gained a lot of respect for George Washington as I have studied his life and the founding of our great nation. George Washington started out as a British soldier because well, almost everyone who lived in the 13 colonies was British. He proved himself a great leader in the British army, so after we decided to break free from the British he then became the obvious choice for commander of the American troops. He started with basically no army, so he not only had to win a war but he had to find some men to help him do it!

So, here is the home he lived in during the Revolutionary War. We use the word lived in very loosely as he only visited once during the entire war but his wife Martha lived there with the children. I did learn that they were her children and after her husband died she met and married George Washington. Fascinating what you can learn! So, here is the house (the boys are pretty tired of my taking their pictures, so enjoy their funny/impatient faces). It is beautiful and almost everything in the home is original which is pretty incredible.

We couldn't take pictures inside most of the house but we did get to snap a few photos in the kitchen.

Joshua in particular loved seeing dead animals and meat hanging to dry. Gotta love boys!

We also got to enjoy the view of the Potomac which is breath taking. I don't think I did it justice with my mediocre photography skills but hopefully you get the idea.

We then wandered around to see the slave quarters and other buildings. The boys, in particular, enjoyed the blacksmith shop where the man was really working on a project. He is making book ends for the estate. Pretty awesome that they keep everything home made!

And what trip would not be complete without seeing some animals. There were pigs, sheep, cows/bulls and even a rooster! I also took a minute to look at the gardens and saw a garden that even James would approve of. It was beautiful and still full of vegetables. I really liked that the plantation is still up and running. Pretty awesome!

And as promised yesterday we got to see where George Washington was buried. After the war he wanted to go home to his family and live out his days in peace but after much pleading he agreed to be the first president of the nation. Then, after serving two terms he said he was done and resigned. So many people would have loved for him to remain on but he knew that it was not good for the country. It is amazing to me that after all of that work to become free most people would have gladly crowned him king but he was such a humble man who knew that democracy was the best choice that he was able to give up the power (that he really didn't want in the first place) and give it back to the people. I am very grateful to him and the service he rendered to the nation and for his ability to help make this nation what it is today. I felt throughout the day that he was truly a man of God who was sent at that time to do exactly what he did.

After our great tour of the grounds we were able to go through a museum and watch a few movies. They even had a children's room where the kids could do puzzles, color, build with blocks, dress up and much more. The kids loved it and it was fun to see them all dressed up!

It was really a fun trip and a great end to a great tour through early American History. I always wondered in the planning stages if it would be worth the time and effort and decided that the answer was yes. So, I hope you enjoyed hearing about our adventures because I know that we enjoyed living them!