Anniversary Weekend

Chris and I spent a childless weekend in Alexandria/D.C. to celebrate our sixth year of wedded bliss. It was WONDERFUL to say the least. While I missed my babies I was ecstatic to be able to complete a conversation with Chris, go to the bathroom in peace and wake up and be out the door in thirty minutes! It was liberating and rejuvenating!

We began our weekend away in National Harbor (that's the Woodrow Wilson bridge in the background, and, yeah, a man in the sand)...

We saw the traveling Cirque du Soleil show, Ovo.

The show was excellent as expected. We've never been disappointed by a Cirque show. They always manage to take crazy to a whole new level. I told Chris that I need to start wearing a heart rate monitor when we go to these shows because I'm not sure it's healthy for me; the performers wrack my nerves with all their tricky maneuvers. I love the attention to detail in these shows as well - the costumes, music and slapstick comedy is top-notch every time!

The next morning we headed over to beautiful Mt. Vernon where we spent the ENTIRE day...

Ava repeatedly instructed us to take pictures of everything we saw. We obeyed. Apparently, we also took pictures of ourselves in front of everything we saw...

My tour guide. He's easy on the eyes...

George & Martha's view from Mt. Vernon (Potomac River)...

(Too bad he barely spent any time there during his adult life.)

Blacksmith working his trade on the estate...

George had lots of animals on his 8,000 acres of land. We were lucky to see a rare 18th century breed of Hogs that would have been seen roaming in the woods on George's property! They were soooo cute and playful and wagging their little tails while Mama relaxed in the mud.

(Really, you're going to eat bacon again after seeing these cute hogs?

It ain't right.)

One of the Washington family's carriages...

(Believe it or not, this carriage was high-tech for its time and was considered

luxurious with its "shock absorbers.")

George's "Hot Rod"...

Inside one of the Necessaries...

After spending some time at Mt. Vernon we headed 2 miles down the road to George's grist mill and distillery. It's all been reconstructed because it burnt down some time around 1814. Really, George's whole endeavor into the whiskey business didn't happen until the very end of his life. It was interesting nonetheless.

I was super cold waiting for the tour to start...

Chris and I were really excited to finally visit Mt. Vernon since it has been on our list for a long time. We didn't see everything we wanted to see so we'll be planning a return trip in the future. It's always interesting to learn a little more about the people who significantly impacted our history as well as our future. I've got a bone to pick with Martha though because after George died she burnt all but a couple letters that he wrote to her during their 40 some odd years of marriage! Can you imagine how much more we would know about George and their relationship if she hadn't done that?! Oh well.

Thanks, Mom & Dad, for taking care of our babies and therefore giving us the chance to get away. We're so very grateful.