Mount Vernon

When Michael and I first arrived in Virginia, he egged me on to take a tour of George Washington's former estate.  It sounded like a good idea, but I was more interested in going out dancing and dining in DC than doing something low-key in a bedroom community of Virginia.  When the kids arrived, however, it sounded like the perfect way to spend a weekend day.

A view of Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate manor where he resided after his presidency.

In the foreground rests an ice cream maker!

In this room was stored the game that was caught on the 800-acre estate

I had recently purchased a dutch oven and liked comparing it to that which was popular 200+ years prior.  It looks similar!

An extension of the main kitchen - honestly, I forgot what happened here exactly.  Maybe it was the slaves' kitchen because it connected to the area where slaves slept above.

ADA nightmare - no railing!  These stairs led to the slaves' sleeping quarters.

This row of houses kept the estate going!  Laundry.  Smokehouse.  Administration.  You name the task!

This bucket was filled and heated numerous times during the day to do the laundry of the Washingtons and their guests.

Not only must it have been torture to wait for clothing to dry, but it must not have been a picnic hanging out in this laundry room.

Max and Simone hold hands as they cautiously approach the stables. 

This shed collected the horse poop and consequently created fertilizer for the crops of the estate.

Not only is Mount Vernon vast in area, but it changes elevation quite a bit.  These stairs lead to a boat dock and to the farm on the southeast side .

To the left are one of the fields for crops.  

These two horses are about to demonstrate a technique George Washington invented to improve harvest efficiency.

Treading Barn

The Treading Barn was a 16-sided structure in which horses trotted onto grain stalks, pushing the seeds onto the basement below.   It seemed like such a good idea that I don't know why it didn't catch on through the rest of America.  Maybe because there wasn't Twitter or Facebook back then.  

What a pigsty!

We came at the right time and were able to see the piglets before they were weened off their mother.  This meant that they could still be seen at the pigpen during the day.  The beast on the right is, I think, the father.  Since the pigs were trying to stop suckling, the source of breastmilk couldn't have been in the same sty without the pigs clamoring over the mother for a turn at the teet.

Wildlife

We saw other wildlife at Mount Vernon - a tortoise!  At least that's what I think this guy is.  His shell is dry so it means he doesn't have to run back to the water ASAP.  

The kids were so curious but were respectfully cautious in approaching the reptile, but the little bugger thought they were too big for his comfort zone and made a dash for it in the opposite direction.

Authentic Virginian Cuisine!

I thought Filipinos and Africans were the only ones who make a peanut soup!  Our waiter said that their version was a local favorite so we had to try it!

Michael had to photobomb the soup

It tasted just like Kare-Kare!  But without all the vegetables and ox-tails.  Now that I enjoyed the soup by itself, I got why my mom told me Kare-Kare is pretty fattening.  This is a rich soup!

I really loved our visit to Mount Vernon and have considered getting an annual pass because we only saw about 40% of the estate.  The tour guides were all knowledgeable and some were also theatrical!  The kids learned from it, too!  When Simone sees George Washington's portrait, she remembers that we visited Mount Vernon.  I don't know how much history Max soaked in because he sometimes refers to our first president as, "that dead guy whose house we visited."

Camp Regulars

I think Simone and Max are enjoying their time here at the campground.  We've been here about 5 weeks with the kids and they enjoy meeting new people and exploring the campground together and without parents.  We feel relieved that this place has nice neighbors and the speed of vehicles is pretty slow that we don't worry too much about the kids's physical safety.

One afternoon, Simone and Max asked if they could walk their dolls around the site and I agreed.  While they were walking away I noticed this friendly behavior!

Simone takes care of not only her little doll, but also her little brother!

The T Word

This DC area is full of the T word!!!  T R A F F I C ! ! !  I hate it.

Commuting from the outskirts of the metropolitan area does not keep you from the horrendous insanity of traffic.  The other day, I experienced the ebbing of my precious life while sitting in a mile-long parking lot  ... not because of a crash ... not because of a holiday ... not because of an act of god.   Nope, the reason was ... just because.  It just happens sometimes for some unknown cause.


Don't think there is immunity on the weekend.  Nay, I'd say it is worse.  We found out the hard way on the second weekend we were here with the kids.  Everyone and their mother wants to escape DC for some R&R or for some social obligation and we can just forget about our own fleeing of the week's setting.  Here is what a major north-south freeway looked like that weekend, which is a common weekend situation.

To the far left is the regular south-heading lanes.  The immediate lanes you see just on the other side of the divider are the HOV lanes!!  For California folk, HOV are the diamond lanes in which you have to have 3 or more riders to access.  Even the HOV was in stop-n-go traffic!!  My hopes for exploring the surrounding areas on weekends will have to either start at 7am on Saturdays or we have to resign to just head east or south.

Tomorrow Simone, Max and I are going to meet a potential violin teacher who lives in the town north of ours.  We are leaving 1 hour and 15 minutes early and the kids will have to eat their breakfast in the car just in case there is a buttload of stupid traf

Man Style

Max and Simone were invited over to our neighbor's campsite for some swimming in their little pool.  They were so excited and Max was very particular about what he was to wear.  He had seen his friend Adam wearing just his shorts and Max wanted to copy so he asked me,

"Mom, can I wear just my shorts and no swim shirt like Adam?"
        "I don't know Max, you might get sunburned."
"But MooOOOOooommmm!  I want to wear it ... MAN-STYLE!"

How could I not give in with that kind of request?!?  So I slathered him with sunscreen and off he went to have fun, "man-style."

Ice Cream Homeschool Social

We've been having fun with our new  friends at the campground.  Mrs. Smith lets us know of lots of homeschooling opportunities around town.  We recently all attended an ice cream social hosted by the homeschool group on the military base.  

The group was very welcoming and forecasted a year full of opportunities to socialize and explore DC.  This is actually a homeschool co-op so that means the parents volunteer heavily.  While I'm sure I could teach the kids, I am paralyzed with stage fright every time I think of having to stand in front of 10 pairs of eyes, tiny as they may be.  Luckily there's another way to help out and that is to watch the younger kids.  I can totally do that!  I've been doing that for 7 years!  I bet once I see the other parents teaching, I'll gather courage.  For now, I'm skird.

Maybe if my class were this goofy, I'd feel more comfortable teaching them.

Archery

I don't remember what inspired me to take archery lessons.  It might have been when the family watched the movie Brave in which the heroine is highly skilled with the bow and arrow.

On second thought, I think it was watching Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead fend off zombies with his crossbow.

Whatever the impetus, I was stoked when we got to our campground and saw they offer beginning archery classes!!

I took the class while the kids obediently waited in the back.  It was fuuunnnnn!!!  And I even got a bullseye at one point!  

This isn't the bullseye, but I did get close many times! 

After the first few rounds, the instructors pinned balloons on for an added target.

Simone and Michael took a class a few weeks after and Simone did really well!  We all got excited and started looking for composite bows for all of us (except for Max, who doesn't seem interested in taking up any sport for that matter).  Michael was ready to get a left-handed recurve bow (it resembles the traditional bow and does not have pulleys on it), but I was more hesitant.  These pieces of equipment are expensive!!!!

Maybe my dreams of catching dinner with my archery skills will have to wait.  Maybe next Summer.

Friends!

The kids and we have been at the Virginia campsite for about one month now, and we've made some friends!

We had noticed a large family of pleasant, polite kids walking their dog to and fro the campground aisles.  They always smiled and waved - especially to Max and Simone.  One morning, while I reading to the kids during their breakfast, the mother Amy approached us and asked if we knew about storytime at the base's library.  I don't know if we have some sort of look, but she guessed that we homeschool and we confirmed.  What was supposed to be a short hello turned into a long conversation about our families and our similar interests!  

Simone was eager to have a playdate so I told her to write an invitiation, "You are invited to play at our bus.  -Simone and Max."  She dropped it off on their table, and that started a great friendship between Simone and Alyssa, the 7-year-old in their family.  

 

"Best Friends Ever!"

Max and Adam, the other 4-year-old, took a while to warm up to each other, but they're not really good buddies, too!  

They have the same mischievous energy.  Max showed Adam how to roll backwards on the chess lounge chairs at the library and Adam showed Max the army crawl.  

There are a total of 7 kids in our friends' family.  Xander, 15; Drew, 13; Audry, 11; Alyssa, 7; Adam, 4; Adelyne, 3; and Aaron, 5 months.   All the kids are so polite.  The first time the older kids said to me, "Yes, maam."  I had a brainfart and wondered if they were talking to me.  Amy is also a fun lady to talk to.  She's much more spiritual than me, but she doesn't proselytize.  We talk about being military wives, homeschooling, being a wife to a anti-social husband, and being a mother.  

We've started to do part-day homeschooling and the Smiths will start in September.  Until we all have a more rigid schedule, we're taking advantage of any free time that comes up from our errands and play on the hill near their camper.  

Life in an RV is fun when you have friends to hang out with outside it!

Camping Fun!

The kids get to play so much at the campground!  They do ask about TV every now and then, but it seems to be dwindling in terms of how frequent they ask for it.  To be accurate in my description, our old standard of TV was streaming Netflix.  Now our "TV" is watching youtube videos of Wild Kratts and Magic School Bus with some Dragontales thrown in for good behavior.  So maybe they ask less because their choices are less.  I rather hope they're asking less because they enjoy the outdoors much more than the screen time.

Our site is right next to a sloped driveway that Simone loves to careen down on her bike.  Max is still not as confident a bike rider so we usually see him running after his sister.  Sometimes he loses his shoe.

Simone has become a pro at meeting new kids to play with.  I don't know who strikes up a conversation first, but Simone is very friendly and has met a couple of friends.  Max tags along wherever his sister goes.  I think being able to go outside without being eaten alive by bugs has offered her more chances to be social.   Look at her joy below!

The kids get very creative with the everyday things we have at the campsite.  

I noticed that at Simone's old school, she only had 1/2 hour of recess everyday and it was held at the end of the day.  I hope all this sun and exercise in the campground makes up for being cooped up so much!

Farmers Market in VA !

I love farmers markets, but I hated the ones in Tampa, FL.  They were so scant of selection of produce and had more of an arts-&-crap fair feel to them than that of a market.  I went maybe 2 times - ok, maybe it was 3 - the entire two years we were in Florida.

A week after we moved to a Virginia campground, I wanted to provide the kids with local honey for their oatmeal.  I searched for farmers markets, and there were tons going on in the afternoon.  My recent battles with traffic, however, were maddening that I didn't want to engage if I could avoid it.  Luckily I found one that was going on in the morning nearby, but I had to get there ASAP if I wanted to go there and attend the storytime hour at the library with the kids.  I'm glad we made a mad dash!

Not only did they have honey at one of the stands, but the farmer provided the option of including a piece of honeycomb in your jar!

  

(Disclaimer:  not the actual jars we saw.  These are just actors)

I felt as if I were back in California again, having a leisure stroll through a quaint farmers market.  Simone even sampled some peaches like she did when she was a waddling toddler.  She loved it so much we added peaches to our list of things to get.

With our current refrigeration situation, we weren't able to get more things, but I took pictures to remind myself to get them in the future.  

Green Eggs!  If your browser has the right hues, you can see that some eggs are greenish!  I didn't know they really came in that color!  

MMMM .... pasture-raised meat!

There weren't as many organic fruit choices as would have thoroughly pleased me, but I was happy nonetheless.  Virginia is looking to be a nice place to live!