Mount Vernon Take 2

We took advantage of our annual pass and the beautiful weather to visit the other parts of Mount Vernon that we had not seen previously. First stop was the Grist Mill and Distillery. We watched the demo (below) of grinding the grain.

The grain then lands on this sifter and into a barrel.

The outside of the grist mill. The individual pieces were quite large, and so was the overall building. Washington shipped his fine ground flour to Europe and the West Indies.

The distillery was only open for a few years making whisky, but Washington was the largest producer in Virginia.

We then went to Mount Vernon's main property and were pleasantly surprised to find a craft fair and lots of activities going on.

The authentic looking soldier's camp is set up behind this cannon.

While standing in line for the tour of the house, we watched them march up the bowling green.

The demo was really loud! Especially when the entire troup fired at the same time.

Almost closing time, so we wandered briefly through the Lower Gardens (kitchen) and headed back for the exit.

Bowling

It's been a long time since we went bowling, so we decided to try out the Falls Church Bowling Alley. It has a lot of lanes, and was probably once considered state-of-the-art. But the important thing is that Ryan bowled a turkey. (For real, not on the Wii). Here's the proof.

Maryland Renaissance Festival

The last few weeks we've been busy getting ready to go home to the Tri-Cities, visiting friends at home, and helping out with weddings. We're back in Falls Church and decided to take in a truly unique cultural adventure this weekend: Maryland Renaissance Festival. It claims to be the second largest Renaissance Festival in the country. According to their website (http://rennfest.com): Eighty-five acres of parking space handle an average of 14,700 customers daily. The English Tudor village is 25 acres of woods and field that transport patrons to an era of chivalry, bawdiness, and good fun. There are more than 130 craft shops displaying many wares handmade by the village artisans. Forty-two food outlets provide a feast of foods rarely seen at other festivals. Each season, more than half a million beverages are served at the Festival's eight soft drink stands, five beer stands, and five taverns.
We had fun wandering around the village, visiting the shops, marveling at the food (fried everything!) and admiring the costumes.

We happened to wander to the main stage at the right time for the joust. King Henry the VIII and his court were in attendance.

Wandering musicians playing instruments that we rarely hear today popped up around the grounds, played a song and then moved on.

Several of the vendors gave demonstrations, like this hand blown glass demo right at the entrance.

There were tons of games in the Renaissance theme for kids and adults. Here, the kids were shooting ping pong balls out of cannons.

The replica of the crown jewels were in this chapel. The grounds and buildings were amazing.

There were lots of clothing vendors. I like the name of this leather vendor - Holy Cow.

Acrobats had set up right as we were trying to navigate our way to the exit. The last adventure was finding the car.

Mount Vernon

Last Saturday, we visited Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. We decided to get annual passes, so we're ready to take any visitors that want to go. We wandered around the grounds for awhile, decided to skip the gigantic line into the house and found our way to the museum. Mount Vernon is owned by a private organization that prides themselves that they have never recieved public funds. They have done an amazing job of restoring the estate, and we enjoyed many of the exhibits in the museum, including a movie with snow and fog in the theater.


Outside the greenhouse, many tropical plants flourish in the summer heat of DC. There were many gardens for different purposes, flowers, botanical, seeds, vegetables, etc.

Harper's Ferry

On Saturday, we headed off to Harper's Ferry, WV for some Civil War era history. We joined the crowds at this National Park and enjoyed the various museums on the site. The humidity and heat made us glad we were not wearing the wool outfits like the volunteer reenacters who helped us learn about the history.

John Brown's fort at it's current location. Note the guy outside found a bit of shade to stand in.

Checking for passes outside the Provost Marshall's office, so we went in the attached Boarding House.

Inside the Provost Marshall's office.

Near where the munitions factory once stood that made this location key during the Civil War, a large group had set up what camp would have looked like. Complete with a fire burning and one guy taking a nap!

One soldier stands by a sign that had the rules for the town and in the background is a farmer's market circa the 1860s. We enjoy the farmer's market now as an option, but it was once the only choice for fresh produce unless you grew it yourself.

National Postal Museum

Last Saturday, we ventured into DC for the first time. We went to the National Postal Museum, where we learned more than we knew was possible about how the postal system works. Some of the special exhibits included info on how FDR's had influenced the postal system and the stamps that he personnaly designed. There was also the ABC's of stamps, where an overview of terminology is shown through the alphabet. The picture above (on the left) shows a moving postal station. People used to sort the mail as the train moved between towns so that it was ready to be delivered either along the way or at the destination. The building itself was beautiful and the historical renovation to return it to the splendor it once had was amazing.

Wizard of Oz at Wolf Trap

Wolf Trap is a National Park Performing Arts Center only a few minutes from our apartment. There are events almost every day, so deciding which "culture" we want to include in our lives could be difficult. Too bad we missed the Video Games Live concert.

Last night, we went to the Wizard of Oz. There were gigantic screens that played the film in front of a mostly packed audience, and then the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) played the musical score live. With around 100 members in the NSO, it was an amazing performance. It had been a long time since we'd seen the movie, so it was fun to watch. The host of Turner Classic Movies introduced the film and had some interesting things to say on the 70th anniversary and the actors that he had come in contact with over the years.

We'll definitely be going back for another event.