Places to Go - Mt Vernon Fall Harvest Family Days (Alexandria, VA)

This weekend, Mt Vernon hosts their annual Fall Harvest Family Day Festival and if you haven't visited the estate yet, this is the perfect opportunity to tour the plantation of our first president. We went last year and all the kids loved it - free roasted apples, wagon rides (though the lines can get long), a hay bale maze, lots of charactor actors, and (of course) all the gorgeous fall foliage in the background. Plus, Potomac River site-seeing is offering half-priced cruises from George's dock.

All activities are included in regular admission price: adults, $15.00; children ages 6-11, $7.00; and children under 5 are admitted free. (And don't forget, season passes only cost $25 for adults and $10 for kids, a really great deal).

Whatever you do this weekend, have a great time - see you next week!

RANDOM LINKS:

* This free cookbook has lots of awesome food. Click here to download the PDF.

*David Byrne's office.

*Halloween decorations Gangnam style.

*This is a GREAT list, and equally applicable to daughters.

Things to Do - Snapshots of March (so far)

I just can't get it together this week, between the time change and 80 degree days (in March, WTF??) we're all a little discombobulated. So just some instagram shots to finish out the week . . .



Riding the metro to the National Mall, the yellow line acts as a destination in itself, with those wonderful views of the Potomac. Sometimes the journey really is the best part.



Spring classes - Stories in Art at the National Gallery for the girls (free!!) and owl class at the National Zoo with T (read more about zoo classes in this post). He loves a hat.



I think Mt Vernon may be one of the best places in the DC area for kids to run. Not sure child exercise is what George envisioned when building his estate, but we're pretty happy that it worked out this way.



A new bakery/cafe, Senor Pan, opened down the block from us (around the corner from the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse - on Walter Reed and Columbia Pike). The food is amazing, we can't get enough.

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND EVERYONE! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

LINKS:

*I added an FAQ section to the top of the blog. Check it out if you have any questions and email me if there is anything else you'd like answered.

*What inspires you? (link via Something Changed).

*Zuma series - almost surreal.

*I love this photo.

*If you live in the DC area this art exhibit at the Hirshhorn sounds incredible (and kid-friendly). I want to go. I really want to go.

Places to Go - Christmas at Mt Vernon (Alexandria, VA)

A few weeks ago, Dan and I took the kids to Christmas at Mt. Vernon, a small, seasonal celebration that continues daily through January 6th (including Christmas Day). The festivities feature: old-fashioned chocolate making, a camel (apparently George brought one in for Christmas 1787), gingerbread mansions, and a house tour which includes the usually-closed 3rd floor (where Martha lived after George's death).

The best part about Mt. Vernon's Christmas celebration was the opportunity to tour Mt. Vernon (both house and grounds) without crowds. Our house tour group consisted of only eight people (including all five of us) so even the kids had the opportunity to ask questions and look around (usually tall adults make it hard for them to see). Plus, the empty back lawn gave us the opportunity to run and roll down hills, all while checking out amazing views of the Potomac. A great day outside. If you're interested general admission (which includes the Christmas festivities) is $15 for adults and $7 for kids 6-11 (children under 6 are free). If you live in the area, season passes only cost $25 for adults and $10 for kids. The estate is open every day from 9 am to 4 pm.

Whatever your plans, have a great holiday everyone!!

WEEKEND LINKS:

*A baby boom in Nagorno-Karabakh. Six kids = lots of government money.

*I've never read Middlemarch but Even Cleveland posted the following inspiring quote from the book - "for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you or me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs"

*A glass beach, money trees, and a solar-powered printer that prints glass from sand.

*The Hermitage, St. Petersburg. Beautiful. I would love to visit someday.

*Top 10 Everything of 2011. I love these lists. Randomness and all.



T's obsession with fire continues. Hopefully in the future, he'll lean toward becoming a fireman rather than arsonist.



I tried so hard to get a picture of all three by the trees. Oh well, two out of three isn't bad (unless this was an exam, then I would receive a failing grade).



The back lawn is an adventure all in itself.

Places to Go - Sunset Celebration at Mt. Vernon (Alexandria, VA)

Happy almost 4th of July! In honor of the holiday, I decided to end the week with a presidential post. Hence, Mt. Vernon. We've visited Mt. Vernon before (click here to read about it), but a few weekends ago we took the kids to a Sunset Celebration on the property and it felt so nice to watch dusk fall over the grounds while drinking wine and eating cheesecake (as the kids rolled down the big hill). Seriously gorgeous. Unfortunately, Mt. Vernon is rarely open in the evening hours. But on the 4th they host a daytime fireworks display which I've heard good things about - free cake and a band accompany the pyrotechnics (click here for the info). Further, in late September the estate hosts its Fall Wine Festival & Sunset Tour, which provides a great opportunity to see the grounds at night.

For more 4th of July suggestions Go Out and Play! has a great roundup of Arlington area events and KidFriendly DC has info on additional events. Whatever you decide to do, I hope your 4th if full of random, beautiful moments. See you next week!!



I love big old trees, there's something magical about them. The couple in period costume doesn't work for the estate, they just dress like that for fun, which made me like them. Sometimes I wonder what random hobbies Dan and I will adopt when the kids grow up and move away. Probably not costumes, but you never know.


The glowing lanterns everywhere really made the night.

Places to Go - Mt. Vernon (Alexandria, VA)

Two weeks ago, a good friend from high school came to town, so we visited Mt. Vernon for the day. This was my first trip to George Washington's estate (I was a little worried about how kid-friendly it would be) but our whole family will definitely be returning. Mt Vernon's grounds are much larger than I thought they would be - with gardens, huge lawns, and farm animals. We did not manage to visit the whole property (I'm especially sad that we missed the dock area).

On the weekend that we visited, the back lawn was full of families running and playing, all while enjoying the incredible views of the Potomac (though if you go, be careful, as the incline can be steep). We avoided the house tour (in my mind the words "children" and "heirloom" don't mesh), but the kids and I still found plenty to do. The girls liked looking into all the outdoor rooms ("Is that a real spinning wheel? Just like in Sleeping Beauty? Really?"). And the gardens were a hit - George Washington envisioned horticulture using only "natural fences" (see the last picture of this post). But mostly, the kids just ran and ran (there was plenty of room to do so). The estate has a sit-down restaurant AND a cafeteria (great for children). Children under 6 are free and although the adult admission is a little steep at $16, if you live in the area it's probably worth it to purchase an annual pass for only $25. Potomac Riverboat Company also offers tours by water.

All in all, a great place to visit.