Rachelle Writes: Homeschool Field Trip

Detroit Airport Tram

Mike had a short business trip to D.C. at the beginning of the month. When it came up, I realized that my mom would still be here. So I randomly checked to see if our frequent flier tickets would work. They did, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever because we flew on the 2nd of January on such a full flight that Ben and I were not assigned seats until we arrived at the gate and Mike's purchased flight was at a premium. A small miracle.

We gave Ben the trip as his Christmas gift and he was thrilled. He loves art and has long told me he wanted to go to the National Gallery of Art. He was especially excited about seeing the only Da Vinci painting in N. America (which we did). I was most excited to take him to Mt. Vernon, one of my favorite places. We are going to be studying the Revolutionary War and Washington shortly, so he will connect it more in a few weeks.

View from our hotel window

Weds: We landed in the afternoon, re-oriented to the Metro, and made it to our hotel. Then I took a few minutes to go shop at my favorite consignment store on the East side of the Mississippi: Secondi. (I have a favorite in Oregon too.) I found a Benetton sweater and a Coach bag at a fraction of their normal cost and had a quick green tea at my favorite tea spot: Teaism.

I came back in time for Mike to head to his meetings and Ben and I took the Metro to Bethesda to meet my aunt and uncle for dinner. Thankfully they drove us back to the hotel and we had enough time to get in a swim at the hotel pool.

Outside the Embassy Suites

Thursday: Ben and I made the trip to Mt. Vernon on public transportation, a first for me. It took over an hour by Metro and bus but was a very fun trip. Since my last trip to Mt. Vernon, a new orientation center, and an education center and museum had been added. All were amazing. Ben's favorite was a movie on the Revolutionary War that included special effects such as our seats shaking when the cannons went off, and actual snowflakes falling made by a snow machine during the Crossing of the Delaware.

Because we visited on one of the least busy days of the year, we were able to tour the 3rd floor of the mansion and we also met Aladdin, the Camel, who was visiting Mt. Vernon for the holidays.

Ben and The Washingtons (that's the grandchildren, Washy and Nelly Custis)

Ben is overlooking the Potomac outside Washington's residence

Aladdin was very friendly

Ben and I walked all over the grounds, to the Wharf, to the barns, through the Forest Walk, and to the outlying buildings. He was ready to go, and his legs were tired but he was a trooper when I reminded him we weren't going to be back for several years and this was our chance to see it all.

The front lawn

We also stopped in to view the table where Mike and I ate dinner on the night he proposed to me. (We ate at the Mt. Vernon Inn, but he proposed by the Lincoln Memorial.)

As we made our hour-long trek back to D.C. on the bus and Metro, Ben originally said he wanted to go to the National Gallery of Art for awhile. By the time we were back in the district, he decided that a Starbucks hot chocolate and a rest at the hotel were more his speed.

Our good friends the Mehrens drove in and joined us at our hotel for a take out dinner.

Our current president should pay a visit and learn a little.

Friday: We visited the National Gallery of Art with friend Kristen Sabella. Ben was happy to see a lot of the paintings he has viewed in books. He took photos of a few of his favorites.

Mike's meetings ended in time to join us for lunch and then a walk to the Lincoln Memorial and then down the National Mall past the World War II Memorial. It was a beautiful sunny day and I could have kept going but Mike and Ben were stopping at every other bench to rest. So we headed back to get our luggage at the front desk of the hotel and then metroed it to Reagan National for our quick flight home.