Our Vacation

I've got a good case of the after-vacation blues, and who wouldn't after the awesome vacation we've just experienced? We spent one week in Williamsburg, Virginia, and one week in Washington, DC. It was all we expected and more. After a week of Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Monticello, and Mt. Vernon, our heads felt like they were "plum full" of history. So it was a welcome relief to switch gears to a week in DC of admiring monuments and oohing and aahing our way through museums.

I am so thankful we went in September. Not only was the weather absolutely perfect, but there were no crowds at all. All those attractions that the guidebooks warned we'd be waiting hours to see IF we arrived by 7:30 a.m., we waltzed right up to at any time of day.

We crammed so much into two weeks: Virginia Beach, two days at Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello, Jamestown, Yorktown, Mt. Vernon, the DC Memorials and Monuments, Natural History Museum, Zoo, Air & Space Museum, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, National Gallery of Art, Spy Museum, Archives, Library of Congress, a White House Tour, and a Capitol Tour.

Two highlights definitely worth mentioning happened on the same day. While we were standing in the Red Room of the White House, we saw three helicopters approaching, one land, and then watched the President get off and walk into the West Wing. Wow!! That afternoon we went for our guided Capitol Tour, and unexpectedly got to meet Rep. Blunt. He was such a nice man too. He spoke with us for a few minutes rather than just the obligatory photo-shoot. We felt welcomed.

I am still marveling at the Lord's hand moving through our entire vacation, from the unexpected upgrade to a Toyota Highlander with GPS (which the Lord knew we needed to find our way out of DC) to getting to see the President!

Here are some highlights in pictures:

The boys loved the ocean. I wasn't sure we'd get Micah to leave!

Patrick Henry giving his "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech in Colonial Williamsburg

Monticello! He was such a brilliant man, and touring his home only confirmed his genius.

A replica of the Susan Constant that carried settlers to Jamestown

The point where the settlers of Jamestown first landed.

Mt. Vernon

So many things on this trip fulfilled my "to see" list, and this was at the top.

The final page to THE Constitution!

Talking with Representative Blunt

Standing at the point in the Capitol Building where all streets in DC converge.

Touching a Moon Rock

The Apollo 11

Even though I took over 300 pictures, it still doesn't seem like I've captured the full scope of our vacation. We've come home with a deeper sense of patriotism and appreciation for our founding fathers and for God's providential hand on the history of America.