Brent has been working a lot lately. This is good. Very good.
Unfortunately, it means he misses out on a lot of places and I’m left to wrangle these guys myself.
On our way to our new campsite at Colonial Beach, we passed George Washington Birthplace National Monument. This isn’t the first time we have stumbled upon a National Park.
George Washington Birthplace National Monument was only a few miles from our campsite and a perfect place to spend an afternoon learning about the first president’s early years. George Washington spent the first three years of his life here at the plantation at Popes Creek before his family moved to Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia. During his lifetime Washington made many trips back to Popes Creek to visit family and friends. The farm stayed in the Washington family until it passed to the government for preservation.
Thing One was disappointed to find out that this wasn’t the real house where George Washington was born.
However, he was thrilled that the ranger let him play the harpsichord and the ranger was quite impressed with his playing.
The foundation of the actual house where George Washington was born sits a few feet away from the restored brick house.
As a teenager George Washington studied the trade of land surveying. One of the activities in the Jr. Ranger book was to “survey” the foundation of his birth home.
Most of the afternoon we just walked the grounds and took in the beauty.
The Washington family burial ground is also on the property. Although, Washington isn’t buried there. He is buried at Mount Vernon.
At the end of the day the boys took their Jr. Ranger pledge.
Lastly with all the mudslinging going back and forth between parties, which only promises to get worse as we close in on election, I found this quote from George Washington’s Farewell Address quite timely.
“However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” – George Washington, Farewell Address September 17th, 1796.
Perhaps he should have gone into fortune telling instead of politics.
Love and Laughter,
Jenn
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September 25, 2012
Family on the Road, National Parks