Shopping Day

Monday Morning, Lon and I headed over to the Book Barn. I have to go every time.

We love the goats

The big goat kept knocking his brother out of the way to get the goat munchies.

A nice photo at Dad's Seafood.

Lon and Dad split a big platter of fried fish, clams, shrimp, scallops, onion rings and fries.  All that was left on the plate was a few fries.

Being goofy

The silliness continues

Lon bussed the tables

It was a fun day.  After lunch, the boys went to the beach and the ladies went shopping at the antique stores on the shore.

It was a fun time in Connecticut!

We met back up for dinner and went to an Italian place in New London.  The portions were HUGE! We had enough for second meals! Maybe even thirds.
Fun days!  

Traveling as a Family

Early Saturday, the 23rd, we started our adventure north.  We left at 7am.  We made it to Virginia and Grandma's house in time for dinner.  We went to Carl's after dinner and I took no photographs at all .  I am sad about that.  It was wonderful to see Mom and Andy.   We left early Sunday for more adventures.

Drive by farm in Virginia

Down toward the Shenandoah.

Not something you see everyday in skies over Pennsylvania

We stopped for lunch in Hazelton at a place called Daman's Grill. It was a sports bar. It was a good lunch.  Then we got back on the road and drove through much construction.  Mark and I took turns driving.

Drive by Connecticut!   We are finally in Connecticut

Lon wanted to take the Ferry across the Connecticut River.

We made one of the last ferrys. It was a wonderful ride. I am glad Lon made the suggestion

This is Gillette's Castle.  This next bit of information is from wikipedia

Gillette Castle State Park straddles the towns of Gillette Castle State Park straddles the towns of East Haddam and Lyme, Connecticut in the United States, sitting high above the Connecticut River. The castle was originally a private residence commissioned and designed by William Gillette, an American actor who is most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on stage.
William Gillette's "castle", called Seventh Sister, was built in 1919 on a 184-acre (74 ha) tract at the top of the southernmost of a chain of hills known as the Seven Sisters. Gillette died having neither a wife nor children, and his will precluded the possession of his home by any "blithering sap-head who has no conception of where he is or with what surrounded". The State of Connecticut took over the property in 1943, renaming it Gillette Castle State Park. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986
There are a number of oddities personally designed by Gillette, such as unusual doorknobs and locks, and a system of hidden mirrors for surveillance of the public rooms from the master bedroom. One can see the Connecticut River from the castle's garden.

The grounds originally had a railroad that visitors could ride around the estate, complete with steam engine and an electric engine. The engines were later purchased by Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut and used to transport guests around the lake. The remaining track was pulled up and the roadbed converted into walking trails. The engines were donated to the park in 1992, and are now on display.

The boys enjoying the Ferry

Lon had a book when he was little about this Ferry, it was called Ferry.

https://www.amazon.com/Ferryboat-Betsy-Maestro/dp/0690045204

Some history of the Chester Hadlyme Ferry

He does love being on a boat

I have always thought this was a gorgeous home.  It is right as you get off the Ferry

Almost to Grammalyn's house!

We arrived safely, about 5.

Godfather and Uncle Jeffy came for dinner, we ordered a Connecticut pizza. It was good to see them!

And if was wonderful to be able to spend time with Grammalyn !

Saturday Market

On Saturday, July 16, we went to the Saturday Market. We don't go every week.

Our first stop was at the pharmacy. 1 dollar ice cream up for Lon.

His favorite flavor this week is Mint Chocolate Chip

Walking the market

No trip to the market is complete with out petting puppies

It is a golden retriever puppy.

Leaning the fine art of playing with chopsticks at Sushi 201

Counting cars on the train. 87

Playing hangman till our food came.

It was a fun day, and a good lunch

Swimming on a Friday with Bryan!

Friday we got invited to go swimming. In the morning, but when we got home we found out we forgot Lon's dentist appointment.  We went to the dentist appointment, no cavities.  We finally made it to Swimming with Bryan!

Planning on what they are going to do

Working out the finer points

It all led to this.  Jumping into the pool, into water over his head. He is now one step closer to passing the Boy Scout Swim Test.

Yes, it was raining, a passing shower with no thunder or lightening. Those came later on in the evening.

 Betty even made us lunch, Cuban Cheese steaks.  SO good!

 We had a great time swimming.  We will do it again!

Mount Vernon

 Sadly, our days in DC had to come to an end. It was a short stay.  On our way home we decided that stopping by Mt. Vernon would be a good idea!

We found some great parking ! It was not a huge walk to the entrance.

Mt. Vernon is not owned by the government. In the 1850s, a lady on a boat trip noticed the mansion was falling into ruin. She told her daughter and her daughter started the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association.  They were able to raise the money to buy the mansion and land in 1858. She said if the men in this country will not save it's history, the women will.   The Mt. Vernon Ladies Association still runs and cares for the house and grounds without any government money at all.

The ticket entrance

Inside the Visitor's Center. Lon enjoyed the model of the house.  It was very detailed.

Our tickets said 10:10 for our house tour.  Since we were early and there were not many people when we got to the line for the house, we could just go right in.

We were not allowed to take photos inside the home.

The Potomac looks so beautiful from the front portico

Because we were not allowed to take photos inside, I bought a few postcards to show what the inside of the house looks like.

This is the last room of the house to be completed.  It is the dining room.  They also used this room for dancing. This was the room that the Washingtons liked to show off.  The wall paper is painted paper, the green paint was made from crushed malachite.

The fire place in the dining room.  Our docent told us that the paintings were all original to the Washingtons.

This was the original part of the home. This was the house that George Washington inherited at age 23 when his father died.  If you look closely you can see a key, in a glassed in frame.   This is a key to the Basitille, in France. The Marquis de Lafayette saved and gave to George Washington.  I mention this because we were visiting on Basitlle Day.

The last postcard I bought was of the kitchen.  It was a much bigger space than I thought it would be. It is a great space, very well laid out.

Upkeep on the house. The roof is being fixed and the red reapplied.

 The house, with the scaffolding.

The carriage.  What a gorgeous vehicle!

There was a mule and a horse. The mule was much friendlier.

Sweet Girl.

The Washington's Tomb

The path to the pioneer farm and wharf.  George Washington made a good bit of his fortune fishing from the Potomac.  Shad and herring he had salted and sold

At the pioneer farm Lon learned a little bit about crop rotations.

Up close and personal with the ox

Not sure where they were going but they were on the move.

Lon took the pictures of the Oxen.

We took the shuttle back up to the visitor's center.  It was HOT! The shuttle was wonderfully air conditioned.

We got back on the road to head for home. It was a great time at Mt. Vernon.  We would love to go back

We stopped at this burger place in Wilson North Carolina.   I have tried to rotate the picture and it will just not save, as soon as I can figure it out I will fix it

The burgers were house made (not pre made patties and the fries were hand cut. We had fresh squeezed lemonade.  It was reasonable and quick.

 We pulled into the driveway about 9pm. Made some good time.

It was a fun trip to DC! Looking forward to doing it again!