Thursday, February 19, 2009

Ella Celebrates Presidents' Day

U.S. Presidents' Day, officially known as Washington's Birthday, is a federal holiday in the United States and is celebrated on the third Monday of February every year.

Although it has become known as a great weekend for sales, especially on cars, there's a lot more to the holiday. Presidents' Day is a good chance to learn more about American History, civic responsibility and even U.S. Geography.

ELLA, our house guest, accompanied us on a family outing to Mt. Vernon and Washington DC to commemorate the day.

Mt. Vernon is the home to America's first hero and president, George Washington. Situated on 8,000 acres overlooking the Potomac River, the estate is only 16 miles from the Nation's Capital.

Front of the mansion

Ceremony at G.W.'s tomb


Martha on the left, George on the right (25 other family members behind wreath)

Casey & Carley explore the plantation

Farming was part of G.W.'s life

Ella takes a pit stop

Slave house

The round barn for grains

The back side of the mansion which overlooks the Potomac River

View from back porch

Ella joins the family for a rest on the back porch of the mansion

Ella was hungry

Ella looks at the map book to find our way around Washington DC

Ella poses in front of the Washington Monument

Casey & Carley outside the Washington Monument

Against the wall of the Washington Monument

The White House (taken from the grounds of the Washington Monument)

The Capital Building

Lincoln Memorial (embiggen picture to see Lincoln Statue)
Jefferson Memorial

And the highlight of the trip was this:
A FREE Dove chocolate bar from Mt. Vernon!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was a very nice trip. Makes you proud to be an American, Washington DC is an impressive place to visit. Ella is really getting around.

Jan said...

Great photo essay of your visit. We just loved visiting Mt. Vernon and DC. Thanks for the memories.

Heather said...

Looks like a fun trip! Ella was a bit messy, I hope someone cleaned up after her!

G.W.'s mansion looked impressive. And to see where his body is kept, very cool. Thanks for sharing your trip with us all!

Anonymous said...

I am so jealous. Ella went (apparently literally) where I would love to visit!

Driftwood and Pumpkin said...

What fun! We haven't been to D.C. in a long time and we have never been to Mt. Washington. I feel a trip coming on ;0)

Melli said...

ROFL! Only my Ella would make a deposit at Mount Vernon! Looks like you guys REALLY made the most of a day! Krysti keeps wanting me to take her to Mount Vernon again. I keep wanting to wait until SPRING! LOL! Glad you guys had such a great trip.... and Ella got some education!

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