Who knew today was the anniversary of when Lincoln was shot???

Today has been a cold rainy day, but the Jacksons have not slowed down. We didn't start quite as early today. We ate breakfast at the hotel (you can imagine Jody's response) and then we were off to Mount Vernon.


We have our Garmin, but she was not very helpful today. At one point she had us going in the wrong direction (maybe it wasn't all her fault). We did make it to Mount Vernon after a few wrong turns.



We toured the grounds of the estate. The view of the Potomac River is breathtaking! I could sit on that porch for hours (especially if it was sunny and not 42 degrees). We walked through the main house and all of the outer buildings. Seeing where Washington made many decisions that formed the backbone of our country was neat. We also saw where he died and where he is entombed.



We spent a while in the back yard overlooking the Potomac River. Haden and Whitman especially enjoyed this part because they got to see and call a wild turkey. They had so much fun calling the turkey and the turkey called back. They also had new baby lambs in the barn. Jody said living at Mount Vernon woul be heavenly. It was just so peaceful. We all decided it would be the perfect place to live.



When we got back to the hotel we dropped off the car (BTW Jody was floored when he found out we were paying a daily fee to park. It took him a while to digest this information. So many things about this trip he is hearing now for the first time. I've told him before. I see now how well he tunes me out!!) snacked a bit and then we were off to the city.



Whit has been dying to go to the International Spy Museum and today was the day. We took the metro to Chinatown. This was the first time on the trip we have seen any homeless people. Lots of granola looking people roaming in groups. I didn't really care for Chinatown.



Anyway, we got our tickets to the museum. I had also planned for us to go to Ford's Theatre since it was in the same neighborhood. We turned the corner and there were several hundred people waiting to get into Ford's Theatre.



Who knew today was the anniversary of the day Lincoln was shot? Obviously alot of people do and they want to commemorate the day by visiting Ford's Theatre. The Jackson's were not in that group. Maybe another day.

So I quickly developed a plan B. We had about 2 hours, so we decided to go to the National Archives to see the Declaraion of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. The line was very long. We finished just in time to get back to the spy museum. We toured it. Whit really liked it (especially the gift shop).



We made our way back to the metro and decided to stop at the mall in Pentagon City. There is an Apple (Mac) store there and we thought we could grab some supper in the food court. There were so many people! We found the Apple store and Jody got his Mac fix. We also had to find some batteries for the gadgets the boys bought at the spy museum. We supper at Johnny Rockets. To let you know how tired we are: This mall had four floors of stores and I could even manage to go into one store. All I wanted to do was get back and lie down.



Whit's favorite part of today was the Spy Museum, Haden's was seeing the turkey and the lambs at Mount Vernon, Jody's was the grounds of Mount Vernon and the Apple store. I would have to say my favorite was Mount Vernon as well.



I know I keep saying how tired we are. This is like Disney times 10. Jody and I of course keep on going and Whitman is doing very well. Haden however is fading. He definitely has his moments. I know it's hard for his little legs to keep up. We've only had to drag him a few times (just kidding). I guess he is doing pretty well considering he is only six and could not care less about most of this stuff. I'm sure if any of you are the younger child in your family, you can relate.



Well tomorrow we're off to a tour of the Capital. We will probably try to take in The Museum of American History and The Museum of Natural History.



Until then....