So we started our road trip on Sunday, Aug, 22 in the afternoon. we drove about 6ish hours until we got to Laramie, Wyoming. The exciting thing that happened on that day was it rained off and on during the drive, creating the biggest, most vivid rainbow Ben and I have ever seen. We chased the rainbow for a few hours until it got dark. We had no idea where wehad packed the camera, but we did get some documentation on Ben's phone camera. Our hotel in Laramie (Best Laramie Inn) was fine...but WAY overpriced for what it was. The pics online looked really nice, but it was probably the quality of a Motel 6 or less but cost as much as a La Quinta or Best Western. Anyways, we got enough sleep and started on our way in the morning.
The next 3 days, we drove 8-10 hours per day. We stayed in Des Moines, Iowa, and somewhere just outside of Chicago that I forgot the name of. It was fun to see the midwest again (I lived some of my childhood days in Minnesota). The next 2 hotels were very nice with very nice rooms and continental breakfasts. We were pleased. Iowa was by far the most humid and the buggiest. We could barely see out of our windshield once we got out of Iowa because of all of the bug splatter. Here are a few random pics of the drive.
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We're on our way! |
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| Pit stop |
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| RV pulling this= Awesome! :) |
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| Pretty scenes |
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| Another pit stop |
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| Fun at a Hotel |
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| Its a game called FIND THE BABY |
Since we've been here in Springfield, VA, we have had lots of fun with Mike and Song. We have been on many a walk on pretty trails...
We also have been to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. I really loved it there. Monticello means "Little mountain" or maybe it means "mountain of beauty"...either way, it was beautiful. The house is situated on top of a "mountain" (in reality it is just a hill, but out here I guess it is considered a mountain). From the house there is a 360 view of the land round about. Truly breathtaking. I learned so much about Thomas Jefferson just by touring his house that he was the architect of. He was a man of science and education and wanted to educate others from the moment they walked into his house! In his entryway there are/were maps of the world, artifacts from native americans, a calendar/clock that he designed and lots more. His study room also impressed me...full of books. It was really inspiring to learn about his personal life on his estate. I think Thomas Jefferson was truly an inspired man as he drafted the important documents that define our great nation. We couldn't take pics inside, but here are some from the outside...
I has been nice to be able to trade off babysitting with Mike and Song so that we can get out together. One night, Ben took me on a date to downtown DC so that we could see some of the monuments lit up at night. It was really fun.
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| Washington Monument |
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| WWII Memorial |
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| White House |
The weekend after Monticello and the night DC trip, Mike and Song took us to Fort Washington. It was originally built to protect DC from the river, but was never used (as fighting grounds anyways) because new technologies and other fortifications were built. It is now a recreational area/historical site. It was cool.
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| Us at Fort Washington |
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| Merrilee just loves these outings! |
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Michael and Carmen enjoying Fort Washington
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On Sept. 11, the LDS church public and international affairs office (where Ben is doing his internship) along with the Marriotts (as in Marriot Hotels) hosted a Western Family Picnic for international ambassadors and their families at the Marriot Ranch in the middle of VA. Ben worked really hard on designing the program that we handed out to people and calling embassies to confirm RSVPs and inviting more ambassadors. The day before the event I went in to the office with ben to help with little things such as centerpieces and taking tags off of hats and bandanas and stuff like that. At the actual event, I helped out Ben at the nametag table as guests arrived and I also went early with Ben to help set up. There were lots of crafts and things to do for the kids as well as yummy food and a nice program. Ben had his part in the program when he held up signs to shoe everyone how a cowboy talks (i.e Welcome = Howdy! and Goodbye = Happy Trails, etc.). He also got to show all of the ambassadors and guests how to strut like a cowboy! He did great and everyone had fun. Every guest recieved a cowboy hat and a bandana to get in the "Western" spirit. It was fun to see all the people of other countries and nations dressed up like they were in an old Western film or something. Jay Jensen of the Seventy was there and gave some remarks as well as Senator Bennett, the Marriotts, and other LDS hosts. One funny story of the day was when the ambassador and his wife from Bulgaria came to the nametag table... Merrilee was in my arms giving smiles to all of the guests. The wife of the ambassador was oohing and aweing over Merrilee and Ben told her she could hold her. The wife was quite pleased and held Merrilee for a minute or two and when she handed the baby back to me, she started crying uncontrollably! She didn't want to come back to her momma! :) It was quite funny. We didn't get too many pictures of the actual set-up of stuff, but we got a few of us.
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| Ben showing off |
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| Gift table |
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| This is us with a few of Ben's co-workers |
This past weekend we went to Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. We didn't actually tour the mansion because it was the craft fair day. We did get an annual pass though, so we are most definitely coming back...we didn't even see half of the place! The craft fair was really neat. It was kind of like a farmers market, but for period handmade crafts done with period tools. The artisans were dressed up and selling their stuff while making things at the same time. It was really fun. We also went on a boat tour of the Potamic River and learned a little more about George Washington's estate. Good thing we got the annual pass, because we really want to go back and see the actual mansion! Here's some pics to enjoy...
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| Colonial choir |
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| Spinning a spool of linen from Flax |
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"George Washington" talking about the role of music in colonial times, especially during the revolutionary war. I love this Itenerant Band...I've always loved that kind of music!
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| The Rat Catcher of the estate :) |
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| On the Boat Tour |
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| View of Mt. Vernon from the Potomic |
I just have to end this post with this picture of Merrilee...ever since her little tooth has come in, her cuteness factor has shot WAY up! :)
