We began our day by leaving our La Quinta Inn outside of Baltimore and driving our wee Kia Rio to Huntington Station which is the end of the Yellow line on the D.C. metro. We parked the car there and took a bus to Mt. Vernon, the first attraction of the day. The was a substantial line, we were probably in it for a half an hour (which honestly I didn't was too bad, not to mention it was gorgeous out). I told Kate I was going to take a picture of her being put off to capture the experience, however she couldn't help but smile.
Mt Vernon was very active for the fourth of July. There was a band playing patriotic tunes a couple groups of revolutionary squadron "reinactors" (not sure what to call them....) were marching around the grounds. While we waited to enter the mansion we had some free birthday cake (for the U.S.A of course!).
This unusual tree was on Mt. Vernon's back lawn. The view is spectacular and the location of the house is perfect.
After touring the house which in many ways was surprising quaint compared to some mansions I've seen, we took the bus back to Huntington to go to Old Alexandria. The city center is absolutely gorgeous. Situated on the banks of the Potomac, rows and rows of picturesque brick row homes are accented with tree lined streets, brick sidewalks, and occasionally paved with cobble stone. The main drags in town are lined with boutiques, cafes, bars and restaurants. The scene appears classy with a touch of Bohemia. At the water front lies an attractive collection of parks, boardwalks and piers. Kate is seen below striking a pose in front of an old river boat.
The picture below is a fine example of a side street. Here the homes are colorful clapboard. Take note of the American flags, and the pattern in the brick side walk.
This next shot is on King St. Some of the old brick buildings are painted over, however the selections from the color palette may perhaps be even more striking than their original appearance.
One of the items on our to do list in Alexandria was to get some good grub. Being the cheap eats connoisseurs that we are, a guide suggested "Five Guys" which, unbeknown to us is a local chain. Chain or not, this place is rated as having one of the best burgers in D.C. for a reason. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a thick juicy gourmet burger. However for that diner style patty, loaded up heavy with cheese and toppings, this place can't be beat. And the fries were damn tasty.
Before leaving Alexandria I snapped this shot of the George Washington Masonic Memorial. I had just watched a great documentary about the influences of the the Freemasons on the founding of our country so it was of particular interest.
Kate and I next hopped aboard a train to L'enfant plaza station next to the D.C. mall. We had a couple of hours before we really needed to be situated for the fireworks so we walked around a bit and checked out the various cultural exhibits that were set up. There was a large section of the mall that was devoted towards Indian culture that was interesting. They were giving out free tastings of Indian food, but we had stuffed ourselves far too much for it to be worthwhile to wait in line.
The mall was packed with people, however it wasn't too tough to find a nice grassy spot to plop down on.
Kate had the camera work down for snapping photos of the actual fireworks. I'm not sure what she did different than me because all of my shots look like big blobs of light. As it got darker the dust that is kicked up from the Mall's gravel pathways became really apparent in the shots.
Following the fireworks we went back to Huntington and drove to St. Leonard MD. It was a bit of a hike from Huntington, probably taking over an hour. I had my mp3 player hooked up to the auxiliary jack which helped make the drive go by fast. My Aunt Rita and my cousin Hope were awake to greet us upon our arrival. We talked excitedly for a half hour or so, but Kate and I were beat so we were eager to hit the hay once we were shown our sleeping arrangements.
I went to bed looking forward to the next day, anticipating seeing Hope's 17 month old son Justin, and spending the day with Kate, and some of my family who I don't get to see often enough.
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