Yesterday we went to Mount Vernon, George Washington's Estate.  Ann is standing in front of the right section of the house.  The far left section was being painted and was covered with plastic.  What a beautiful place--in the first room we saw, the dining room had beautiful ornate white designs on the walls and the ceilings.  The walls were bright blue.  Some of the other rooms were bright colors also (one yellow, one green), something Richard and I enjoy.  It was so peaceful and beautiful, set right above the Potomac River.  There were many outer buildings for various functions--laundry, kitchen, smoke house, stables and lovely flower, fruit, vegetable and tree gardens.  Richard is pictured on the side of the house and then the third picture is behind the house showing the river view.  It was a very hot day.
Today we went to Washington DC for the day.  We took the Metro light rail into town from where we are staying in Manassas, about 13 miles from the Metro station (park and ride).  In the bottom picture we are standing in front of the Washington Monument.  Then we went to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.  We had to wait in line about an hour to get inside.  The whole city is a busy place and it was fun to walk around all the huge federal buildings. We headed toward the Trade Center to find something for lunch and happened to encounter a special lunch time concert, "Live on Woodrow Wilson Plaza" a free summer concert series, Monday through Friday, from June 13-September 23.  We were there for the opening concert where Smokey Robinson was performing.  It was fun.  Lots of people were dancing and swaying to the music, totally into the experience.  There were more than a thousand people. We really enjoyed it and it was a fun surprise.  Then we went to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to see the Star Spangled Banner.  What a thrill it was to see that historic symbol.  It's huge.  It is such a varied museum featuring scientific, cultural, political and technological history.  Some of the exhibits we saw were transportation, electricity, military, presidents of the US, food in the US and first ladies gowns.  All very interesting.  We could have spent a couple of days in there since there was so much to see. - Ann