Update: Koren was home from the ER in record time last night (the upside to visiting the ER on Christmas Eve – no wait time), and thankfully the injury looked a lot worse than it actually was.  The tooth is whole and still in place and we’re just supposed to watch him for sensitivity and take him to a dentist sometime next week.

In about an hour or so, our kids will start waking up and the Christmas rituals will begin.  Santa, stockings, presents, breakfast, visiting family, more presents, more food, etc.

I know this is the part where I’m supposed to wax sentimental over the real meaning of Christmas and the Christmas Spirit, and while I have plenty I could say on that topic, a) you’ve heard it a thousand times already, and b) it’s 5:30 in the morning, so I’m more inclined to use the next hour trying to get a little more sleep before the chaos and festivities commence.

But I will say this:

I hope that you and yours have a beautiful, wonderful holiday and that you truly feel as blessed as we do.  We are surrounded by an incredible group of friends and family, and are always grateful for your love, friendship and faithfulness.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My plan was to dress the kids up in their Santa outfits and film them singing “Jingle Bells” (Koren does backup, it’s great) and post it here to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

But Koren’s in the emergency room after busting his mouth on our staircase.

So Plan B….

Merry Christmas to you all, and we hope you have a relaxing and fun-filled weekend.  If you get the chance, please send up a prayer for our little guy. He’s had a rough day.

One day he’ll laugh at this.

(more…)

Mount Vernon was the plantation home of George Washington, during his childhood and again after his marriage to Martha.  One thing we learned about our founding fathers on this trip: they sure knew how to pick a site for a home.  Mount Vernon overlooks the Potomac River and it’s pretty clear why guests loved to come visit the Washingtons and stay for weeks at a time.  Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the interior of the house, but we did get some of the outside.

Mount Vernon was home to George Washington for more than 45 years. First known as Little Hunting Creek Plantation, the Estate was originally granted to Washington’s great grandfather John Washington in 1674. It eventually passed to Washington’s older half-brother, Lawrence, who renamed the property Mount Vernon after his commanding officer, Admiral Edward Vernon of the British navy. George Washington inherited the property upon the death of his brother Lawrence’s widow in 1761.

Over the years, Washington enlarged the residence and built up the property from 2,000 to nearly 8,000 acres. He divided the acreage into five working farms, including the Mansion House Farm, where he lived with his family. At the Mansion House Farm, Washington sought to create a landscape combining beauty and functionality in a serenely harmonious setting.

Washington also transformed the Mansion’s modest frame exterior, using a process called “rustication.” This meant replacing the original plain wooden siding with bevel-edged pine blocks that had been coated with a mixture of paint and sand to give the appearance of stone.

Today the Mansion has been restored to its appearance in 1799, the last year of Washington’s life.

George Washington’s Tomb

Who can resist a photo op with the first president himself?

Jamestown was the fort of the memorable John Smith, whose memoirs record Pocahontas (and other maidens) rushing to save his life.  There is a large statue of Mr. Smith in the middle of the fort site.

The hundred and four men and boys came ashore on Jamestown Island, May 14, 1607. By June 15 they had already completed a fort. It was inadequately constructed to defend against potential attack from the Spanish, but it served as immediate security against the local Indians, the Powhatan. The construction would have been very quick and basic, using indigenous trees, felled and stripped of branches and bark. The logs were then stood upright in a row and embedded in a trench to create the palisade walls. The fort was built in a triangular formation with circular bulwarks, or watch towers, at each point.

Despite the valiant effort of the colonists to tame this wilderness, the perils of the natural world soon overtook them. Oppressive summer heat and humidity set in with disastrous results. The food transported from England spoiled, and the brackish water bearing mosquitoes and disease was too dangerous to drink. More than half the colony’s population perished from disease. Those who survived were able to establish a bartering relationship with the Powhatan and procure food. The arrival of cooler autumn weather and nature’s bounty that comes with it further eased their situation. Provisions were secured for winter, and the return of Captain Newport at the start of 1608 added even more. Bad luck struck again, however, when their food stores were ruined in a blaze that swept through and damaged the fort. That spring the settlers rebuilt the fort to be even stronger. The improved fort had a palisade wall 15 to 18 feet high and surrounded a planned town that included a church, a storehouse, and 40 to 50 houses. October saw more settlers arrive, including two women, bringing the total population to 120.

In the spring of 1609 the corn stores were devastated by rats. John Smith, then president of the colony, brokered a deal whereby some colonists left the settlement to live temporarily among the Powhatan while others went to an area rich with oysters. Once the food situation stabilized, the colonists set out to establish some semblance of normalcy and to make the settlement profitable. In their zeal to do well for the Virginia Company, they failed to acquire enough food stores for their own needs. The fall harvest would have brought some relief had not 400 new settlers arrived before the winter “starving time.” All but 60 of the 504 colonists died that season. William Strachey recorded in May 1610 that the palisade had been torn down and the gates were off their hinges. The houses, left empty after their owners’ deaths, had been scavenged for firewood. In June the surviving colonists decided to abandon the fort.

Sailing downriver the colonists encountered the ships of Lord De La Warr, who had been sent as their new governor. They returned to the fort where, under De La Warr’s leadership, the colonists rebuilt a second time. It is this version of the fort that history provides the most precise description. The then secretary of the colony, William Strachey, wrote that the southern line was 420 feet long, the longest and best defensive line because it faced the river. The other two sides were 300 feet long. At each tip of the triangle was a bulwark with artillery, and the fort was all constructed of a palisade of planks and strong posts.

There’s not much left of the original Jamestown, except this one portion of the chapel, which has been added on to:

Inside the Chapel:

Gravesites:

Reconstructed barracks frame:

We walked through the Yorktown field where the decisive battle took place.  It’s a pretty large field.  And very well maintained.  Would have been great for a game of Frisbee or Flag Football, but we didn’t think they would look upon that too kindly.  So we just walked. 

AT YORK ON OCTOBER 19 1761 AFTER A SIEGE OF NINETEEN DAYS
BY 5500 AMERICAN AND 7000 FRENCH TROOPS OF THE LINE 3500 VIRGINIA MILITIA
UNDER THE COMMAND OF GENERAL THOMAS NELSON AND 36 FRENCH SHIPS OF WAR
EARL CORNWALLIS COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH FORCES AT YORK
AND GLOUCESTER SURRENDERED HIS ARMY 7251 OFFICERS AND MEN
840 SEAMEN 244 CANNON AND 24 STANDARDS
TO HIS EXCELLENCY GEORGE WASHINGTON
COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE COMBINED FORCES OF AMERICA AND FRANCE
TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE COMTE DE ROCHAMBEAU
COMMANDING THE AUXILIARY TROOPS OF HIS MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY IN AMERICA
AND TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE COMPTE DE GRASSE
COMMANDING IN CHIEF THE NAVAL ARMY OF FRANCE IN CHESAPEAKE

Did you get that?  It’s the text from the front of the Victory Monument (pictured below), which not only commemorates the event, but holds the world record for longest run-on sentence without the use of a single comma.