Field Trip: George Washington

Took a trip to Morristown, NJ today to visit one of George Washington's headquarters during the Revolutionary War. We were originally going to go to Philly to visit the Liberty Bell and the Ben Franklin museum today, but that's a bigger trip and Ryan REALLY wants to go with us, so we're saving that for a future Saturday. 

Our tour guide let Lily use the house's original skeleton key to open the door, and Jacob of course enjoyed banging with the door knocker. 

Mama enjoyed all the old architecture and the super cool stairwells in the house. Wavy glass and Jersey Winders, anyone?

Peeking into the kitchen. 

Elliot had the best seat in the house for the tour. 

"George Washington slept here!"

These are some of the "portable" covered beds that officers would take with them. 

So portable, the kids couldn't even lift one up once it was collapsed. 

Storing the bedding in a little closet tucked next to the warm chimney - ingenious!

I was intrigued by this narrow little staircase (again! loved the stairs!) and its relation to that poor window. 

After the Ford mansion tour, we headed back to the museum for a movie about the horrible conditions the soldiers endured during the coldest winter in New Jersey history. Lily and Jacob stayed glued to the screen the whole time, and Lily asked some pretty impressive questions, which let me know she's really understanding and remembering what we've been studying. 

Jacob wondered when we'd see some guns. 

Little man was happy to have some time to run free and do some exploring. 

Finally! No 5-year-old boy could possibly think a war-themed museum tour was complete without seeing a giant gun or two. 

The girls were more than happy to help Elliot walk back to the car. I failed to get a picture of Jacob assaulting the lamppost with a big stick. 

Next, we traveled down the road to downtown Morristown, where a gigantic George Washington sand sculpture is currently on display.

Not sure what that has to do with football...

Once we started looking, we saw George Washington all over town. 

He and Martha apparently opened a fancy restaurant next to a sushi joint.

Then, George traveled over to the Green, where he was warned of British plans by his ally, the Marquis de Lafayette of France (here impersonated by Jacob - Sam is a Colonial officer and Lily is Washington).

The General even had time to pose for pictures in Dunkin' Donuts! Busy, busy man.

The kids ended their George Washington field trip running around the Green to hopefully expend some pre-nap energy.

We didn't make it to our last stop, Jockey Hollow, where the troops actually encamped, but perhaps another day!

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