A Day of Houses and Carousels

After getting back from the beach, and before heading home, the girls and I spent a fun day "National Parking" with my parents.  First on the agenda was to visit the C&O Canal, Lock House #10.  The National Park Service is working on restoring/renovating the lock houses along the C&O Canal, so people can rent them and stay in them. The newly renovated one is at Lock #10.  In honor of getting it finished, the park service did an "open house" where people could go through it and see what it's like, so we went to see that. This particular lock house has been decorated in a depression era style, complete with reproduction kitchen appliances, CCC logos, etc. It was very nicely done and the girls enjoyed seeing things "like when Kit lived". You can see more pictures from the canal, and lock house (and the rest of our day, and the rest of this month), here.

After we left the canal, we went to the Clara Barton House. We were lucky enough to be the only ones there for the tour that hour, so we got our own personal tour. The ranger who gave the tour was excellent! She was easy to understand, and encouraged the girls' to ask questions, but didn't "dumb it down" for them like some people do for children. After the tour, the girls did the Junior Ranger book for the Clara Barton House (picture is of them being "sworn in" as Junior Rangers). 

Glen Echo Park is right next to the Clara Barton House, and it's Junior Ranger requirements are in the same book as the Clara Barton ones, so when we finished at the Clara Barton House, we headed on over to Glen Echo Park to do that Junior Ranger book. When the girls were done with it, we went to the ranger station to get their badges, and the rangers there gave them HATS too! They even gave  Little Bit her own, she was very excited, though she insists is a cowboy hat LOL.

After they finished their junior ranger requirements, we went for a ride on the vintage carousel that's there. The rangers said that the carousel goes about 7 mph now, and that was, IMO, PLENTY fast! I was standing beside Little Bit's horse and between going around and her, and all the other animals around me, going up and down, and the mirrors, it about made me dizzy, and I generally don't have a problem with motion, or spinning. BUT the rangers also said when the carousel was first made, in the 1920s, I think, it went 15 mph!! That would have been a FAST carousel!

When we left Glen Echo park we stopped at Baja Fresh for a late lunch/early supper, and then headed on home. It was a busy day, but we had fun, and had perfect weather for it, despite the predictions of rain.