Friendly fun

So this post is about one of my dearest friends, Candice. We met in college, and we along with 3 other girls, formed our own little tight-knit group. One thing Candice and I had in common in college was that we both grew up in Nebraska. She returned there after college and Chase and I went to live in other parts of the country, but that just gave her a good excuse to come visit! So after about 2 years, we finally reconnected over her weekend stay with us.

As is my custom with people who come to visit us, I always recommend we visit Mt. Vernon. It is by far my favorite place in the area, and though a little expensive, it's worth it - particularly if you've just spent a couple of days crowded into museums and metros with a million other tourists. We got the most perfect day to wander around the Founding Father's Virginia estate - it was mid 70s, sunny and breezy. I took this shot essentially from the porch of George Washington's home, overlooking the Potomac River:

One reason I love Mt. Vernon is that no matter how many tourists are there, the estate is huge, and there's so much to see that you can just wander until you find a place of relative solitude. The beauty of the property changes with the seasons as well, so everytime you go it looks a little different, and here's a huge shout out to the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association that has been upkeeping the estate free of all taxpayer funding for years! They do a fantastic job, and I actually don't mind paying my admission to that location. :)

Candice and I did something I'd never done but always wanted to do on our visit - we took the Potomac Riverboat cruise. It was a 40 minute boat ride in a boat that looked a lot like the ferries we used to ride up in Mackinac, Michigan. We sat on the open, shaded upper deck and enjoyed the river's breeze. Here is a picture I took from the river looking back at the mansion:

I'm sure to many of you it just looks like a bunch of trees and some water, but seriously, to a girl who's been stuck in a tiny apartment and windowless office at work for the last year, riding on a boat on the river where there's room to breathe... Oh! It made me want to go tubing down the Niabrara River or sit by the lake at the cabin in NE. There's just something unique about sitting by water - I can sit on my patio on a beautiful day, or sit by the pool on a lovely afternoon, but it doesn't compare to sitting by a river or lake. Little Bit just punched me. She agrees. :)