Our house progress also continues to speed along! We went on Friday evening after dinner to peruse the house & see what had been done in the last week, and we were thrilled to see that plumbing and electric had been put into the house, & we have our very own front stoop now! It doesn't make for a huge amount of visual progress - but it's definitely just continuing to cruise right along, slowly turning into our soon to be home!
Saturday morning, Ryan & I were up pretty early to go to Great Falls Park outside of DC; the park can fill up pretty quickly & once it does, they close the gates. We arrived shortly before 10 AM & while we had to park in the farthest parking lot out - we still easily found parking! It's been a few years - probably five or six - since I've been to Great Falls & Ryan had never been before.
We walked along the North River trail in both directions - down towards the falls and later in the day, up toward the dam that is placed higher on the river. We also wandered down the Potowmack Canal Trail and the Matildaville Trail to take in the views & ruins of the once prosperous & lively town of Matildaville, located along the canals.
The Potowmack Canal was the brainchild of none other than George Washington and was one of five portions a canal system that would make the Potomac River more easily navigable so that goods could be moved up & down the river. The area of Great Falls was the most challenging because the water drops eighty feet over the falls, so multiple canals had to be built to make use of the river's changing height & the ability to keep goods moving along the river. The canals were built in seventeen years & once completed, the town of Matildaville grew up around the canals - named for Matilda Lee, the first wife of Harry Lee, who would have a son named... Robert E. Lee.
Ryan and I also managed to climb down the side of the Mather Gorge & find ourselves some nice large rocks to sit on, right next to the frothy, rushing water. It was a pretty warm day on Saturday, & a part of me would have loved to hop into the wildly churning river... but given that over twenty-five people have died in the currents since 2003, I figured I'd better not do that, ha-ha! We enjoyed our picnic lunch & rounded out our time at Great Falls with a walk down to the dam & back!
This really is a beautiful area of Northern Virginia that is filled with so much history! We really enjoyed poking along the trails & getting a chance to glimpse some wildlife in the process. Ryan got an excellent picture of a crane (heron) while we were on the North River Trail & along with the river birds here & there, we also saw people kayaking the falls & what appeared to be some training exercises being done by local fire departments!
After our time exploring Great Falls, we made a pit stop on the way home at Tyson's Corner - Ryan had never been to the giant mall, & since we didn't have much going on, we decided to peruse what the mall had to offer. Tyson's is a huge spot - & I'm sure walking both the top & bottom levels in their entirety helped add to the six+ miles we walked on Saturday! We ended our day with a bubble bath (for me), Little Caesar's pizza & some relaxation after a day of so much activity!
Sunday was Father's Day & I was part of the worship team on Sunday morning at church! You can't see the microphone that I slid behind my Dad's back for the pictures, ha-ha! After church was done, we headed to Hunter's Head Tavern for a delicious Father's Day Brunch & the rest of the afternoon & evening were spent chilling & getting ready for another week!
I cannot believe how quickly Summer will be upon us! The official start of Summer is this weekend & the weather will certainly feel like Summer this week with temperatures in the upper 90's! Time to find some indoor activities!
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