Ever since my sister, Holly, came out to visit me two years ago, I have been counting down until she could come back and visit again.  On Tuesday, she flew in from Idaho, and we started our epic adventure together.

There are so many amazing things to do near where I live, that it was hard to narrow it down to what we would do for the week she was visiting.  We definitely had to throw in some of our favorites from her last visit though, like going to the Kitchen Kettle in Intercourse, Pennsylvania.  It is seriously the most amazing place, and we have the best time sampling all the jams, pickles, etc, etc.  And we had to get some for the road.

After visiting Kitchen Kettle, I took her to Shady Maple Smorgasbord for lunch, and it was just as awesome as it was when I went with my niece earlier this year.  So much delicious food, but best of all were the desserts.  We chose a whole bunch of them and then split them up between the two of us so we could try a bunch.  It was so fun!  And then we could barely move , we were so full.

That afternoon, I took her to Derek’s cross country meet, which was really fun, especially since I remember watching her run cross country forever ago.

On Thursday, we decided to head down to Virginia to go to Mount Vernon, since she had never been, and I hadn’t been in like ten years.  On our way south, we decided to stop at the local Amish Market near my house and get some soft pretzels for the road – which is always a good choice.  And Holly had to get some fun candy for her kids at the candy shop there.

Luckily the traffic getting down wasn’t too bad, and the crowds were pretty light.  And the weather was perfect!!  We couldn’t have picked a better day.

If you have never been to Mount Vernon, you should definitely go.  It is George Washington’s home, and not only is it beautiful and so well preserved, but it truly made me love him and the sacrifice he made serving our country as I learned more about him.  He just wanted to be a farmer, and yet he left his home time after time to serve. 

And the home is so beautiful and fascinating.  George Washington loved innovations, and there were evidences of that throughout the house, including a chair with a built in fan.  Pretty awesome.

Before we finished up there, we made sure to visit George Washington’s grave.

We left Mount Vernon, and were hoping to find some milkshakes for the drive home, but we ended up on a bit of a wild goose chase, and eventually we ended up in old town Alexandria, Virginia at Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream.  

The milk shakes were amazing, but our detour cost us precious time, and so we ended up in horrible traffic on our way back home.  Luckily we had each other for company, great music to sing along to, and delicious milkshakes.  We needed all the comfort we could get, since dealing with the crazy drivers in DC is the worst.  As we were driving along, a garbage truck drove up the shoulder and pushed his way into traffic, almost crushing us – good times.

Eventually we made it back home, and luckily I had prepped dinner before we left, and Lily had put it in the oven for me, so that it was ready to eat when we got home.  It was great day, and in spite of the traffic, it was another wonderful adventure to add to Holly’s visit.