Saturday was a gorgeous spring-like day in southeast Texas, so after a visit to the farmers market, we loaded up the car and headed out of town. Our first stop was Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site in Anderson. The inn, originally constructed by Henry Fanthrop as a single-room cabin in 1834, was located on a well-traveled highway at the crossroads of two mail routes. The inn did brisk business for over thirty years.
Henry Fanthorp's branding iron
Fanthorp was appointed postmaster in 1835 and ran the post office from a small room at the side of the inn.
The stagecoach brought travelers and mail to the inn.
Fanthorp Inn is only open on weekends, but we had a free guided tour led by a very knowledgeable park ranger. The tour was a treat and Fanthorp Inn is definitely worth a stop if you're in the Brazos Valley!
After lunch, we headed into College Station to visit the George Bush Library and Museum. The primary reason for our visit was to see The National Parks Photography Project exhibit, which is only on display there for a few more weeks. 2016 is the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service, and the exhibit combines two of my favorite things: photography and the great outdoors.
The exhibit includes one iconic black and white photograph (by photographer Mark Burns) from each of our 59 national parks, as well as some works by early painters and photographers. The kids have (so far) only visited one national park (Mesa Verde) but they sure enjoyed finding that photograph and remembering the visit. We definitely need to plan more trips to our national parks with the boys. The photography is stunning and the exhibit is well worth checking out if you're in College Station before March 21!
After viewing the photographs, we toured the rest of the presidential library, which was really well done with a lot for the kids to read, see and learn. It was less political than I would have guessed, and we all enjoyed our visit.
The Secret Service
The UN
The CIA
Being president is tough!
A replica of the Oval Office
The Berlin Wall
The Gulf War
Cut-outs, always!
Will insisted on a serious face for Mount Rushmore
From starting the day in the 1830s to ending it with the Gulf War, I'd say our adventure covered quite a bit of history. As always, I'm so thankful for my intrepid family for indulging me in all my adventures!
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