Saturday, April 23, 2022
Fort Washington and the Wedding
Kelly was away from the house all day doing pre-wedding activities with Kirsten and her bridal party, leaving Tom and I to our own devices. Don suggested we might enjoy visiting historic Fort Washington, a short distance south of D.C., which sounded like a good way to spend the day.
Fort Washington Lighthouse
In 1809, a small fort was built on the left bank of the Potomac River south of Alexandria and Washington, D.C., to protect those cities from approach by hostile naval forces. During the War of 1812, the fort was destroyed by its own troops during a British advance, with no shots having been fired, when the commander of the fort felt he faced overwhelming forces. Unsurprisingly, said commander was subsequently relieved of command and later court-martialed.
Fort Washington
Through the gate
Within a month of its destruction, construction of a new, larger Fort Washington was begun. Completed in 1824, the fort was actively used in defense of D.C. and in training troops until the last military personnel departed in 1946, when the facility was turned over to the Department of the Interior.
Just add cannons
The original homeland security
Protecting the Potomac
Today, the National Park Service manages the fort with benign neglect. Entrance is free, and even on a beautiful Saturday, this close to a massive populace, there was hardly anyone there. We wandered around on our own and picked up what history we could from the informational plaques.
Bird's-eye view
Commanding officer's quarters / Visitor Center
Midafternoon, we returned to Don and Kelly's to get all gussied up for Sean and Kirsten's 6:00 ceremony. The wedding and reception were held in Pasadena, Maryland, at the Anchor Inn on the Chesapeake Bay. Gorgeous venue!
Anchor Inn, Pasadena, Maryland
The happy couple - and the entire wedding party - were gorgeous and the ceremony was lovely. Tom and I were there the day Kirsten and Sean met and were glad to return for their wedding, continuing our habit of dropping in out of the blue at the most memorable moments.
Kirsten and Sean tie the knot
After the nuptials, the guests were directed outside onto the deck for a cocktail hour while the wedding space was converted to space for the reception. The wedding party used this interval for photos, and so did we.
Chesapeake Bay
Jana, Tom, Kelly, and Don
For dinner they served Indian food - outstanding and spicy hot! Also, there was a cookie table. Guests were invited to bring platters of cookies to the reception, and to-go bags were provided to take some home for later enjoyment. I filled a bag to the brim for both Tom and I to share and ended up eating every single cookie myself. No regrets!
And now we celebrate!
Morgan, Lillian, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Alice
After dinner, there were toasts and first dances by the bride and groom before the crowd rushed the dance floor. A good time was had by all!
Kirsten and Sean take the floor
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