Adding to our non-touristy adventures of the DC area, I took our daughters to Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia yesterday. Operation Second Chance set up the event and created a great wounded warrior family friendly adventure there. We had a nice day learning about the former Governor, his family history and his love of equestrian sports.

We started our day with a quick and fun little carriage ride. Our girls loved riding around the grounds this way. We had excellent tour guides who provided us with additional history about the grounds.

Next we toured the Winmill Carriage Collection. Here learned all about the various carriages that were in the collection. The girls had a great time learning about the way people traveled decades ago. They also found it interesting how carriages were used in so many different ways. Of course the girls and their new friends were so happy to jump into one. This was the "family car" carriage back in the day

Next we got to tour the mansion. Sorry, but no pics were allowed on the inside. But trust me you want to tour this mansion. It looks like the residents just left and it was frozen in time. This place is an antique collectors dream. It is amazing. I felt like I was walking through history. It was beautiful. We stopped for lunch and then headed to the stables.

Our oldest learning how to lead a horse.

Our youngest riding a pony.

We met Loudoun Therapeutic riding at the stables. We were able to learn a lot more about these awesome people and their organization. As you can tell our girls had a ton of fun with the horses.

Despite the heat we had a great day. We learned a lot about this little treasure in Virginia. If you are looking for a quiet retreat for your family you'll want to check out Morven Park. I will warn you it is not very handicap accessible. Persons with disabilities could access the first level of the mansion and would not have a problem with the Winmill exhibit. However the site itself it full of gravel roads. As for the carriage rides, trust me the staff there is amazing and if you need assistance they will be more than happy to help you. You can learn more by visiting their site here. http://www.morvenpark.com/