ASHBURN, Va. — Family Christmas Dinner at Eddie Merlot's Prime Aged Beef & Seafood.

ANNANDALE, Va., and VIENNA, Va. — The family had another busy weekend, starting Friday night as we joined Little Kent 2 for Senior Night activities and attended the Alfred Street Baptist Church HBCU Festival, and the Annandale High School Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner on Saturday.

On Friday night, Little Kent 2 was one of the students honored during Senior Night at Annandale High School’s football game against Rock Ridge High School. He also performed with the performing arts department, playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the pregame ceremony.

On Saturday morning, the family attended the 21st annual Alfred Street Baptist Church Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Festival. The event, designed to connect students and their families with HBCUs, provided scholarship opportunities, on-the-spot admission decisions, and music auditions. Additionally, seminars and exhibitor presentations offered guidance on the college application and financial aid processes.

Saturday evening concluded with the Annandale Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner, where nine individuals and two teams were inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

📸 AHS Senior Night - absolonkent.net/photogallery/index.php?/category/588

📹 AHS Senior Night - absolonkent.net/AHS_Peforming_Arts/AHS_Football_Game_Pregame-8-November-2024/

📸 2024 AHS Athletics Hall of Fame - absolonkent.net/photogallery/index.php?/category/590

#PreciousFatherMoments #ProudDad #KENTCANDO #TeamKent #GoAtoms #AnnandaleAtoms

TOWSON, Md. — Today’s visit to the Hampton National Historic Site showcased the estate of the Ridgely family, highlighting their wealth and influence from the late 18th century through the mid-20th century. The site features an opulent Georgian mansion, beautifully maintained formal gardens, agricultural fields, and various outbuildings, including slave quarters. Guided tours display the mansion's lavish interiors, one of the largest private homes in America when completed in 1790, along with historical artifacts and period furnishings. Reflecting broader themes of American history such as slavery, industry, and the nation's changing landscape, this site offers a glimpse into the lives of the Ridgely family and the enslaved individuals who lived and worked there.

 📸: absolonkent.net/photogallery/index.php?/category/573

#TodaysAdventure #AmericasNationalParks #MyDMV #GetOutside #OutdoorAdventures #JustMe #KENTCANDO

MANASSAS, Va. — The Manassas National Battlefield Park features several sites that chronicle the events and actions of the Civil War in and around the Manassas area.

Portici was the plantation house of Francis Lewis and served as the Confederate headquarters during the First Battle of Manassas. The surrounding grounds were the site of the 1861-1862 winter encampment for a brigade of Confederate troops. On Aug. 30, 1862, during the Second Battle of Manassas, Union cavalry stopped the Confederate cavalry as they sought to cut off the Union army's line of retreat.

Located on "Hazel Plain," the two-and-a-half-story frame farmhouse of Benjamin Chinn and his family overlooked the Warrenton Turnpike and Young's Branch. During both battles of Manassas, the plantation was engulfed by war and witnessed some of the heaviest fighting.

In 1860, the crossroads hamlet of Sudley Springs consisted of fewer than a dozen households but featured a prosperous mill, a prominent church, and a hotel for visitors attracted to the mineral waters of a nearby spring. During the Second Battle of Manassas, on Aug. 29, 1862, Federal troops repeatedly attacked Stonewall Jackson's left flank in this area, and only darkness prevented a fatal collapse of the Confederates. Today, only the Sudley Church remains as a testament to times past.

: absolonkent.net/photogallery/index.php?/category/17