Mount Vernon Part 1

It took a little while to get moving the morning after the party. Everyone was slow moving, though I don't remember what exactly was going on. I know we all tried to sleep late, so that was part of it. It was Saturday, and it was raining...again, or still (really only had the brief respite part of Friday and part of Thursday), but I was undeterred. The two reasons were because Mount Vernon was the one thing dad said he wished we could've done back in 2004 when we all had a vacation in D.C., and because it was George Washington.

We finally got it together, grabbed a bite and took off for the hour drive North. We had rain, and more rain, and more rain, but the clouds parted a bit once we arrived. Woohoo! It was wonderful! We decided to do the mansion tour before wandering the rest of the grounds. Since we had planned to meet my brother and sister-in-law back in Fredericksburg for dinner and the line was approximately 30-minutes long, it just made sense. Besides, it didn't seem that long! We were there with a high school group from Illinois, and the conversation was entertaining. Even my almost-3-year-old was entertained!

We were almost to the mansion when a reenactor came through. He was Dr. James Craik, from Scotland, and George Washington's personal physician. He received some interesting questions, though I couldn't catch all the answers. He came closer to us and I asked how long he'd been the physician. The answer was "since General Washington was about 22-years-old," and he started to move on. Leave it to me to bust out with "Oh, so about the time of Fort Necessity!" I don't know if I've ever seen someone skid to a stop and whip about so quickly before in my life! The Battle of the Great Meadows was not a good one for Washington (for those who don't know, it was his only surrender, only his second firefight, a total foible, and led to him retiring his commission in the Virginia Militia shortly afterward.) Dr. Craik was left behind with the scores of wounded and made it pretty clear it wasn't a good subject for the good doctor to talk about. But I thought it was awesome to catch his attention, the attention of a couple of historical interpreters, and the high school kids & teachers ("What are they talking about?" "Shh, listen, you might figure it out!" "Maybe we should ask her....").

Just a few more moments and we were let into the formal dining room, the first room you enter on the tour. It is done in classic 18th Century style, with the perfect touches of a man who loved farming. The table was set with what could now be considered odd food. Nothing of an animal was left to waste, so you're greeted with a large cow's tongue. Yum. Then it's back outside to the veranda where you have a spectacular view of the Potomac River. The far side is free from buildings and distraction; the land is protected in order to preserve the accurate history of Mount Vernon. I thought that was awesome. At this point I also split from my parents because my little boy was getting restless. We were given permission to hang out and let him run around on the grass while my parents finished the tour, then I'd cut back in when they came out. What a fantastic policy put into place here! For the record, this is what they do for ALL parents with little ones! If the kiddos get bored and would rather run around, they can do so and the parents can split the tour.

My parents came back out and were visibly touched. They just kept saying "you'll see." So, I was off to finish the tour, entering back into the foyer. Typical of the Federal Style, the doors open directly across from each other to allow a wonderful cross-breeze in the summer, and a stylish illusion. This was also part of the original 4-room house that George Washington expanded on...even so far as rearranging it so the stairs were in a different place! It was stunning, and I was shocked to learn the wood wasn't walnut. It was just stained to look that way in order for Washington to save some money. Here you also see into the family dining room, one of the bedrooms, the music room, and a study. Then it's up the stairs. I would love to name drop, but I realize probably the only people reading this that would recognize names like the Marquis de LaFayette are those who have either travelled to places where it's a commonly known name & history, or live in those places (Erma, you're one I'm thinking of!). Anyway, there were some HUGE names in history who stayed in this home. Upstairs you see the guest rooms they took temporary residence in. Sometimes Mrs. Washington had beds brought down from the third floor to house people in the upstairs hallway! The room that stood out most for me was the one under the staircase. It was teeny, but obviously comfortable.

We walked through one of the bedrooms to the private quarters of Gen. and Mrs. Washington. This was touching. I'd always heard the bed looked short, but never appreciated it until now. In honesty, the beds in the Biltmore Estate appear short, too, because of similar construction. Anyway, this bed was specially made to hold all of Washington's 6 foot 2 inch frame (yes, he was that tall. I don't know why we generally only hear about how tall Lincoln was). Amazing. It was also in this bed that George Washington died in December 1799 at the age of 67. The same age as my dad. That's hard to grasp! But this room was more than that. It was where Mrs. Washington planned everything and ran the household. She taught her children and grandchildren their schooling here. Upon his death, Mrs. Washington closed this room up and moved into the third floor. That is only open to the public around Christmastime.

Down the stairs, the very stairs that Gen. Washington would go up and down each day, ducking his head at the bottom to keep from bonking it, holding the same railing....I don't know how many times I've stepped in his footprints, but this was.....this was....chillingly different. The bottom on the stairs holds his study/library. It's a bright room with an entire wall that is shelving closed in glass paned doors. Some of his books are still here. The chair he used during his presidency is here. And so many other things he used to make decisions. You could see why he chose this location, and you could almost hear him thinking.

It was back outside and to the kitchen & larder. It's amazing to see how people cooked and "kept" food 200 years ago! Ingenious, and definitely unhealthy (no wonder there was so much food poisoning!). I scooted out to the back lawn to meet back up with my son and his grandparents now and understood what touched them. It touched me, too.

There was more, much more of the grounds to see, so we didn't sit long. Down the lane and on to the outbuildings we went.....