Mount Vernon

Our major stop for the day is Mt Vernon, home of George Washington. The house itself was much like we remembered – a very large house for the time. Especially after he had been President, they entertained a lot. George experimented with a lot of different crops in his garden, rather than just plant the cash crop of tobacco. A large museum has been added since we were here last. Inside was a lot of Washington furnishings: from farm tools to his presidential chair to the first Presidential china. (We had seen some a few days ago in Winterthur and would see some the next day in the Smithsonian. )Following the artifacts was a museum giving George’s life story. We’ve already covered much of that at Fort Necessity and Yorktown. The key additions to the story we learned about were after the Revolutionary War. Washington could have been King George, but instead he decided to retire to his farm after being the General Washington. Of course, he was called upon to be the first President and while in office, he was careful about the precedents he set. From simple things, like being called “Mr. President” versus “Your Excellency” to the more controversial items like setting up a Federal bank to coin money and creating a cabinet of advisors. We had about 2 hours to visit but 3 hours would have been more comfortable.

Mount Vernon

We made it to our campsite about 3:45 PM. Laura’s boyfriend, Greg, was supposed to arrive about 4 PM, thankfully he was late and we picked him up about 5:15 PM from Union Station. He’s going to spend the 4^th of July weekend with us. (Since Laura met him online, this is only the second time they’ve been together.)