Tuesday May 24 (Mount Vernon)

What a gorgeous day for the last day of this trip, lol! The sun was shining out of a clear blue sky and it was warm!! We were off to Mount Vernon so I was very lucky!

The traffic was fairly heavy on way to Mount Vernon, then we took the EZI Pass road and it was almost empty, Scott called it the "Moses" road, it really did divide the traffic, lol!!! 

We had a good run and arrived at Mount Vernon in just under an hour, in spite of major road works on Highway 1. We kept seeing signs to Distillery and Grist Mill, Washington is responsible for these two businesses.

We fund  park not too far away and, as I had purchased the tickets on line, we did not have to queue (it is also a bit cheaper!). Our bags were searched and mine had a sticker placed on it as it was a large backpack. We followed the path towards the Mansion and it did not take long to reach it. 


We wandered through the gardens along the side of the approach to the mansion, many flowers are showing the signs of the recent rain but they will soon recover with plenty of sunshine. There will be plenty of mowing to be done as well!!

George Washington designed the layout of the gardens and they reflect his sense of balance and design. There is already a healthy crop of vegetables and they are planted in an area surrounded by the flowers. We passed a couple of people in period dress and we were welcomed by a third. 

She was in period behaviour as well as dress and had great difficulty coping with me coming from New Zealand. We had a hilarious conversation, lol!

Even though we were early, we were told to join the queue for the mansion tour as it takes twenty minutes to actually reach the mansion, such is the queue, it must be horrendous in summer! 

There is a lot of refurbishing going on especially on the outside where the sand, that is thrown onto the wet paint on the long pine boards, is being replaced. The concept is called Rustication and gives the mansion the appearance of masonry. 

We passed through a separate building that was for the servants of the house guests then on to the mansion itself. (The public is not allowed to take pictures inside the mansion). There was only one bedroom on the ground floor, which was where the formal interactions took place, but there were many on the first floor. Guests could stay as long as they liked!! On the way round we went out onto the Piazza which had lovely views of the Potomac River. For those interested, here is the link to a map. 

Mount Vernon rooms

We the continued back inside, going upstairs and then saw George Washington's study before exiting the mansion.

We wandered through the grounds and one has to marvel at the way the layout had been designed. The Kitchen, Laundry, cold Room, Smokehouse and other service areas were in separate buildings, there was even a Paint Room, lol!. There are extensive stable facilities both for horses and the carriages.

We visited the original family vault and then went down the steps to the wharf area. On the way we saw several Salamanders, they had blue tails! 

There were two Canadian Geese with babies at the bottom. We came back up the path and ended up at the Washington Tomb.

We wandered back towards the exit and in the modern buildings there are shops, a food hall, a museum and an area entitled "Reconstructing George Washington". It is quite a large walk through area and follows his life almost from beginning to end. 

It begins with a description of how they reconstructed his face, using modern science and technology, to show what he looked like at various times throughout his life. Of course, i had seen where the Boston Tea Party took place three years previously!!

The exhibit was very interesting and I came away with a far greater understanding of him as a man, a soldier and a leader. He was someone who inspired and was an inspiration to the people of his time. 


I wonder what he would think of America today?? 

A couple of interesting facts I gleaned, there are 174 schools and 155 towns/counties named Washington!!

We then had some lunch and headed off back to Rockville.

Scott drove a different way home, this took us along the parkway, it is so beautiful with the Potomac river alongside the road. We saw the area across the river where MGM is building a large casino and then passed through the Old Towne of Alexandria, and saw the Wilson Bridge. 

We passed Ronald Reagan Airport just as a plane was taking off and the Washington Monument was so clear, very different to the last time I saw it, lol! 

Historic Georgetown, across the river, stood out above the tree line. We also went passed the bridge that was involved when Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into it all those years ago.

We crossed the Potomac via the Chain Bridge and continued along the Maryland side of the river. previously we had been in Virginia. 


The parkway on this side follows the canal that carried goods to and from the area, many of the locks and gatehouses are still to be seen. We followed Clara Barton Parkway until we left to pick up the road that would take us back to Rockville. One final stop at Safeways for a coffee was the end to a perfect day.

I started on the blog and after a tea of fresh Salmon, beautifully cooked by Scott, I finished the text then had to work out which pictures to include form the many I had taken.