Mount Vernon

We arrived at Mount Vernon at 9:15 a.m.  We started out watching a movie that introduced the estate and then a film about the war.  It gave you a feel for the kind of man that we was, courageous and capable.  We  then walked up to the Mansion.  They explained that Mount Vernon was built over the course of 30 years.  It began as a rather small house owned by George Washington's father.  Ever so slowly it was added to and became the home it is today. We ended up in a group by ourselves so it was like we had our own private tour.  The kids commented on the fact that Mount Vernon felt more like a home than Monticello.  I wondered aloud if it was because Martha lived there the entire time, while Thomas Jefferson's wife died 10 years after the home in Monticello was built.  They were hospitable and allowed visitors there constantly, one year they had over 600 guests in the course of the year.  We wandered the grounds a little and then gathered for a tour called the National Treasure tour, we learned a little how the movie and the estate worked together on the making of the film.  We had a great tour guide who the kids really liked.  Part of the tour was down in the basement.  We saw the quarters of Washington's butler and talked about the slaves that worked to hew the timber to build the home.  We were hungry and tired and a little hot, the weather was sunny and 87 degrees so we decided it was time for lunch.  We ate at the Mount Vernon Inn and tried fried green tomatoes and peanut soup.  The fried green tomatoes were a hit, the peanut soup… it reminded me a little of  melted peanut butter, really different.  Then we walked to the tomb of George Washington, after ward we walked through the slave memorial.  There was an amazing spirit there, I asked Sara if she could feel it, she said yes but it was difficult to explain, I knew what she meant.  We wandered around the discovery center after that, they have done extensive research on what they believe he actually looked like and constructed some very life like statues.  We were there 6 hours and we still didn't see everything.