Gary-Summer: April 1, 2023

Saturday, April 1, 2023

April 1, 2023 - Mt Vernon

Title: April 1, 2023 - Mt Vernon
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type:Tourist

Description:

It is raining today. But hopefully by noon it will taper off. We are going to George and Martha Washington’s place today in Mt Vernon. Most of the travel will be done via the Metro and bus.So we should be good.

Upper Gardens

Got up at 7, and like usual read and had my quiet time this morning. Sherri gets up a little after 8 and we have granola for breakfast. Then we get off on our hour long trip at 9:50. We take the Red Line, transferring over to the Blue Line “special” at Metro Center. This takes us all the way down to Huntington, which is really on the Yellow Line. When we got out of the Metro, it was raining pretty good. The bus has a good shelter under the Metro lines. We waited about 25 minutes for Bus 101. This bus takes us all the way down to George Washington’s Mt Vernon. and arrives about 11:45.

It is still raining, but not as bad. We show our tickets and get admitted. I asked about getting to the Mansion and was told, less than 10 minute walk-we have about an hour. The first thing we do is to watch an introduction video of about 20 minutes. We also get a couple web sites which are useful. The first is an interactive virtual tour of Mt Vernon. Then the second is a self-guide audio tour around the grounds.

Overseer's Quarters

The Line

When we emerge from the video,the rain has almost stopped. Since we have about 40 minutes to use before we get in line for the Mansion tour, we start our own tour. The first stop is the Upper Garden. Many tulips are out, not quite open as the sun is still hiding. Still of interest with their fiery red and blazing yellow. Other flowers are pure white with some pinks in the trees. The edge is surrounded with Boxwood shrubs. The tour tells us that Washington's first attempt was more of a squarish design. This has interest. as it is a walled garden, oval in nature with paths around the edge and bisecting the oval. It makes for easy strolling and admiring. The center of the garden is a vegetable garden, not yet up.

Newest room-entertaining area

We continue on our tour and look at the slave quarters. The quarters are divided with men in one area and women and children in another. They slept on bunk beds. All of these people would be working in the mansion or close by. Those who worked in the fields would have had different quarters. Various places talk about how the slaves were not necessarily a happy lot under Washington. There were work slowdowns, equipment breakage, and feigning of illness. Still if you look at Washington in his day, I suspect that he was probably better with his slaves than most slaveholders.

By now it is 12:50 and we start edging into line for out 1:05 time. But they definitely are not ready as there is about a 15 minute wait to get in from those who had a 12:50 time. So we go off and look at the Overseer's quarters and the botanical gardens. Washington felt that the wealthy landowners should gain knowledge of how to plant and produce and share it with those who could not afford experiments. So he found out various things, like lamb’s manure grew crops the best. Also he cross bred various plants to get better quality plants.

Washington's death bed

By now it is 1:05 and we get in line. This is a regular Disneyland line in length. We stood in line for about 20 minutes before getting into the mansion. They have us snaked through the various rooms, with a guide interpreting what we are seeing, giving background and usage. Apparently Washington liked green as there are several rooms which have been painted various shades of green. Also the outside of the house is being renovated, so you can see the wood under the stone-looking exterior. They have on display the white bed where Washington died, and a few other items. What it almost seemed to me was similar to going to an open house and looking at another person’s furniture. Only this was a really famous person from 200+ years ago.

The sun is shining really nicely now and it is turning into a wonderful day. We stroll down to the chairs in back of the house. This gives a magnificent view of the Potomac. Sherri and I enjoy our seats and the view for about 20 minutes. We then go down the road looking at a variety of shops, including where Washington kept his horses. There is a definite agricultural smell to this area. In the coach house are a couple of wagons which have a chair mounted on the top of it. It looks like it would bounce around a lot and not be comfortable. But at least the person and chair would not go flying. On the other side of the stables are some sheep-the source of the agricultural smell!

We wander down towards the wharf, but get distracted by going to what is called the Old Tomb. This tomb is the one Washington’s family had used for awhile. Washington felt it was not suitable, either in location, size or appearance for his family. But this was where he was interned. It was related that over the years his coffin and shroud deteriorated. Some of it due to nature and some because souvenir seekers would obtain small chunks.

Old Crypt

A grandson of Washington fulfilled Washington’s desire to have a crypt made at the location he wanted. Why the delay? There was the push to have him buried at a “more” fitting location, such as in DC. Specifically, do you remember the star in the Capitol building from our March 22nd tour? The thought was to have Washington buried under that. But Washington’s grandson fulfilled his wishes and both Martha and George have their final resting place here.

New Crypt where the Washingtons lie

But they are not the only bodies on this property. There is a memorial location. a little ways away from Washington’s tomb where the Negros were buried. Two memorial stones are there. One of the guides noted that sonar is being used to figure out where bodies are buried. There has not been a push to actually dig up the bodies and identify who is buried where.

Slave Cemetery marker

During this time, we get communications from Andrea. We talked for a time and responded. Seems strange taking care of family business this far away at George’s place.

We continued our walk down to the wharf. It looks more like where the wharf was rather than a replica. I think the various tourist ships must debark and embark here. It gives a good view of the Potomac and how wide it is. A sign indicated that it is slightly more than a mile wide here. A very different river than the cascading rivers we have out west.

Early on in our visit, we were told about the bread man. We found him, but he has sold out his goods. But Sherri and Justin talk about how he bakes and the ingredients he uses. This is the beginning of the farm lands. We wander through it. I would guess this is not big enough to support the Washington’s, guests and slaves. So there must be some other place as well. One of the more unusual buildings on Washington’s place is the 16-sided barn. He used it as a threshing place. The floor is not solid wood. So the workers would bring the wheat in and have the horses run over it, causing the wheat kernels to fall below where the workers would gather the usable wheat.

We stop nearby and rest for a few minutes and are about to climb up to the main area when a shuttle bus comes.

Sherri at the Wharf

It is getting late and we are semi-tired, so we take the bus up. This drops us off close to the visitor center, and restrooms which we avail ourselves of. Inside the visitor center is a museum which we explore. By the time we get done, it is 4:45. We try to round up some food from the food court, but they have all closed up. We only procure a bag of chips.

Inside of Hexagon Barn

And now to find the place to pick up the bus. We want 101 to take us back to the Blue Line. It is about a 20 minute wait. We talked for a while with a gentleman who I think works here on Mt Vernon. We are joined by another man. I think they know the route only slightly more than I do. Bus 151 pulls up and they ask the driver some questions, but he points them to 101. A few minutes later 101 pulls up and we all get on.

A quiet and long ride to Huntington. I occasionally shut my eyes, but do not really fall asleep. After about half an hour, we reached the Metro station. Two fire trucks and a police car are there. When one of the men asks a fireman about what is happening, he only says that “all is good.” So we go up and board the Blue Line. It makes its way to Metro Center where we hop on the Red Line to NoMa. And our day of travel is done by about 7:15.

We both are tired and rest for a little while and then make our way to the store to buy a few things. This might be our last time over there. I end up going to bed at 10. I do not know when Sherri comes to bed because I go to bed by the sound of the washing machine going.

Some thoughts I had as I was going through the estate. I do not think Washington was a man of great thoughts, at least not those which got put down on paper. When touring various other museums, monuments and memorials, words are etched in stone which causes my mind to ponder their meaning and how they affect my life. But around Washington’s estate, there were quotes, but none which made my heart soar. Still, Washington was a great man, particularly when you consider the respect the people around him had for him. I think it was how he carried himself with integrity and wisdom which applied the great thoughts of others both to himself and to his nation.

In a great many ways Washington should be someone to look to for example. He did things, such as not establish a dictatorship or monarchy which set the tone, even though he could have. He tried to do right with his slaves. But still he had slaves. This was because of the pressures of his society, he felt that freeing his slaves would cause division within the nation which it could not withstand. Which is our current time issue: how can we work towards a”more perfect union” without splitting the nation? This is the continuing question we face as a nation.