day -- but a little more widely known. Today was Father's Day. What better way to spend this day than visiting the home of the father of our country? So, we got up and pointed ourselves toward Mount Vernon.You cannot get to Mount Vernon on the Metro line. However, you can get there using combinations of the Metro, bus, trolley and/or boat rides. On a recommendation from the kind folks of the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators, we chose a boat ride by the Potomic Riverboat Company. And we were glad that we did.
We took the Metro to Alexandria, Virginia and decided to walk down to the Waterfront to catch The Miss Christin down to the
Potomic. If you have the time, this is the way to go. The narrated ride was relaxing and fun. There were snacks on board to keep the kids occupied and plenty of time to walk around the boat. There is an upper deck where you can bask in the elements of the day or a lower, covered and air conditioned deck with windows on all sides. But, nothing beats the view as you arrive looking up at Mount Vernon on the hill.The whole ride - stops to pick up additional passengers included - took about 1.5 hours. We had purchased one-way tickets thinking that we would catch the bus back to the Metro from the Mount Vernon Visitor's Center. But, we enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided we would try our best to catch the
boat back.The Mount Vernon complex has grown much since the last time that Ross and I visited. We had also visited in the middle of the winter - so there were a few more people present as well.
We started by popping in to see Washington's tomb and pay our respects to George and Martha. Apparently, when Washington died, there was some question as to where he would be buried. Washington, a humble man and a farmer at heart, wanted to be buried at home on Mount Vernon. The political machine wanted him to be buried in the soon to be completed Capitol building. Fortunately, one of his sons put his foot down and thereby secured the fate of the future of the plantation.
After that, we headed up the hill for a quick snack before the timed entry into the home.
Remembering a favorite moment from our last visit, we popped around to the part of the house facing the river and took a seat to wait for our visit on one of the chairs lined up on the porch. Never disappoints.Following that bit of heaven, we lucked out and got to the tour entry point when there was no line. So we headed in early and toured the gracious, orderly home.
When you are on the Mount Vernon plantation, it is difficult to remember that you are walking through a home that was operating in the late 1700s. There are several things there to remind
you - candlestick light fixtures, carriage houses, outhouses and kitchen outbuildings - but despite all that, Mount Vernon exudes an aura of style, grace and relevance.One of the things that I picked up from this tour was that it was often used to house traveler's on their way to Washington. The thing that strikes you as you walk through the home is that it is full of bedrooms. Washington's slaves and servants would spend hours preparing these rooms for hundreds of visitors who would stay there for only a few nights. The rooms, of course, housed family members, but they were also home to the likes of the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
When we finished touring the home, we puttered around looking at the various outbuildings to
the left of the home - the carriage house, the smokehouse, the laundry yard, the storage room. As we were walking back across the front lawn on the way to the buildings on the right (Washington was a huge believer in symmetry - God Bless him), we ran into none other than George himself entertaining his guests on the front lawn.Apparently, during special occasions such as Father's Day, George makes an appearance. And there he stood, his six-foot large frame towering over a group of tourists, entertaining questions from the group. "Sir, what do you feel is the biggest challenge facing the country today?" someone asked. "Keeping this Union together," he immediately responded. And then went on to explain that he was concerned that this young country of 15 states was so culturally diverse that he was concerned about us all getting along. He pointed to a young man wearing a t-shirt with an American flag on it. "I see your flag their with
its stars and stripes," he said. "I think that the number of stars is very optomistic, but I like your faith in the future of the country." And he continued in this way, graciously entertaining his enraptured audience.Over on the right side of the home, we ran into Martha who was holding court in her own outbuilding designed for that purpose. This is apparently a regular feature of the property and can be experienced any day that you visit. She was sitting up front and knitting while we took our seats in the chairs that were provided for us.
Martha was also taking questions. Instead of chatting about political
matters, her conversations were more about her family, her husband, and life at home in Mount Vernon. She was dressed in half-mourning, a fact that she explained was in memory of one of her daughters that had died on that very day.Now, I know that these folks were actors. But, I kid you not, they were some of the best historical reinactors that I have encountered in my travels. They never broke character - not once. Their speeches, though they had to be rehearsed, were delivered in a conversational way and in response to questions from the audience. When Martha talked about her daughter that died, she had one Brenda Hicks from Winfield, Kansas crying where she sat. History presented in the best possible way.
We had one more encounter with General Washington -- and you were compelled to address him in this respectful way. We caught him completely unsurrounded by tourists over by the slave
quarters. I took the opportunity to ask for a quick picture. "Sir, can I take a picture of you with my two boys?" I carefully asked."I have no idea if you can, madam," he replied quickly.
I hesitated, then the light went on. "I apologize, sir," I said. "MAY I take a picture of you with my boys?"
"Absolutely ma'am," he said. And we got the shot. The boys were thrilled - possibly for life. George caught mom at her own game. They talked about it all the way back to Winfield.
After scoring the picture with the man himself, we grabbed lunch at the cafe in the visitor's cetner and then zipped through the museum. This new, multi-million dollar facility contains George's original dentures (he rarely smiled due to inflamed gums and sore mouth), a diorama of the
French and Indian war, Martha's jewelry and china, and reconstructions of what George and Martha looked like when they were younger. The museum folks is definately worth your time and energy if you are ever in the area.From there we headed back to the boat dock hiking through a piece of woods on the property and a reproduction of one of Washington's farms. We got back on the boat with no trouble and headed back upriver to the Alexandria Waterfront.
Father's Day did put a kink in our dinner options.
(We had wanted to eat at Gadsby's Tavern but couldn't get in there until later in the evening.) We managed to get a table at the Chart House Restaurant and enjoyed an amazing seafood dinner on the banks of the Potomic. I ordered a plate of oysters and was successful in getting both boys to try a small, heavily sauced piece.We grabbed the free downtown trolley for the uphill ride back up to the King Street Metro station and headed back home. This day was definately one of our favorites.
