On Thursday, one week into our trip, we visited Mt. Vernon, the beloved home of our first president, George Washington. The drive there through Virgina was beautiful and the home itself was magnificent, even from afar.
While we waited for our tour, we visited the formal gardens just outside the house.
What a pretty place! I am a sucker for a great flower garden.
It brought back memories of my visit to Monet's garden in Giverny, France.
I would have loved to linger all day if only we had time and it wasn't so hot.
Mt. Vernon is beautiful. I love the red roof, the weathervaned tower, and the oval window.
It is just a charming, romantic place and the people in period costume reminded me of the pastoral scenes in my favorite toile fabrics.
Pretty on the outside...
and fascinating on the inside.
Our tour was wonderful, though there was no photography allowed inside, with the exception of the kitchen. We saw another green dining room, of course, and Washington's office where he took care of plantation and state business, and the bedroom where he died. After his unexpected and quick death, Martha had the room locked, and never slept in it again.
My favorite thing in the house was a huge iron key that was hung in a box in the front hallway. The key was the original main key to the Bastille. They said that Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette had a father/son relationship and Lafayette felt like Washington was a father to him, and a father to all who love liberty, and so when the Bastille fell, he sent Washington the key to the demolished prison as a symbol of freedom and liberty. The accompanying letter said, "Give me leave, my dear General, to present you with the main key to the fortress of despotism. It is a tribute which I owe as a son to my adoptive father, as an aide de camp to my general, as a missionary of liberty to its patriarch." Washington himself hung that key there in the hallway, along with a picture of the Bastille, and it remains there today. That was so cool that I had to get a replica of the key myself.
The curving archways wrap around both sides of the house like a big hug.
There are many outbuildings on Mt. Vernon used for such things as laundry, a smokehouse, stables, and on and on. There was another less formal garden that grew vegetables. It was less colorful, but still a very pretty, peaceful garden.
I got a kick out of the garden design plans left out by one of the gardeners.
There was also a building for weaving, and a tiny garden for exotic and rare plants that George would work himself. One thing I learned about Washington is that he truly loved working the land, and above all else considered himself a farmer. He was so happy to get back to work on the plantation as soon as his stints or general and then president were done. The proud American farmer, who loved to get his hands in the dirt.
The slave quarters were very interesting with the men and the women split up into different quarters. Washington had a huge plantation with a large number of slaves for the day that made the whole huge operation go. I tried to imagine what that life must have been for them, but it is a little too hard to fathom.
Many of the huge old trees were here even before Washington himself was here.
This tree was here when George inherited the plantation. He enjoyed spending time under this very tree overlooking the fiver.
The view of the Potomac River below is just lovely! No wonder he and Martha loved this place so much!
Maybe that view is why Mt. Vernon is famous for it's back porch with it's long row of green Windsor chairs.
I LOVE the chairs! I need a porch like this and a river to look at.
What a great place to sit in the shade and enjoy the incredible view of the river!
Nobody wanted to leave!
My family!
A long walk down the hill past pastures, horses, and more gardens is...
George and Martha's tomb. It is still a reverent place after more than 200 years.
The blue flag with the white stars is the flag of the commander in chief and has since been retired and replaced with the presidential flag.
After visiting the home and the grounds, there is also an amazing Historical Center and an equally impressive museum at Mt. Vernon. They were both really well done. We also saw the original of one of my favorite paintings, Prayer at Valley Forge. Dennis has a copy in his office.
Our visit to Mt. Vernon was just really wonderful! I think we got to understand a bit more who George Washington was and what he loved and why he felt so passionate about his country and liberty. Our country is hurting for another leader like him, I think.
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