My Trip to Mount Vernon!
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| Mount Vernon |
I don’t remember when or why we decided to go to
Mount Vernon, home to our first President George Washington, but I’m glad we
did (and not just because it was in National Treasure 2).
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| The Statues of the Washingtons and grandkids. |
When you first go into the grounds of Mount Vernon
there is this beautiful archway with what I’m assuming was probably a guard
house or something of that nature. Above this arch is a painting of the mansion.
I stood there looking at the painting and wondering how much the actual mansion
today would look like the bright portrait. To my delight when the mansion came
into view I realized that the painting could have been completed the day before
for that was how close the actual physical house looked still to this day.
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| A staircase on the grounds. |
Before we went into the mansion we went into the
information center. Here they had life size statues of
George (age 53), Martha (54), and their grandkids “Washy” (4), and Nelly (6). I
don’t know why, but I adored those statues, they were very domesticated. And then there was this practically to
scale doll house version of Mount Vernon. That thing was amazing and it MOVED.
When we first went over there we circled the (huge) doll house and saw the
house’s outside walls and then the back wall just came DOWN. It showed the
perfect to scale miniature of the house we were about to see. My mom loves doll
houses, and my grandma used to make them so this was an unexpected delight for
my mom and we stayed there for a while looking at it. I actually remember the
doll house more than the actual mansion. It was worth going there just for that
doll house.
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| One of the paths on the grounds |
We then went on the tour of the actual mansion then.
We couldn’t take any photos inside though and I think that’s why I don’t
remember much of the tour or anything. I am very visual when it comes to trips.
When I go on a tour I tend to remember the story of the thing if I take a
picture of it while it’s being explained but because I was prohibited from
doing so almost everything has left my head. I do remember that the rooms were
very brightly painted, that they were quite small for a mansion so big and that
the beds were tiny because people were smaller then.
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| A breezeway connecting the new and old parts of the mansion. |
I do remember a lot of the grounds though because
not only was I allowed to take pictures, they were also extraordinary.
Everything was very symmetrical, planned out, and just absolutely astounding.
The landscaping was very ordered. According to one of the signs Washington took
the symmetrical organization of English gardens and applied it to the America’s
natural wilderness. He really liked designs to be balanced and I particularly appreciated
this because so do it. But it’s not all straight either there are winding,
curving paths that guide visitors to these ordered places (and of course they
are balanced as well). We didn’t see all the grounds though because there are
like 8,000 acres or something like that. To do Mount Vernon properly one must
take a full day or maybe even two. I mean, this place even has its own forest!
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| The Lower Garden |
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| The top of the tomb. |
We did what we thought was most interesting and
close. We saw the out buildings like the stables, paint cellar, his carriage
house and the necessary. There were a lot of animals there as well because it
is still a farm. We also saw his tomb which I liked. It was a large brick
enclosure with a iron, gated door. It was in a very peaceful place and there
was an air of elegance to it. I wish I would have thought to take a picture in front
of it but alas I did not. I guess that just gives me a reason to go back again.
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| The view from the porch of the river. |
One of the best bits of the grounds was the view from the mansion’s back porch.
It overlooked the Potomac River. There were chairs lined up on the porch for
the visitors and as my parents, G., and Daisy were sitting up there I ran down
the lawn a bit to take a picture of them sitting there. It sums up my trip. My
mom was on her phone (probably sending a picture of the view with a “haha I’m
here, you’re not” to facebook), dad and Daisy were looking very confused at
what I was doing, and poor G. looked exhausted and amused.
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| One of Martha's exhibits in the museum. |
There was a fabulous museum about Washington as well
on the grounds. Washington was such an amazing man, not just as the first
President, which in itself took a heck of a lot of guts (he set the precedent for
every single person who takes the job after him). He also had a good sense of humor
and humility. I am pleased that his home has remained for future generations to
see it. The museum was quite complete too, with wax figures of him doing the
most memorable things such as being the General of the Continental Army and
being sworn in as President. They had a lot of paintings and artifacts. They
also had a good collection of Martha Washington’s things as well because, of
course, Mount Vernon was her home, too, including one of her dresses.
One of the most memorable bits of this visit had
nothing to do with Washington. At lunch (which was kind of cafeteria style) we
had picked our food and then we went to pay for it. Dad went to pay for the
bill for all of us (me, dad, mom, G., and Daisy’s) but G. was 3 steps ahead and had already bought ours. I think that’s when dad decided that a) G. was not an ax murderer
and b) he started a war of paying for things. For the rest of my trip, dad and
G. were trying to race each other to cash registers. It was pretty hilarious for us girls to watch.
Needless to say I could probably talk about just the
grounds of Mount Vernon for a long time. There was so much to see in just the
tiny bit we did. I would love to spend a week there and just explore. Maybe one
day I will.
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