MOUNT VERNON - GEORGE WASHINGTON'S HOME

This morning off we went to Mount Vernon, 

the home of George Washington. 

There had been a condensed movie on Washington's military and political life near the museum, which also showed how he had met Martha.  Gregg took a photo of us with George, Martha and their grandchildren.  These are statues that show their actual height.

We had a very leisurely walk along a path shaded by large trees.  Gregg had gotten us tickets for an 11.45 a.m. showing around the house.  

He must have been very hot in that outfit even in the shade, but I thought he looked great.

We actually took a shortened walk around the house, first floor only.  There is air-conditioning of a sorts but there were so many people making their way through the house.  We decided to do the ground floor only.  I remembered how steep the steps were coming down and there looked like there was a person on each step. It seemed way too much of a crush.  Instead we were very happy to sit outside on the veranda.

By this time there was actually a nice breeze cooling us off, just a little.

This link will take you to a very nice website that shows you what the inside of Mount Vernon looks like.  As a matter of interest, in the central hall you will find the Key to the Bastille, given to George Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette in 1790.  This was after the destruction of this infamous prison in Paris.  As today is actually Bastille Day, I thought our French blogging friends might be interested. To see this key you need to scroll down the page a bit.

You cannot take photos inside the house but I remember one of the staff telling me that I could take them in the kitchen.  

Now this is a memory from our last visit, and I am hoping they didn't change the rules.  There was no one in this room to say no.

It was a very nice visit indeed.

When we were finished looking at the house, we made our way back to the Mount Vernon Inn Tavern for lunch.  We separated briefly at this point, as I had wanted to make a quick stop in the garden (photos at a later date), while Bill and Gregg made their way back to the museum.  They had wanted to take a look around and I was eager to look at the garden.  On the far side you can see the greenhouse but it was locked.  Just as well really as this was supposed to be a short stop.

This is the room where we sat waiting for our table at the tavern.  It took about 20 minutes to be seated.  Full of pretty paintings and elegant, comfortable seating.

We were shown a table in one of the larger dining areas.

I always enjoy the colonial style murals on the walls.

Bill enjoyed his fish of the day meal. 

I had a fried green tomato-avocado sandwich, with home-made potato chips and a side of potato salad.  (I had to take half the sandwich home and all of the potato salad.  We had ordered a cup of peanut and chestnut soup for a starter, and also the cornbread which I remembered being really excellent.  Bill ordered a vegetable soup/soup of the day.  No photos of any of these.)

Gregg ordered a grilled grouper sandwich with coleslaw.

The food was yummy and the staff were friendly, a delightful experience for the three of us.

We decided not to go anywhere else after Mount Vernon, and went straight home.  It was about 3.00 p.m.  Later Gregg took Bill out as he needed to pick up a couple of items for traveling.  We only have one day left before he leaves, and that makes me a little sad.