HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - FAVORITE PHOTO

 

I loved the side-eye on this beauty! This is one of two oxen we saw at Mount Vernon in 2016.  

What do you think he is saying?

Have a wonderful Sunday and thank you for visiting.  

LUNCH AT MOUNT VERNON INN AND RESTAURANT - 8-20-24

We had a very nice lunch out the other day. As a special treat and because I had been cooped up for a while because of my sprained knee, and was feeling a bit housebound, Gregg asked me where would I like to go? I suggested Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant. We had not been there for a long time. You can see another visit on this page. I see many familiar names in the comment section there, so you may remember that particular post. Hopefully it has been long enough that you will enjoy it again. 

The windows on the left of the picture are on one side of the gift shop area. On the right is the entrance to the tavern where you can see the table and chairs outside. You can access the restaurant from the gift shop also. The main entrance is on the left out of frame.

The view from our table window.  We reserved a table in the side room as I like looking out the window. The yellow roof is a bus waiting to pick up passengers.

This gentleman came by and played his flute for us. He asked if anyone had a birthday but we came at a quiet time and no one put their hand up. He was excellent and it was like stepping back in time with the tune he played, which I didn't recognize only that it sounded very colonial. I would love to see him perform around the estate.

I found an excellent article telling us all about him at this link. He has quite an interesting history and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

We had a very nice meal.

Gregg ordered a steak salad which was grilled marinated flank steak served on a bed of arugula with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, goat cheese crumbles, fried onions straws and chimichurri dressing.

I had the pan-fried trout, which was house seasoned topped with lemon-caper butter and underneath, hard to see, was succotash. I don't remember being a fan of succotash, but this was very tasty and enjoyable. It was very rich - I usually go for the grilled trout - but delicious. 

Fortunately, I was able to share some with Gregg.

We also had a peanut soup to start off with but forgot to take a photo. I have tried to replicate it at home but haven't come up with a better recipe than this one. They also have the best bread pudding. Gregg is not a fan but I took a portion home and had it for tea. We certainly didn't need to have a meal after this.

These flowers were out front and while waiting for Gregg to park the car I took a few photos. The yellow ones are called Cucumber Leaf Sunflower. The purple ones are Mealy Cup Sage.

There was another bush with flowers outside our restaurant window. I didn't identify it but we saw a few skippers and bees, and I am 99 percent certain I saw a hummingbird moth briefly as it flittered out of sight a few seconds later. No photos of these unfortunately. My cell phone would not have been able to get close enough. These pretty leaved bushes lined the whole front of the entrance area. 

~ Coleus ~

Unfortunately, my sprained knee is still giving me problems, so I wasn't able to look around the gift shop this time. I bit off a little more than I could chew this day, but I was eager to get out. Next time I think it will just be a car ride, at least until my next doctor appointment. Hopefully by then it will be much better. I have a lot of things I need to do but am still effectively hobbled. Still, I am certainly not moaning as I know there are those out there who are a lot worse off, and my heart goes out to what you've gone through and are going through.

Thanks for looking everyone and I hope your day is great.

MOUNT VERNON - GEORGE WASHINGTON’S HOME

An old blog post which I hope you don’t mind me revisiting.  I haven’t had a chance to take any nature photos since our last walk.  Yesterday was Thanksgiving here.  For those of you who were celebrating, I hope your day was wonderful.  To all those who had a regular day, I hope your day was wonderful too.  

Since we have lived in this area we have visited George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, on several occasions. Usually this is where we take family and friends who have been visiting at the time.  My first photos show the likeness of General Washington, and below these I have included several of his quotes.

Depending on the time of the year, the lines can be very long and our guests on occasion, understandably so, do not want to wait the two hours it might take to get inside the house.  This has often been in the height of the summer when it is very hot and humid. However, the walk around the grounds alone is well worth the visit and they have a lovely garden. And the Fall is a great time to go for less crowds, and also reasonable weather, especially in October.

The two photos above and below were taken in the museum.  The one below is a larger than life hologram that greets you.

Quotes attributed to George Washington.

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.

Knowledge is, in every country, the surest basis of public happiness.

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.

The best means of forming a manly, virtuous, and happy people will be found in the right education of youth. Without this foundation, every other means, in my opinion, must fail.

There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily.

We must take human nature as we find it. Perfection falls not to the share of mortals.

In the visitors center there is an amazing stained glass of various scenes from George Washington's life, close-ups of some below.  It was so big we found it difficult to get it all into frame.

If you ever get to visit I would say plan on a lot of walking, and make sure you are wearing very comfortable shoes. Also, take along a backpack with bottles of water.  I saw several people do this including one person who had his own 'camel-back'.  If you are a serious hiker you will know what it is, if you are like me and didn't/don't, you can see what they look like here.  I got a lot of great tips at Tripadvisor here from people who had already visited.  Scroll down to where you see the other reviews button.  There is an extraordinary number of them, but reading the first few should give you an idea. 

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

MOUNT VERNON''S UPPER GARDEN - PART 2

I am sharing the last of the photos I took at the Upper Garden, at least until I get there another time.  No more narrative, just the photos.

MOUNT VERNON''S UPPER GARDEN - PART 1

As you may remember, if you have popped in on a regular basis, we visited Mount Vernon with my distant cousin Bill from New Zealand (story here if you missed how that came about) back in July.  After touring the home of George Washington, Gregg and Bill went to the museum and I went to the garden...

which is beyond the fence.

The building you see below is the Greenhouse.  Unfortunately it was closed that day, but I had a lovely time elsewhere.  At this site you can listen to the director of horticulture tell you some of its history.

There are all kinds of interesting facts about this place here.

These pretty flowers had other visitors besides me.  For the most part I had the place to myself.  Here again it was a very hot day and you know that old Noel Coward line about "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun"?  I suppose that could apply to me as far as flowers and opportunity are concerned.  

I knew I wouldn't be back here for a while and wanted to make the most of it.  I paid attention to how I felt and did a relatively quick tour before joining Gregg and Bill near the museum.  The air-conditioned building was very welcome.

Black-eyed Susans

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the flowers, the coneflowers were abundant.

The orange flower below is a Toad Lily or Blackberry Lily (interesting site here - it highlights several pretty flowers)

I will have more flowers to share from the Upper Garden in a future post.