Can you believe this weather? It's hard to believe a week ago, while Sister V. and I walked around Mount Vernon, it was actually snowing! (Wimpy Virginia snow, but snow nonetheless. This year, I have to take what I can get!)
Because Sister V. had to make the two o'clock train, we only had a morning to spend walking around George Washington's estate, but you could definitely spend the whole day there. (And once things warm up even more and their extensive gardens are in gear, I'm hoping I can!) We watched the brief intro movie - starring Pat Sajak, of all people - and then hightailed to the manor for our house tour.
I can easily see how mobbed the place must get in the warmer months - they have a "Tour Waiting Line" that stretches hundreds of feet away from the house - but we had the place to ourselves and entered the building almost immediately. The house was interesting, although I'll admit most of its glamor comes from the fact that is was the Washington's home. Architecture-wise, it's hard to compare it to Monticello or some of its other contemporaries. But I think that really speaks to the personality differences between Washington and Jefferson, which is a whole 'nother discussion in itself. (I will spare you for now. ;)
After the house tour, Sister V. and I walked to Washington's tomb and around some of the outlying buildings, before taking the National Treasure 2 Tour. I totally forgot that part of the movie was filmed there (and still can't really remember because I'm waiting for someone to return it to the library so I can rewatch it ;), but they let us walk through the cellar of the main house to look at the "vault." The basement isn't included on the main tour, so that was kind of neat. You can see some of the scenes really briefly in the trailer when Nicolas Cage is talking to the president underground, right before the Secret Service tries to break in:
Another thing I found really interesting about Mount Vernon is that, unlike a lot of memorials and monuments, it's not run by the Park Service. It's privately owned and managed and has been since 1853, which makes it the oldest national historic preservation organization in the country. Back in the day, the mother of a woman named Ann Pamela Cunningham sailed past Mount Vernon and was aghast at its condition: "I was painfully distressed at the ruin and desolation of the home of Washington, and the thought passed through my mind: Why was it that the women of his country did not try to keep it in repair, if the men could not do it? It does seem such a blot on our country.” She wrote to her daughter, who consequently started the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. They raised money, purchased the estate, and have maintained it ever since without taxpayer money or public grants. I admire their financial independence. That's pretty sweet.
It was a rushed morning, but a fun one, regardless. All the volunteers are really enthusiastic and helpful, and you may even see one or two dressed in period costume! (Side Note: I now believe all men should greet two or more women with, "Good morning, Ladies." Dreamy! :) They have an entire museum that we didn't even have time to see, so I'll definitely be back. Me and a million other tourists. :)
Have you ever been to Mount Vernon? Monticello? Which was your favorite?
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