Excellent photo op at potty stop.
Words by which any President should serve.
Look at this gorgeous carved marble mantle! George and Martha had some good taste.
All the paint colors are historically accurate. Apparently George and Martha loved green, in many hues. This room was quite lovely--the formal receiving room.
Only some of the furniture pieces and paintings were actually owned by the Washingtons--like this mirror. The rest are replicas or are authentic to the period.
This piece of awesomeness: the real-life principle key to the Bastille, a symbolic gift from the Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington (and transported across the sea by Thomas Paine!).
Sitting on the back veranda enjoying the view of the Potomac.
Learning about the history of Mt. Vernon's purchase and restoration was fascinating. It was a local woman who saw the home in disrepair and thought it was a shame--she was far-sighted enough to realize that Americans would want that home in the future, so she gathered a group to help purchase and preserve it. Their Ladies' Society was so intentional about this project that they even bought up all the land on the other side of the river, so they could protect "George Washington's view." And it is a lovely view--I am amazed at those women for their clear vision and how they brought it to fruition.
One of the people the Society eventually got on board was Thomas Edison! He saw to the installation of the first electrical lighting at Mt. Vernon!
Photo of the house when the Society purchased it. This photo does not show the back veranda, which had been rotting away and was supported by repurposed ship's masts!
For lunch we ate at the nice restaurant there at the visitor center. A little pricey, but worth it! We had recipes authentic to that area and time period, such as peanut and water chestnut soup, and hominy made from corn ground in George Washington's grist mill!
George presided over our table with his usual quiet dignity.
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