My cousins were visiting Washington DC, from Michigan along with their 5 children. They invited me to go with them out to see Mount Vernon. These days when you say you are going there, it is necessary to say “George Washingtons’ Mount Vernon”. That is because there is a school called Mount Vernon and shopping centers, housing developments and probably Fire Departments, Hospitals and Churches all using that name. So off we went today to visit George Washingtons’, Mount Vernon.

It was a perfect day. Not too hot, not too cold and semi-cloudy so that we did not get a sunburn. The place is marvelous. The system of getting us in and out of different exhibits is great. We had tickets to go see the main house at 12:50pm so we explored the grounds while we waited. We saw the sheep in a small paddock with their lambs. That was fun. They were gamboling about and saying an occasional “Baaaa!” The extensive outbuildings are wonderful to explore and though there were a lot of people it was never VERY crowded. The people were very polite and well behaved. There was no pushing or shoving. Doors were opened for others, and “excuse me” ,“thank you”and “I am sorry ” were phrases I overheard a lot. We visited with Martha Washington who stayed “in character” no matter what anyone asked. She appeared extremely knowledgeable. The children enjoyed listening to her as much as I did.

It was an overall pleasant experience. The tour of the house was fun too. So many pretty bedrooms and not a great many living areas when you think of the constant entertaining they were responsible for. No wonder they built the New Room. I loved the colors of the rooms with their bright paint. It was fun to imagine staying there and picking a room which might have been mine. I loved the fireplaces and the wallpaper and hangings in the bedrooms.

The New Room which was the last addition to the house is painted a turquoise color that I simply adore. I would love to paint a room that color. And the deep “emerald green” of the dining room was marvelous. It was accented by the deep blue glass of some of the table settings which caught my eye. The mantels were carved elaborately with animals and plants. It was clearly the house of a rich man. It must have been magnificent in the time in which George and Martha lived there. Few people, even rich planters, were able to build anything so elaborate.

Of course it is so well sighted that one can hardly miss finding it spectacular. The river bends and widens as it rounds the bluff on which the house is built. No wonder they kept adding to what was there instead of building somewhere else. It would be hard to find a better placement for a home. It was gorgeous then and it is gorgeous now.

Copyright?. 2019 Bonnie B. Matheson