Tuesday, June 5, 2018: Christine left shortly after awakening for her drive back to Philadelphia. I was a little slower moving. But then I usually am.

I headed out shortly after 10:30 to drive to Mount Vernon, about 30 miles away. I had expected to pay tolls driving around the area this week but so far, Google maps did not take me on any toll roads. Not sure if it is just where I was going or whether it was purposely avoiding them. Anyway, traffic wasn’t too bad.

There did seem to be an issue with the cruise control. I had used it a couple other times but it would seem to stop working. I realized on this drive that it must have some ‘smart’ car function to keep a distance between cars. Before discovering this, I kept increasing it until it got to 70 mph, but I was going under 60. That is when I realized what was going on. That function could be good or bad in my opinion.

As I pulled up to the estate, there were at least a dozen large tour buses along the side of the road and the parking lots were very full. I found a spot and walked back to the main entrance, paid my fee, and went into the orientation area. There was a 20 minute or so film starting with a quick guide to the grounds, then a historical film about GW.

After it was over, I headed toward the home and outbuildings around it. I had a ticket to tour the home but it wasn’t for a couple of hours so I wandered around the surrounding area.

George Washington’s home, Mount VernonThis building has the greenhouse on this side and the back side had slave quarters and a room where a fire was kept going to heat the greenhouse. A slave had to sleep in there to keep the fire stoked all night during the cold months.Part of the beautiful gardens. There was what appeared to be a grapefruit tree at one point that had a few fruit on it and I thought it was funny no one picked them. Then I noticed they had written on them in black marker, Property of General Washington. I also saw limes on another tree.Slave quartersI liked the spinning house because of my interest in fabrics and other handwork.

The line for touring the house was extremely long and by this time it was 89 degrees and getting humid. I was getting hungry and figured it would end up taking me at least 1 1/2 hours to stand in line then do the tour. Plus, it would be rush hour by that time. So, maybe next time.

I did go through the museum. It was interesting because the focus was more on the enslaved people that worked closely with the family, like the valet, cook, and some of the personal maids, etc.

GW had changing views on slavery during his lifetime and freed the slaves he owned in his will but only after Martha died. He owned just over a third of the slaves on the estate. The rest belonged to Martha from her first husband’s estate. Upon her death they reverted to her first husband’s family.

After leaving, I headed to a restaurant I had seen when looking for a place for Sunday night, Copperwood Tavern. It was just around the corner from Uncle Julio’s where we ate then. On the way to Mount Vernon I was not taken on any toll roads. On the way back, I ended up on two. Not sure how that happened or if the tolls only go away from DC. Weird.

It was late for lunch so the restaurant was not very busy. I ordered something I have not had in years – fried green tomatoes. They were excellent. Very crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I also got some oysters. They were good but not any better than our west coast oysters. They also gave me a basket of popcorn when I was seated that was dusted with a BBQ rub! It was good!

Fried Green TomatoesRappahannock Oysters

I returned to the hotel and relaxed in my room for a few hours, then went downstairs for a drink. I also got a grilled cheese and tomato soup dinner. It was actually very good. The Bistro at the hotel is not really a full service restaurant but they have what I assume are pre-made meals that are heated, toasted, and garnished right there. I have had avocado toast, a breakfast sandwich and the yogurt and granola options but this was the first ‘dinner’ I had.

I checked with the front desk and was able to get a late check out for Wednesday. They have a guest laundry with a washer and dryer and I wanted to be able to do laundry before heading to Europe. I have soap for sink laundry but I had a lightweight hoodie and shirt that got food on them and, of course, a weeks worth of underwear.

I had hoped to be able to arrange dinner with Bill but that didn’t work for him. He suggested lunch, but I would have had to check out early and drive back into DC or figure out a train and parking. And since my flight isn’t until 10:30, I would have to find something to do. Now, I can check out at 4:00, get dinner, then return the car and go to the airport. I am flying Lufthansa and they have a lounge at Dulles, so I can wait in a little bit of comfort for my flight. Guess I will have to return and see him and Helen again and do some more tourist things.

So, my next post probably won’t be until sometime on Friday as I don’t get into Venice until around 4:00 pm their time on Thursday.