We started with a tour of his mansion. We saw the bedroom where he died rather suddenly of a throat infection and in his study was the very chest he used to carry his belongings throughout the Revolutionary War. We even saw his dentures.
No photography is allowed in the mansion, but this internet picture shows the "new room", which the Washington's used to entertain. Mt. Vernon underwent many expansions during Washington's life and he called this the "new room" because it was one such addition. It makes up the left wing of the house. Green paint, we learned, was exceptionally expensive in those days, so these brightly colored walls are a sign of his wealth.
The back side of the house has a stunning view of the Potomac River.
Washington had over 300 slaves. I thought it quite sobering to view their living quarters. We saw Washington's vast farmland and gardens and outbuildings where his slaves would've labored from sunup to sundown. Also on the estate is a slave cemetery.
One of Washington's carriage houses:
Lush green grass in every direction:
We paid our respects at the tomb of George and Martha:
Included in the Mount Vernon experience is an outstanding museum and educational center. It's exceptionally well done, with forensically reconstructed wax figures depicting Washington at three stages of his life. The center also shows three fantastic movies, one of which was a multimedia experience; two screens, one smaller and circular in shape, are used to tell the story of the Revolutionary War. Fog surrounds the screens when Washington and his Continental Army cross the Delaware River in the middle of the night, and snow falls inside the theater when they are at Valley Forge.
When all was said and done, we'd spent four hours exploring George's estate.
Just up the way a few miles, toward Washington D.C., is Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. This would've been the nearest town to Washington's home and it was here that he attended church regularly. It's a beautiful, historic place with lots of modern shops.
We're used to seeing Starbucks on every corner, but they don't usually have such a colonial flair.
We planned to stop at Pops Old Fashioned Ice Cream Company for a treat.
When we saw a free trolley come by, we decided to hop on.
We rode the trolley several blocks and got off at Christ Church, where George Washington's box pew is still marked by a metal plate with his signature.
A sweet older lady had us sit in his pew while she shared facts of the church. I assumed the doors on the box pews were used to keep children from running around the chapel and thought that we in our church should adopt that practice. We learned, however, that these box pews were used to give families privacy to worship "according to the dictates of their own conscience." People had come to America for religious freedom and there were differences in how they each worshipped. So interesting!
Then it was time to turn our attention to our 16th president.
First we visited the Peterson House, across the street from Ford's Theatre, where Lincoln was taken after he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. We saw the room where he died and then made our way through exhibits also in the building.
We then were admitted to the Lincoln museum that is in the basement of the theatre before seeing a short two-man play about the events of that fateful day. The picture below shows the stage and the box seats on the right, where Lincoln was sitting. The play, told from the perspective of the theatre owner and lead actor of the play Lincoln had been viewing that day, was very well done.
Our next stop was the National Museum of American History. It was near closing time, so we didn't get to see nearly as much as we would've liked, but we found the sunstone from the Nauvoo temple and the museum's most significant artifact, the original Star-spangled Banner.
Of course no photography is allowed, but it looks like this:
It is said that General George Armistead ordered a flag so large "that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance." Mary Pickersgill (not Besty Ross) sewed the enormous 42' x 30' flag. Though it has deteriorated over the years, the flag has been painstakingly preserved. What a special experience to visit Ft. McHenry and then view the very flag that flew there and inspired our national anthem!
When we were kicked out of the museum at closing we decided to walk to the Washington Monument for a close-up look.
It had been an overcast day, but just as the sun was setting, the clouds parted on the horizon and cast an exquisite golden light on the National Mall.
We had to walk the long way to visit Abe. The area nearest the reflection pool was fenced off in preparation of Independence Day.
Look at this gorgeous sunset:
On our way to the Lincoln Memorial, we snapped this picture of the White House. It would be as close as we would get to it during our D.C. stay. More on that later.
It's hard to really appreciate the grandeur of this memorial until you are standing before it.
One of the president's hands is clenched to symbolize his strength and determination, the other relaxed hand is representative of his warm, compassionate nature.
Lys and I decided to break out the selfie stick. Everyone else was doing it. But then this best-ever photo bomb happened:
I mean, really. We were trying to get the Washington Monument in the background, but at the last second, this boy who even appears to be mimicking the shape of the very object we were trying to capture, popped up in its place.
So we tried again.
The sun was setting and we were famished, having not eaten a meal since breakfast. We made the long walk back to our car by way of the Vietnam Memorial. By the time we were seated at District of Pi Pizzeria (voted by the family as our favorite meal of the week) is was 10:00 p.m.
Though I hate to pick favorites, of all our days in D.C. this one was it.
