Thursday, May 18, 2017

5/17-5/18 Hello George and on to National Harbor

Wednesday 5/17,  we continued up the Potomac to Mt. Vernon.  We passed the Dahlgren Navy Proving Ground.  We heard booms,  There were Navy boats out in the Potomac making sure we were not in harms way.  We passed a staging area for buoys, it looked like Christmas.

We made our way to Mt. Vernon.  We anchored in front of George and Martha's home.
It is all very pretty and looks like it would have back in George's time.  We dinghied in to check out our plan for Thurday.  The temperatures had gotten up into the 90's for the first time this season.  But as night fell a nice breeze came up and it was good for sleeping.

Thursday 5/18,  we headed into the dock with the dinghy.  We were touring Mt. Vernon with all sorts of 8th graders from around the country.  They were very entertained by this gentlemen who was playing both the fife and drum. 
The grounds were huge.  It was clear that Washington was wealthy but that slavery built that wealth.  As a gentleman farmer, Washington had 7 year plans for rotating the crops in each field.  He owned oxen for plowing, and sheep, chickens, horses, etc.  The menus included fish, crabs and oysters from the Potomac.   The kitchen was very large and had root cellars in the same building. 
The estate was self sufficient.

The mansion was very ornate.  The rooms were painted colonial blue and green.


The attention to detail was evident.  Washington wrote plans for all the work.  One writing included the design of this ceiling. 
This fireplace mantel was so ornate, the inset looked like everything you find on the estate.

The original furniture has been kept in the mansion.  I particularly liked Washington's desk. 
In his will, Washington outlined a plan for the tomb on the estate that became the final resting place of George and Martha.

The back of the house overlooked the Potomac and the Hydrophilic. 
We walked back down the hill to the dock, raised the anchor and headed for National Harbor.  We settled in and while John rested, I went for a mani/pedi. 

After a nice dinner of a shared Caesar salad and a shared pizza, we walked back to the boat.  John commented that he had seen a wifi for a boat call Terraphobic.  I remembered that when we were in Pensacola, FL, there was a boat by that same name.  The dockmaster in Pensacola told me that the liveaboard was a Blue Angel.  I walked over to the next dock and sure enough, the boat name included a Blue Angel plane.
I knocked on the boat and Ryan, the owner came out.  He has completed his tour as a Blue Angel pilot and has been assigned to job on Capitol Hill.  He brought his boat up here.  I thanked him for his service.  Here is Ryan on his boat, the Terraphobic.

Tomorrow is a down day as we prepare for the family joining us on Saturday.

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