On this first Tuesday of the 2022 version of August I drove to Lucy Park for a cool late morning walk in the shade. The temperature was in the 90s. Cooling gusts of wind blew.
If I were up north in my old home zone of Western Washington I would also be sweltering in extreme heat, with most people not having air-conditioning. However, several of the people I know up in Washington do have air-conditioning, including the Tacoma Trio, David, Theo and Ruby, who are currently flying back home after several days of exploring the other Washington.
A couple days ago when I asked Where In D.C. And/Or Surrounding States Are David, Theo & Ruby? we saw a photo of the trio in front of Mount Vernon, the one in Virginia where George Washington when he wasn't fighting Indians, or the British, or living in the White House.
I asked the Tacoma Trio's Mama Michele if they got to tour George's home. In reply I got two illustrative photos and interesting explanatory text, which we shall see below with the two photos...
Yes, we got to go inside and through the first two floors. It was weird to think about George Washington walking up the same stairs, touching the same handrail, etc.
I only took two pics inside - the first room we got in because I thought I could get the fam reflected in the mirror (didn’t work) and one of the last rooms, his study. He built the desk in the middle and the thing hanging down was a fan operated by his feet! The green color of the first room is notable because the color came from copper and signified wealth.
They say the rooms look as they did when he died in 1799. Perhaps the most notable thing to me was that the rooms (bedrooms, parlors, dining rooms) were all quite small, even though the mansion appears grand, and that there were no bathrooms. Most old homes have been retrofitted, but not this one!!
Also interesting was that the exterior is wood made to look like stone, so that it appeared grander and more expensive than it was. They applied sand to the wood to give it the feel of stone!! There were also lots of outbuildings with signs that told you what it was back in the day. And we saw slave quarters, the Washington’s tomb, and the enslaved workers burial area, which was originally unmarked, but people have tried to right that wrong.
To get to George Washington's house we took a Lyft (my first time using a ride service because I like taxis, but there aren’t any at National Harbor) to old town Alexandria and then boarded a boat for Mount Vernon.
________________________
More photos arrived in the email this morning. We shall be seeing those tomorrow...
No comments:
Post a Comment