Mount Vernon
We visited Mount Vernon yesterday. I was all aggravated with myself because I forgot my camera - so no photos. Of course, I got lost getting there (see previous post) but finally managed to get there. Paul said what I needed for my 50th birthday was a GPS system - he wasn't joking.

We finally found it, and it was worth the drive, which included 10 minutes driving, looking for a parking place. This begs the question: surely these attractions have hard numbers on the volume of people who visit - why don't they provide adequate parking? At some point, the parking will limit the number of visitors - it just won't be worth the bother.

But, on to the experience. I'm already a big fan of George Washington, and it was quite interesting to see Mount Vernon. We just didn't have the patience to spend an hour in line, waiting to see the mansion - we thought we'd go again, with Ellen and the gang, and go very early in the day and hope to see the mansion before the buses of tourists arrive. Also, later on in the summer, there ought to be more vegetables, etc., growing in the gardens, and there's a boat tour up and down the Potomac River that would be wonderful. We particularly enjoyed the entrance museum, with a well-produced short movie about George and Martha - and later on, another museum featured a multi-media "experience" complete with snow falling and cannons - hard to describe, but it was very fun.

OK, also, to get there, you drive along the Potomac River for about 15 miles, paralleling a park/jogging trail and lovely homes on the other side. We speculated the homes were populated by government bureaucrats. There is some sort of lovely, lacy blooming tree that punctuates the forest with pink/violet color. It looks like they avoided the cold we had last week.

I had expected it to be more like Fort McHenry - some historic buildings and a little gift shop - run by the Park Service; but this is a private enterprise, complete with people in costumes, a full restaurant and extensive gift shop where, if one were inclined, copies of Martha Washington's table service can be purchased. Pretty awesome.