We arrived at the home of George Washington -- "Mount Vernon" by mid-afternoon. Although not as meticulous or cultivated as Monticello, it has a charm all its own and is quite expansive as a colonial plantation.
The Washington's home sits on a hill overlooking the Potomac River. The last time I was here, this view was dotted with bald eagles flying over the lawn (seriously, how much more patriotic can it get??). We enjoyed a tour of the home with its 2 parlors, two dining rooms, 8 guest rooms, private bedroom suite, and expansive study. Interestingly, Mr. Washington was quite fond of the color green (said it "soothed him") -- and we're not talking about sage green here. Nearly every formal room was a bold green of some shade. :-)
Again, the architecture was beautiful -- particularly these "porches" leading on either side of the house to the servants quarters and the kitchens (which were never in the house itself for the wealthy of colonial days). 
There was a lot of walking -- mostly down or up steep hills. Along the way we enjoyed seeing some native birds to the East coast -- such as this blue jay.
Along side each brick or gravel pathway are small river rock gutter ways for the rain to flow down. There must be miles of this laid. 
The inscription is above the large tomb of George and Martha Washington. It's amazing to think you can stand right next to this monument.
Again, you must bear with me as I show you some of the gardens. Mr. Washington preferred to have his gardeners keep a more natural feel to the landscape; thus, there are only a few formal gardens (with more weeds than I could bear to look at I'm afraid -- you'd be proud of me though -- I restrained myself from digging in to the job :-).
One of the many farms the Washington's owned on their 5,000 acres was this one which housed an innovative round threshing barn surrounded by gardens of wheat and vegetables. Unfortunately, there were GOBS of high school students here at the time we were, dropped off by several tour buses -- must be senior trips or something. Anyway, they were more interested in each other than they were in grasping any significant history, but they were also very loud and generally dulled our experience somewhat :-(We're on our way "home" to Bel Air for the evening! Blessings all.
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