Saturday,
August 31 – After dropping Sandy off at the airport, I wanted to make a quick
visit to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, since I hadn’t been there
since I was a kid, and it was a nice complement to our American History tour
stops at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and Colonial Williamsburg. Plus, it’s only 15 miles from National
Airport.
After watching
the introductory video in the Visitor’s Center, my first thought when I saw the
house was, “It is beige!” In every
picture I’ve ever seen of Mount Vernon, it was white (including postcards and
in the video at the Vistor’s Center). I obviously
had to get to the bottom of this. I
learned that the exterior of the house is not just regular paint. It is “rusticated.”
The house is all wood, but the exterior
façade was made to look like stone by chiseling wood to look like large bricks,
and then coating it with sand. The house
has been restored to be in the form it was in in 1799, the year that Washington
died. They learned a couple of years ago
that Washington had it rusticated using sand from a quarry nearby (which was
free), instead of buying bleached sand.
This sand had a beige tone, which leads the experts to believe that
Washington had it rusticated in this color at one point, rather than
white. The tour guide also said that
they believe the rustication has helped preserve the wood façade over the many
years.
It’s also
interesting to visit a place like this by yourself, since most everyone is
there in groups. It’s kinda fun, since
you can wander and linger as long as you want.
I also found that people find it easy to ask someone who is alone to
take their picture for them. I was happy
to do so, but then asked them to reciprocate.
It’s a great way to meet people!
My last stop before heading out to DC was George and Martha Washington's tomb, which is in a nice spot below the estate and fields.
Saturday, August 31 - After 10 days on the road -- 10 days that went by way too fast -- I dropped Sandy off at Reagan Washington National Airport to catch her flight. It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate in the car over the course of 10 days, so we're always strategizing on how to slim our possessions and food down as we get close to the end. The leftovers usually involved food, drink and the cooler. I decided to spend one more night in DC in order to see a few more sights and see some friends, so I was going to hang onto the cooler for one more night. However, we had a half of a case of Diet Sierra Mist in the trunk. So, when we were at the gas station right outside the airport, I said to Sandy, "let's see if this nice lady at the next pump is interested in some pop." It can be a little awkward saying, "Hi, would you like some Diet Sierra Mist?" She smiled and said, "I don't drink it, but I'm on my way to a party, and I'm sure that they'd love to have it!" Jackpot! It's always great to see our extra stuff get some good use!
Saturday,
August 31 – Sandy also has some family right along our route this year. Her mom’s cousin Ann and some of her family
lives just outside of DC, so we stopped to meet them for a quick lunch before
Sandy had to get to the airport to catch her flight home. We first met Ann at her house, and then met
her daughter Marcia and her husband Greg at a restaurant nearby for lunch. It was so great to see them – thanks for a great lunch!
Friday, August
30 – After all of the running around on this super hot and sticky afternoon, we
were ready for some refreshment at the Kings Arms Tavern. We learned that you never really knew what
you were going to be served at a tavern in the 18th century, and it
wasn’t always good. Our server 
Friday, August 30 - Because we arrived in the afternoon, we did a 2-hour blitz hitting the highlights around town before things begin to close down at 5pm, which included a tour of the Governor's Palace, the Capitol and a review of the troops with a fife and drum band in Market Square.
