Mount Vernon

Hi Blog.  It's Kathy.  I know, Dave usually posts, but I'm taking a turn. Today we visited Mount Vernon.  We wanted to start early so we had time after our tour to bicycle from Mount Vernon into Alexandria for lunch.  There is a bike trail that runs along the Potomac River all the way from Mount Vernon, through Alexandria, to DC.  It was a beautiful sunny day.  Little did we know that Wednesday, March 7, 2012, was the day all the school field trips were scheduled.  When we arrived at 8:45 a.m., there was already a line to get in.  We later learned they were expecting 700 school children. The buses just kept coming.  Once we entered, a very nice docent advised us to skip the intro video the kids were lining up for and go right to the Mansion for the tour.  Best advice we ever received.  It was great. We were the first folks to go through - just to the two of us. Each room has its own docent that goes over the contents.  About halfway through the Mansion, you could hear the kids coming. Dave and I just finish the last room, when the kids caught up to us.  The grounds are large and Washington's tomb is not far from the Mansion.  We ran into another really nice docent, who ask if we wanted to participate in the wreath laying ceremony, which they only do on special occasions like for visiting foreign dignitaries and Washington's Birthday and the invasion of 700 school children. They open the gate around the tomb and place a wreath between George and Martha's tombs.  Here is the prayer that I was asked to read aloud to the group watching.

It was very cool.  We had to sign a register and everything.  We felt like visiting dignitaries!  Dave took this picture just after the ceremony.

After the tour, we met up with a fellow AMC member, David and his two college age kids, Zach and Gabby.  They rode with us into Alexandria pointing out all the landmarks and giving us great ideas for lunch. They continued onto DC, while we stopped for lunch. Gabby spoke highly of the restaurant where she works, Virtue Feed & Grain - 20 beers on tap and twice as many bottles.  That's all we needed to hear.  It was a very cool place, an old converted warehouse that use to store, you guessed it, feed and grain. The beers were great and the food even better.  We had no problem burning off the beer on the ride back.  They don't call it "Mount" Vernon for nothing.  Got to go.  We have to get up really early to babysit our grandson while his Mom takes driving lessons.

Chat at you later,

Kathy