Up North we go

We drove another 2.5 hours north to Mount Vernon – the home of the first U.S President, George Washington. His home grounds expand to 8000 acres. We toured his mansion which was built in 1754 with a breathtaking view of the Potomac River and wharf, the outbuildings where slaves used to work spinning wool and linen, shoeing horses, curing meat and many other jobs that supplied the services necessary to keep a large plantation running. The walk also took us to a fruit and herb garden and nursery and his tomb. George Washington died in 1799 in the master bedroom.

Lunch was a delicious bowl of thick peanut and chestnut soup at the Mount Vernon Inn. Close your eyes and imagine melted Peanut Butter and chunks of peanut and water chestnuts. Our waitress was a chatty lady dressed in 18th Century costume and our table was in the living room beside the crackling fireplace. Very nice.

As it was past 3pm, we decided not to drive further up north to Washington DC which is just another 15 miles or so because of rush hour traffic. So we headed back to Williamsburg.