I had heard from an acquaintance that Mt. Vernon was a neat place to visit, so it was on my agenda to visit there.  Mt. Vernon is George Washington’s home that has been preserved and can be toured.  It is in Virginia, a thirty minute drive from D.C.

I was told that some people spend an entire day there, but I couldn’t imagine what you would do for that long of time, unless you were spending time in the gift shop.  I was in for a surprise.

The starting point of the tour is a film about our founding father, George Washington.  This was nice because it set the purpose and tone of who he is and why he is important.

We began our tour with a walk through the mansion of George and Martha Washington.  It has been preserved in its originality, including most of the furniture and all of the paintings within the home.  Unlike the White House tour, this one was spectacular. To think that George Washington picked each of these paintings out that were on his walls, and to imagine that he once sat on these chairs, walked on the same wood floor, and ate at this table.  There was so much ambience and charm that you could imagine quite easily the presence of George and Martha Washington’s blessed life in this home 200 years ago. My favorite part of this mansion was the butler’s pantry – I’ve always loved those.

We even toured the basement of this historic home – it has only recently been opened to public viewing because of the movie, National Treasure II. Have you seen this movie starring Nicholas Cage?  A segment of this movie was filmed on the lawn of Mt. Vernon, and a main suspense part in the movie was filmed in the basement.  

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After exiting the mansion there is a series of structures we viewed; slave quarters, the laundry room; the smoke house; the stables (my favorite).  As we meandered down this brick paved road, it led us to the original tomb of George Washington.  He was later moved (in the 1800’s) to a different location, to which we followed the pavers and viewed his coffin laid in an open brick tomb, enclosed by wrought iron gates.

George Washington was quite the horticulturist.  He was always planting new exotic seeds and his gardens were extensive.  I would have loved to have spent a day just meandering through his gardens, but it was a cold and rainy day.

Towards the end of our day, we entered into the educational building, not having a clue as to what would be in there.  There is a museum filled with personal items owned by George and Martha – their china, special dishes, his sword, his Bible, and hundreds of other personal items.

The other part of this educational building was a remarkable maize that you follow and learn step by step the life of George Washington.  There are several films (short in length, on the average of 15 minutes) that portray different aspects of his life.  The most interesting one was about the crossing of the Delaware.  This was top notch film making at its best – including chairs that rumbled and shook when canons were shot and ‘real’ snow that fell all over the darkened theater when they crossed the Delaware on Christmas Eve night.

I learned a lot of interesting facts that I previously had no clue about George Washington.  Did you know that George Washington died within a few days from catching a simple cold?  His cold led into some kind of bacterial infection that swelled his throat and suffocated him.  He was 67 years old, and in perfect health until that fateful cold.  When the doctors tried to treat him, they bled him, as the custom was in those days.  They thought that when one got sick that they had a problem with their blood, so they would bleed the afflicted one. 

This is one of the best educational centers I have ever seen.  You could spend hours reading everything and watching the films.  Perhaps you could spend a day just in this part.  There were some that did not get to finish purveying all that was available, as the day had gone by quickly and we had dinner reservations at 5:00 p.m. in the Mt. Vernon Inn. I would love to go back and spend an entire half of a day just in this room alone and the other half in the gardens. There is also a  boat trip you can take on the Potamac River (Mt. Vernon is perched on a hill that overlooks this river).  I'd love to do that, too.

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I love restaurants with an ambience atmosphere - and Mt. Vernon Inn fits that description perfectly.  This too, was something I had looked forward to when planning this day.  Our family  enjoyed our time together over dinner. The food was terrific - especially the peanut and chestnut soup!

When we left Mt. Vernon, we were all the more educated on the life of George Washington.  But it didn’t just strike our intellect.  It filled our soul with a respect and awe for this man in a way none of us had ever experienced.  He was a great leader that God chose in His sovereignty to found our country.  We were filled with a greater appreciation of how our country won its independence.  It is a 3-D history class that is unforgettable.