Day 142: Bull Run, VA to Cherry Hill, MD

This morning started with a bang, or a Seamus scream to be exact. He woke early in the morning and went outside of the trailer to go to the bathroom when he was unexpectedly met by an equally surprised opossum. They both scared the heebie-jeebies out of each other and Seamus returned to the trailer as white as a sheet. We have concluded that opossums are extremely creepy looking and we are glad that they are not native to Ottawa.

We spent today with two very important people - George Washington (renowned military captain in the American Revolution and first President of the United States of America) and Grandma Cora! She flew in from Toronto this morning to join us in touring Washington DC.

It was a bit of a rainy morning but it cleared up by the time we arrived at Mount Vernon.

We arrived at opening this morning.

Mount Vernon was George Washington’s plantation. This was his home, which he managed when he was not off fighting military campaigns or acting as President. We toured the grounds, mansion interior, gardens and museum. It was run using enslaved labour like the other plantations we visited in the South but was seemingly successful at weathering the Civil War and making the transition required afterwards. Many (though not all) of the buildings, furnishings, decorations and gardens are original.

The big house at Mansion House Farm. Washington owned 8,000 acres of land and multiple working farms (plantations). He also owned over 100 enslaved people and was responsible for an additional 100 slaves after the death of his wife’s first husband.

The formal dining room.

The parlor.

The key to the Bastille. This was Washington’s most prized possession. It was a gift sent over from Paris by the Marquis de Lafayette in March 1790 as a symbol of freedom and the overthrow of the French monarchy after the storming of the Bastille.

Each bedroom was gorgeous. They were elaborately decorated with matching wallpaper and linens. This one was the most stunning.

This one was my favourite.

This was Washington’s bed where he died of a throat infection involving a swollen epiglottis.

Heading down the private stairs to Washington’s study.

Washington’s desk.

The mansion’s kitchen was located off to the side of the main house to reduce fire risk. Washington loved new technology and had a chicken rotisserie connected to a fan that turned it automatically.

The view from the back deck where Washington and any visiting guests would take afternoon tea. Washington thought that this was the best view in all of America.

The ornamental gardens. They had a heated greenhouse and grew citrus, coconuts and palm trees.

Women slaves’ quarters.

Slave overseer’s quarters.

We returned to the camper for lunch to see this kind note taped to our window. Unexpected but it gives us hope that things will return to normal eventually. 

Our afternoon was occupied with learning more things about the great George Washington.

We watched the absolute coolest 4D movie about Washington’s role in the American Revolution.

It was completely unexpected and ended up being the best movie we have seen all trip - it snowed! We HIGHLY recommend. The battle scenes were so clearly illustrated we could follow the story exactly as it happened.

A model of Washington atop his horse.

Washington wore dentures. They weren’t wood but rather a combination of human (slave) and animal (horse and cow) teeth and rhino ivory. These all discoloured over time to be the colour of wood. These are his actual dentures. Yikes!

Cannons are heavy! It took all of us working together to move it.

The kitchen garden.

The horse stables.

The storeroom.

We did a guided tour led by Washington’s enslaved valet turned plantation’s cobbler. He told us about life through his eyes. He was a bit of an odd character but we enjoyed the tour.

The greenhouse.

We watched a real blacksmith at work making replacement parts for the plantation’s ironworks.

This was the boys’ favourite part of the day. They peppered the blacksmith with all sorts of questions and watched him for a long time.

The US Constitution.

A copy of the Declaration of Independence.

After we (mostly Alistair) were done at Mount Vernon (we saw probably about half of the things there were to see but Ali was toast by 3pm), so we headed off to our campground. We drove through Maryland, then DC, then back to Maryland, before ending up at Cherry Hill Park Campground. We set up, had dinner, and the boys played a round of mini putt before it was time for bed.

Grandma Cora is staying in a yurt.

We are parked at a campsite nearby.

Tomorrow we are headed into DC to visit the National Mall.