This was the third time I'd visited Mount Vernon, and truth be told...I could go again. I find the place so fascinating. And it always seems like I never get to spend as much time as I'd like really exploring the whole plantation. Maybe partly to do with the fact that every time I am there it is ridiculously hot? This was a scorcher of a day. The guides at Mount Vernon were cautioning us to stay in the shade as much as possible and drink as much water as we could. They had called an ambulance for people who had collapsed from heat exhaustion three separate times that morning already.
We had water. And some shade umbrellas. We're Utahans who live in a desert...we know how to deal with heat, right? Well, dry heat. This humidity was kicking our trash a bit. But though we were more than a little uncomfortably warm, we excitedly forged on with the tour. I tell you what, George Washington had a pretty sweet set up there on the banks of the Potomac. I certainly wouldn't mind hanging out in my rocking chair on the back porch in the evenings and watch the sun set above the river. Well, you know...when it's not quite as hot.
While the rest of the family retreated to the air conditioned visitor's center, Katie and I made a quick trip down to George and Martha's gravesite to pay our respects.
And then of course we needed to make a quick stop to see the "necessary." When Rachel, Melissa and I visited Mount Vernon years earlier, we laughed pretty hard at the term and then continued to use it throughout the rest of our trip. "Hey, we need to find a 'Necessary' soon...it's starting to become necessary."
We said goodbye to Mount Vernon and continued on to Rachel's home in Richmond. We greeted her husband Spencer, made a big dinner and then started a bunch of laundry while settling in for the night.
The next morning after dropping Rachel's boys at day care, we made our way to Charlotte, VA and Monticello the home of our third president, Thomas Jefferson. (And if you think that the "Hamilton" soundtrack continued on repeat during these day trips you would be exactly right.)
As glorious as Mount Vernon is, I love Monticello even more.
Did you know that the building on the back of a nickel is Monticello? We had a lot of fun with that...
We wandered around the slaves/servants quarters and the gardens. Monticello is full of fascinating inventions that make things in his house run more smoothly. And did you know that after the War of 1812 when the British burned the Capitol Building which housed a 3,000 book library, Jefferson offered up his own very large library of books to Congress to make up for the loss? Jefferson's books were the beginnings of the Library of Congress. Pretty darn awesome, if you ask me.
At Monticello the "Necessary" was referred to as the "Privy" or "air-closets" and I think Jefferson had a better set up going on considering you didn't actually have to go to an separate building outside. I have no idea why we were so interested in this. Maybe equal parts entertained as interested?
After our day trip to Monticello, we drove back to Richmond and joined the rest of Rachel's family for another relaxing evening at their house. We took the little boys out for ice cream and enjoyed the charming area Rachel calls home. The next morning we packed our bags and split up...Rachel staying in Virginia, Melissa and Mary catching a plane back to SLC and Katie, Mom, Dad and myself climbing into the car for a six-ish hour drive north...destination: New York City.
Up next: The Big Apple
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