With the possibility of rain later in the day we decided to leave for Washington DC by 10:00 AM so we could stop by George Washington’s Mount Vernon http://www.mountvernon.org/ . The rig was all squared away by 9:30 AM so we went in and said our good byes, thanking Laura and Zelon for a very nice visit! Then it was on the road to I-295 north eventually connecting with I-95 again until we were just south of Alexandria, Virginia.
Driving east we finally reached Mount Vernon, parked with the tourist buses and walked to the entry and visitors museum. The site of George Washington’s Virginia Plantation is quite large. The visitor center has a cinema, display hall, restaurant and gift shop – and tickets. We bought our entry pass and walked out to the pathway leading to the mansion. There was a 45 minute wait (from the back of the line) to get into the mansion, so we chose to walk through the gardens. On one side of the grounds the garden is laid out with flowers and flowering bushes. On the other side is the working garden with vegetables, herbs and fruits. Along the way we explored the various outbuildings many for Washington’s slaves and staff. Others were dedicated to operational needs, stables, storage, leather shop, kitchen, blacksmith, carpenter, etc. Eventually we found ourselves on the front lawn overlooking the Potomac and river walk gardens. The mansion sits on a bluff above the river and has a panoramic vista of rolling hills and river. It’s really spectacular!
Eventually we bit the bullet and got in line for the mansion tour. Washington was one of the more prosperous land owners in the area and his mansion attests to that fact. With large spacious visiting rooms, decorated in vibrant colors and fabrics, ornate plaster ceilings, quality furniture, numerous guest rooms and several dining rooms the mansion is quite spacious and gives a sense of comfort and gracious living. There were docents in almost every room who gave talks about the room and a little of the history of the family. It was very well done and we enjoyed seeing the mansion. 
After leaving Mount Vernon we headed back to the freeway and onto the outer ring road out to College Park where we found our next stop, Cherryhill RV Park. After registering and getting set up on our site we walked over to the pool area and had a cheeseburger at the café. After walking the dogs for the last time we called it a night just as the rain started to come down in earnest. To see all our photos click on the following link:
Distance for this leg, 156 miles. Total so far for the trip, 6,638 miles.
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