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Friday, July 16, 2010

Was George Washington a Moonshiner?

The Father of our country, the first President of the United States.  Statesman, farmer, soldier, leader...Moonshiner?


We went for a visit to Washington's house,  Mount Vernon.


It was a beautiful, hot Virginia summer day.  We were there with several hundred of our closest friends.

Walking in to the Visitor Center, we were greeted by George and Martha Washington, with two of Martha's grandchildren, Washy and Nelly.


There was a model of the Mount Vernon home, it would open up at various times so you could view the layout of the rooms.  Then it would close up...like magic!



Walking up to the house, you pass the "Necessary Building", a fancy name for the outhouse.


Washington was a true visionary.  He had recycling barrels placed at convenient locations all around the grounds.


No photography is allowed inside the mansion.  It is truly beautiful and there are docents located in various rooms telling the story of life with the Washington's at Mount Vernon.

The view of the Potomac River from the front of the house is magnificent.




Near the main building are all kind of shops and the kitchen. 


Washington even had some neat off road vehicles.



A stroll through the gardens...


...brings you here.


The final resting place for George and Martha Washington.


George Washington was many things, but he always picture himself as a farmer.  He raised tobacco, wheat and corn.  He had a water powered grist mill to grind the corn.


Located right next door to his grist mill is this building.


It's Washington's distillery, where he turned the corn into...liquor.  Known in more modern circles as Moonshine! 

Mount Vernon is easy to get to but not in an RV, use your toad or tow vehicle because parking is tight and limited. 

Thanks for visiting and please feel free to leave a comment.

7 comments:

  1. Note by Marti - although I am not a history buff, and unable to attend today's outing - Mt. Vernon is a great place to visit - even for those of us who don't enjoy museums!

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  2. Thanks for the tour, I enjoy the history blogs, but then I read every sign every place we go.

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  3. Great pictures!! We love the DC area. So much to see and do and a great deal of it is FREE!!

    We hope to get back with our grandchildren to share the history with them. In the meantime, I will share your blog with my daughter who homeschools the troops.

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  4. Interesting post...even if I slept through most of it. JUST KIDDING!! I did enjoy the pictures :)


    Nellie
    http://midlifecruiser.blogspot.com

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  5. See?? Nellie - you and I must think alike.... Museums = nap time. Hope to see ya down the road... ~Marti

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  6. Very cool post! We meant to go there once and time ran out when we were in the area.. so we passed on it. Maybe next time? Thanks for a nice post!

    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  7. Great post! That's the fanciest outhouse I've ever seen!

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