Captain’s Blog
Wednesday
Greenbelt Park, MD
We decided to visit Mount Vernon today the home of our first president George Washington. Mount Vernon sits on several thousand acres of land overlooking the Potomac River. It is a very regal looking building that started out as a small farm cottage that George Washington inherited from his brother. Over the years it had several rooms added making it the large home it is today.
LINK:
George Washington was an extremely interesting man who never really wanted notoriety. He was very content living at Mount Vernon managing his farm and the various enterprises he would eventually become involved in like raising tobacco and developing a whiskey distillery.
At a young age George was an independent thinker and terrific strategist. He was originally in the English Army but eventually fought for the US with its rag-tag army. Despite the many set-backs George led his non-professional group of civilian soldiers to victory over English Rule and won the freedom of oppression from the English for the original 13 colonies and then the rest of the US.
During his time as a soldier he met and married Martha, a young widow with two children. It was love at first sight and seven months after meeting they married. They were an interesting looking couple, he at six feet two inches and she at four feet eleven inches.
After his victory many wanted to crown him king but he would not hear of it. He formally retired giving back the rule of the country to the people as he felt it should be. He then proceeded to live his life to the fullest at Mount Vernon with his wife Martha and her two children. He was a very intelligent man and was always trying to develop new and innovative ways to improve life on the farm. It was said that if he were alive today he would love all of the technology that would be available to him.
After a brief four years in retirement and because of the problems facing the country he returned to public life and was soon elected President of the United States. As President he was highly respected by many and scorned by others – no different then the Presidents of today. I guess that is called history repeating itself.
George Washington had a history of poor dental health despite his vigorously caring for his teeth and having access and treatment by several dentists over his lifetime. When he was sworn into office as President he only had one tooth left in his mouth and had a set of dentures made for the day. It was told that the reason his mouth look somewhat deformed in the pictures that were painted of him is because his dentures were ill fitting and caused tremendous discomfort.
After eight years in office President Washington officially resigned refusing to run for a third term. He set the standard for a two-term presidency but it was never put into law until after Roosevelt, who served 12 years died.
At 65 years of age he returned to his beloved Mount Vernon. At his home he entertained and fed over 400 visitors annually. In that time it was rude to turn away travelers who needed a place to sleep or eat for the night so many would stop at Mount Vernon and enjoy the good food and hospitality afforded to them by George and Martha.
George Washington Life LINK:
http://www.earlyamerica.com/gwlifemovie2.htm
George was a big strong man and despite his many accomplishments he considered and called himself a farmer. After a particular harrowing day in his cold, windy wet fields he came home for dinner soaking wet complaining of cold symptoms. He stayed in his wet clothes for dinner and refused any of the remedies available at that time. Within two days his condition worsened so much that three physicians were called in. Despite “bleeding” him several times his condition worsened and he was unable to swallow or breathe. At age 67 President Washington was dead of what today we know was bacterial epiglottis possibly from contact with one of his many visitors. Unfortunately there were no antibiotics available at that time that would have saved his life.
We noticed that the interior walls of the home were painted in extremely bright colors. At that time paint was hard to come by and if the walls in a home were painted it represented great wealth. After touring the home with its gorgeous view of the Potomac we walked through the gardens and fields of the property. It is a beautiful property and you could understand why he loved it here so much. While touring the outside a light rain was falling but it was still warm and very muggy.
The next stop was the museum with its fifteen theaters and multiple venues depicting the life and history of George Washington. We knew it would take us several hours to tour the museum so stopped for lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn. The Inn was very old and the food quite good but once again we were plagued with the loss of power. The staff did not know why the power was out as this was not usual except during severe weather. After about 30 minutes the power was restored and we finally got our meal.
The day outside was deteriorating rapidly with an advancing storm predicted to bring several inches of rain to the area so we were glad that we toured the outside first.
It took us two more hours to finish touring the museum with its artifacts from the sword that George Washington used in battle to the silver wine coolers used at his dinner parties and of course his infamous dentures. Power was lost on another two occasions but was restored quickly. It was a great day and learning experience. We would recommend Mount Vernon to anyone interested in the history of our country and especially of George Washington.
We can’t believe that we have again been at another campground for six days. It is totally out of character for us to stay put for so long. We planned on leaving tomorrow but the weather conditions are predicted to be very severe with flooding and poor visibility. Instead we will ride out the storm here and leave on Friday.
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