Mt. Vernon-George Washington Mansion

We visited Mt. Vernon, the 50 acre- estate of the late President George Washington in Virginia. It was restored, conserved, preserved by the Mt. Vernon Ladies' Association. It was open to the visitors for more than 140 years now and 70 million people had visited the place. My brother and I are among those people, one Saturday in the month of September, after my minor surgery. So the tour was confined mostly to the Mansion grounds and the mansion itself. Inside the mansion, cameras and videos are not allowed. The scaled model of the mansion shows the different chambers of the three storey-mansion. This is the close-up shot of the third level of the scaled model of the mansion. The bedroom shown was that of Martha Washington which she used after the late President died. There are two dining rooms in the mansion. This scaled model is the large dining room where Washington entertained dignitaries and other guests. This opens to the porch at the backyard. I saw this in a movie which chronicled the life of George Washington. But of course, it was mere re-creation since this place could not be used by anybody. It seems their furnitures (reproductions ) were smaller in terms of size compared to the ones used these days. The chairs at the porch were for watching the sunset and the calm Potomac River. It is believed that the design of the house which was restored by several artisans, architects, miniaturists was done mostly by George Washington. Architecture then was not a estblished profession. The first US President when informed of the criticism made by the media, said "I can truy say that I'd rather be at Mt. Vernon with a friend or two about me rather than to be atteneded at the seat of government by the officers of the State and the representatives of every power in Europe. " The Little Parlor was where the social gatherings that required dancing and music were held. The harpsichord that adorned the little parlor was the original music instrument used by the President's stepgranddaughter Nelly. This is one of the upperbedchambers for guests. Washington's love for trees filled his diary for references as to the trees and shrubs that he planted such as the elm, white ash and tulip poplars. These trees are now centuries old. Home to the birds that populate the estate. Washington built larger structures to replace the small outbuildings as additions to the mansion connected with "pallsades:. He called them the dependencies. Both the exterior of the mansion and these structures made us of the "rusticated" which was a method of applying sand to the newlypainted wooden boards to make them appear like stones. This is one of the collonades that join the outbuildings to the mansion. The outbuildings are the servant's hall, the kitchen, the laundry houses, clerk house and guest houses for the personal servants and slaves of visiting dignitaties and or relatives are located at the mansion grounds. In the movie that I saw, G. Washington talked to her wife about incorporating in his will the grant of freedom to their more than 100 slaves . The will provided for the emancipation after Martha Washington's death, however, one year after the President's death, his wife freed them all. She provided for pensions for the old and infirms. Then she paid the freed slaves, their salaries. Instead of trash bins, this is what you wll find as repository of your gums or food which are not allowed inside the mansion. For physically handixapped people and with guests who have toddlers, these are available without asking.