Touring George Washington's Mount Vernon

I met Brian Smacher at George Washington's Mount Vernon today. Brian and I have been best friends since elementary school, and since he and his wife Sue were in Spotsylvania, VA on vacation, we decided to get together. We met at the estate around 10 am and toured the grounds for a bit. We visited George and Martha Washington's tomb, and the memorial to the enslaved people who worked on the estate.

Cool stained glass mural in Visitor Center

Tomb of George and Martha Washington (and young lady who would just would not get out of the way!)

Placard describing the Slave Memorial

Mount Vernon Slave Memorial

Mount Vernon Slave Memorial

We then headed to the mansion for our guided tour. Mount Vernon is about 9,000 sq. ft. with 21 rooms on three floors. It is well preserved, and hosts 45% of original artifacts. The rooms are brightly painted and wall-papered. Here's a link to the website that describes the estate and each room. Here are a few pictures of the first floor inside the mansion.

The New Room, which was multipurpose, used for dining and entertaining guests

The Front Parlor was used for gatherings and discussing the latest news

The Dining Room was used for family dining

The second floor housed George and Martha's bedroom, and bedrooms for guests.

George and Martha's bedroom

The Blue Room was a primary bedchamber for guests

Here are pictures of the front and back of the mansion, view of the Potomac River from the porch, and the flower garden.

The rear of the mansion

The front of the mansion

View of the Potomac River. Maryland is on the opposite side of the river

The Garden

After the tour, Brian and I had lunch at the nearby Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant. We caught up on our life stories and families, and reminisced about former school days. It was a really nice visit.