Pictures of George Washington’s Birthplace
I have never been to Mt. Vernon to see George Washington’s home, but I have now seen his birthplace. I’m not a big one on heroes, but I’ve always liked GW. I am so glad I took to time to go there. I almost didn’t, but after getting up so early and breaking camp before 9 am, I had lots of time to kill. The lady at the visitor’s center (her name was Pocohantas – she said her mom wanted to give her an unusual name) told me that last night’s rainstorm was even wilder than I had realized. It didn’t just seem bad to me in the tent, the visibility was so poor that it took her three times as long as normal to get from her daughter’s house to her home. See, it wasn’t just me, that rain was crazy.
I got a private tour of the spinning and weaving shed, which was the highlight of my visit. The tour guide/ranger lady had only been at this site for a few months so she didn’t know much about the equipment. I got a special thrill out of identifying several niddy noddies and drop spindles. She even let me try a couple of the spindles. They were just replicas, but fun nonetheless. It made me wonder how much more fun the blacksmith, cooper and other craftsmen’s tools would be if I knew anything about using them. It’s funny how knowing what something is and how it is used turns it from just a dusty, strangely-shaped hunk of wood into something fascinating. One of the other highlights of the tour was when one of the other guests sat down at a replica harpsichord/spinnet and played a minuet for us. He knew a lot about the colonial period… more than the tour guide lady. All in all, a lot of fun.
It was so early and cool from the rain that he was perfectly happy sleeping in the TinkTerra while I walked around.
I took him in with me when we went to our next stop… the berry farm. We went back for another strawberry shortcake ice cream combo and a flat of berries to bring home. I really need to do something to make that dog behave better in public.
The rest of the trip was just a long drive home. It wasn’t that long, really, I was just so tired from the rain the night before that I could hardly keep my eyes open. We got home about 2 and I just now got finished unloading the car. I still have a lot of stuff to put away. Now I am blogging and Harley is sound asleep in his bed beside me. It was a lot of fun, but now I need to go back to work so I can get some rest. (cliché, I know, but true)
I’ve not seen GW’s birthplace, but I have been to Mt. Vernon. I don’t think it’s too far from you, is it? It’s really quite a neat place. I didn’t think I’d really enjoy the time there, but I did. We picked up a Christmas tree ornament that we hang up each year, and it always sparks up a nice memory to look at it.
Overall, even with the rain, it sounds like it was a pretty great trip. 🙂