Now I realize the Mount Vernon Ladies Association (which owns/operates Mount Vernon) is a little biased, but they do a wonderful job showing you what a truly remarkable man Washington was. After having visited Thomas Jefferson's Monticello a couple months ago, the estate itself isn't quite as impressive, but the educational aspect is tremendous.
I especially appreciated how forthright the estate was about the fact that Washington owned slaves. I've always struggled a little with the fact that so many of our founding fathers did. Apparently Washington struggled with this too. He understood the great contradiction between fighting for America's freedom while upholding the institution of slavery. But Washington believed that to make slavery an issue during a time when America was so new and fragile was a mistake and that it would only divide the country. He was pretty smart, huh? Anyway ... back to the blog (if you want to read more about Washington's views on slavery, click here)
Since we're on the topic, here's a picture of the slave memorial at Mount Vernon.
Here's a shot of Mount Vernon from the front.
A shot from the back of the estate.
A view of the Potomac from behind the house.
Washington's grave.
After walking around the estate we headed over to the museum and exhibits. I want to post pictures from there too, so I'm going to put that part in a separate blog entry. Also, here's a link to view all the photos from Day 2 of the vacation -- along with captions.
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