Today was our last day in Washington, and we actually spent most of it in Virginia at Mount Vernon. We’d been there before, many years ago; it is a much more sophisticated enterprise these days!

We started at the Visitor Center and watched the orientation film, then we headed out to explore the grounds before our appointment to take the mansion tour.

We started by paying our respects to the President and his wife at their tomb.

The burial ground for enslaved people who had lived on the estate was not far away; there were two memorials there. The first was installed in 1929 (and was the first such monument in the country), and the second in 1983. Language has changed!

It seemed like a good idea to visit the necessary before taking the mansion tour.

One of these photos was taken in the 21st Century necessary; the other was in the reconstructed version of Washington’s necessary. Can you tell which was which?

We also took a look at Washington’s coach house and one of his coaches. I like our Prius better.

We started our mansion tour in the “New Room”, named because it was the last room added to Mount Vernon.

George Washington himself picked the paint in the dining room; the color is verdigris and was very expensive, so he was showing off his wealth. Good thing he didn’t think of gold toilets!

There were many guest bedrooms; one is called the “Chintz Bedroom” because of the drapes and bedspread. Chintz, too, was not cheap.

Washington had a very functional office; he even had a desk fan over one of his chairs, powered by a servant.

The mansion was warm, so we were happy to be outside again to enjoy the scenery.

Of course there were flowers to enjoy, too.

We got back to the ship and I took advantage of the last of the high-speed wifi from the Wharf; I had to be outside to get a good signal, which meant that the helicopters doing practice runs were very loud. One of the other guests said that they saw a Presidential copter at least once, but I don’t think I got a photo of that one.

This afternoon, the ship’s resident entertainer and expert, Robert Yonskie, gave us George III’s side of the Revolutionary story, complete with a rendition of “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton. He’s going to be the entertainer and expert on the Fall Foliage tour this fall – we may be back!

We’re en route to Cambridge, Maryland for tomorrow’s tours; it will be a much quieter place than the Wharf. Internet connectivity may be limited tonight, so I’m posting now while we’re still very near DC.

While we slept, the ship sailed to DC and docked at the District Wharf, a new shopping and dining destination on the Potomac River a short walk from the Tidal Basin and National Mall. We didn’t go to either of those places – instead, we joined the morning tour to Arlington National Cemetery.

After clearing security, we got on a tram with our guide, Mike; our first stop was the John F. Kennedy gravesite.

Many Supreme Court justices are buried nearby, including, of course, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and her husband, Martin.

We then went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to see the Changing of the Guard. There were many veterans at the ceremony who’d been brought in through Honor Flight, and I was moved to see them there.

We also saw the memorials to the Challenger and Columbia astronauts before going back to the bus.

We returned to the District Wharf – Diane and I had lunch at Chopsmith; it was quite enjoyable and a change of pace from eating on the ship. Our timing was good – the place was nearly empty when we arrived but there was a line when we left. And as we left, we saw a fireboat on the Potomac; it was saluting the Yacht Club at District Wharf on their 130th Anniversary.

We didn’t stay on the ship very long because we had another excursion this afternoon, this one a guided walk through Old Town Alexandria. It was raining when we started but cleared up by the end of the tour. We had the same guide as this morning, and he told us many stories of life in Alexandria during the Revolution – but I didn’t get many interesting photos, other than this pipe. It was cast and installed before 1847, so it shows “Alexandria DC” instead of “Alexandria VA”.

When we returned to the ship, we were greeted by a special guest, Ben Franklin, who gave a short talk about his favorite subject – himself. It was a lot of fun and somewhat educational, too.

We met our Rabbi Emerita, Melanie Aron, for dinner; she’s living in DC for the next year or two to be closer to her children and grandchild. It was good to see her again and we had a nice conversation. She gave us a copy of her husband’s new book, This Way to the Universe: A Theoretical Physicist’s Journey to the Edge of Reality; it’s intended to explain interesting aspects of theoretical physics to non-physicists and is guaranteed equation-free! I’m planning to read it on the way home.