We sailed from Washington to Cambridge, Maryland overnight; Cambridge is an Eastern Shore town with a long history. We docked at the Long Wharf on the Choptank River; the town welcomed us by sending the Town Crier to visit us at breakfast.

There had been a lighthouse on the Choptank River for a very long time; it’s no longer in use, but it’s been restored as a tourist attraction, just a two-minute walk from our ship.

They’ve done a lot of work on the lighthouse, including adding a compass rose on the main floor. It was a nice visit; if there had been a volunteer there, I might have bought a souvenir.

Our ship took advantage of being in Cambridge; we saw one of the deckhands taking out the used glass bottles to the recycling depot. It was an impressive load, but I didn’t take a photo. They delivered a lot of food, too, as well as refueling us.

We walked up High Street to the center of town. We visited Christ Episcopal Church on our way; the current building dates to 1883, but the adjacent graveyard has burials going back to the 18th Century.

I considered having lunch at the Provident State Bank (now Fat Ricky’s), but we decided on Salmon Tikka Kebab at Bombay Social; it was good, and a change from the cuisine on the ship.

After lunch, we went back to the ship to regroup and prepare for our afternoon excursion to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.

Our guide, Susan Meredith, had deep roots in this area; she and her husband have restored the Bucktown Village Store where Harriet Tubman first fought against slavery by defying an order from an overseer who wanted to recapture an escaping slave.

Susan and her family live in a 1790 house next to the Bucktown Store. The bricked-in area is where they have two fireplaces to heat the house.

After dinner, we were treated to a performance by the Eastport Oyster Boys, singing and playing local music on guitar, banjo, hammered dulcimer, and fiddle – not bad for only two guys!

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.