6/27/25 Mount Vernon to Colonial Beach

Trudge was sitting low in the water after last nights crazy storms
Erik had to hand bale about 30 gallons of water

The storms last night definitely left us with wonderful temperatures to explore Mount Vernon today!  It was a cloudy and at times rainy day and the high temp did not get above about 75; drastic and welcomed change from the past several days 110 heat indexes.  We headed in right about 9am.  There were several workers out in time themed apparel working and describing the different aspects of the time.  A lady explained how they used horses and donkeys to tread on the wheat to break it off and it would fall through slits on the floor.  Another lady explained some of the things they baked in the outside clay oven like pies, cakes, and breads.  Another gentleman showed us a replica house where slaves would have lived.  A very small one room log house for families of 3-13….tight quarters!   

Typical slave family quarters (upper right)
Building designed by Washington where wheat is laid on the floor which is made of slats with 1.5” gaps.  Horses then walk in circles on top of the what until all of the seeds come off of the straw and fall below to a lower level where they are gathered 

As we headed up the hill toward the house on a ridge was a memorial which was surrounded by the burial site of as many as 80 of the Washington families slaves in unmarked graves.  Through ground radar technology in recent years the gravesites have been located and marked.  Just a bit further up on the ridge we saw the tomb of George and Martha Washington as well as about 35 other of their relatives.   

Actually rather disturbing to think of how the elites fortunes were made on the backs of slaves

RIP all of those in these unmarked graves 

Washington’s tomb
He chose this spot in his will
Wondered how much, if anything, it had to do with it being adjacent the ridge with all of the unmarked slave graves?
Washington’s view and stances on slavery did change significantly in his later years 

About this time it started raining again, contrary to what the forecast had said, and we had not brought an umbrella.  We tried taking cover wherever we could but all three of us ended up soaked!  Up near the main house was a section that was more like a dorm style sleeping area where slaves would stay through the week while working.   A very well done exhibit had just opened up that detailed the lives of many of the slaves that had been through Mt Vernon.  There were also many small buildings containing animals, a blacksmith, and other buildings to keep the farm and estate running.  The museum was very well done with so much information and many artifacts.  After walking past a Revolutionary War encampment we decided to head back to the boat as the rain had finally slowed.  

Many neat artifacts and other things in the main museum

We could have spent longer in here reading about the things but Riva was not allowed in and we didn’t want to take the time to bring her all the way back down to the boat so one of us went in at a time while the other sat with the Diva

We made the decision to head to Colonial Beach for the night, so after Erik had a quick nap he pulled the anchor and about 1:30 pm we were headed back down the Potomac River.  The winds were blowing pretty strong from the East; with the fetch as it came up the river it created a pretty bumpy ride for most of the 57 mile trip.   After docking up in the same spot we had when we were here last week a little after 5pm we brought Riva over to the adjacent, very busy dog park where she was able to play with 5 or 6 other dogs which made her day!  Between the 2.5 miles of walking at the Washington Estate and the play with other canines she was now a whooped pup!   We left her aboard and headed out in the marinas golf cart for a delicious, way to big dinner at Los Hermanos that had been recommended by several people.   The recommendations did not disappoint.   After dinner since we had access to the cart we swing through the local Food Lion for a few things we wanted to get.   This is a challenging point of the trip for grocery shopping; with just over a week to go we want to eat up as much of whaat we have as we can. 

Boat hair…
Don’t care!

Erik can drive a big boat, but, a golf cart….not so much

😂 

We were both pretty exhausted from a not so great night of sleep last night with the storms at anchor as well as from the busy day.   Back at the boat for a cup of coffee, some blogging, and soon off to bed for what we are certain will be a much more restful slumber at the dock in a well protected bay.