It seems like we are always stopping at beaches, but they are like snowflakes, no two exactly alike, so we love checking them out!

Virginia Beach is the only beach we have seen on our trip where people were surfing! We wished that we had a board with us, they were right up my alley – small and gentle! The water has gotten cooler the further north we have gone, but this water was still pretty comfortable and we had fun playing in the small waves!

The next day we went to Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington and so beautiful and well-preserved. There is an absolutely gorgeous view of the Potomac from the front of the house (the pictures don’t do it justice). And the gardens and grounds are all like something out of a fairy tale.

We took a tour of the house, but couldn’t take pictures inside. I loved that there were two large closets in their master bedroom, but he let Martha use them both and would sneak down to his study every morning and get dressed there.

There was a really well done museum where we could have spent a lot more time. I especially liked these models created to closely represent what he would have looked like at different ages.

I was also surprised to learn that G.W.’s bad teeth were not his fault. Sometimes I threaten my kids that if they don’t take care of their teeth, they will end up with wooden teeth like him. Well both of those things were myths I guess. He was meticulous about his teeth, constantly seeing dentists and buying new tooth brushes, but he just couldn’t overcome his chronic teeth problems, and ended up with some pretty high-tech dentures for that time period (not made out of wood)!

A couple of the most special places on the property were the tomb where George and Martha are laid to rest and a slave memorial for those who lived and worked so hard at Mt. Vernon. I’ve used this term about some of the civil rights areas we have visited, but these also felt like holy ground and we felt blessed to be there.

Martha’s casket says “Martha, Consort of Washington” on top of it. I love what that implies about their relationship and friendship. It’s tragic that he died just a few short years after finally being able to retire at Mt. Vernon, and so suddenly too. We learned that Martha burned all of the letters between them because what they had gone through together was so special to her and she didn’t want to share it. ❤️

The Slave Memorial was an important reminder that much of the beauty at Mt. Vernon and that we’ve seen throughout our trip came as a result of so many people’s enslavement. 💔