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Rosie has been a little laid back with her posting of late…our holiday is drawing to a close and Rosie and The Operator are kicking back and taking it a little easy….plus we have had a couple of bad Internet connection spots….Virginia….how do you get by in this modern world, well me thinks its debatable if they are modern…..plus,The Operator also reckons they are the worst driveers in any of the States we have encountered to date!
Welcome, today Rosie and The Operator are visiting Arlington National Cemetery,  it is just across the Potomac from Washington DC and by crossing the Memorial Bridge over the river we are now entering Virginia.  This journey across the Memorial Bridge and up Memorial Way is the last journey the serviceman make before being interred at the cemetery.
We are using the Tour Mobile buses at the cemetery to give us lift around this mammoth rolling park, it has a hop on hop feature to allow you to visit the memorials within the cemetary.  No traffic is allowed in the cemetary unless you have clearance for attending funerals.  The cemetary site is over 624 acres with over 430,000 graves, we were definitely catching a ride.  The grounds of the cemetary is on what was once the home of General Lee the Confederate Leader, Abe Lincoln actually asked Lee to lead the Unionist army during the civil war…..he could not abandon his beloved Virginia and so chose his side.  His land was confiscated during the war and so the National Cemetary came into being

 

The park is a beautiful, quiet and serene setting, the rolling hills and mature trees planted everywhere give it a park like feeling…..until you think about the life lost and the sacrifices made and see the infinite rows of marker stones stretching into the distance.  The trees and hills actually mask the jawdropping enormity by breaking up the rows upon rows of marker stones.
We arrived at 9.00am just as all the tour buses started coming into the park, our first stop was at the Kennedy Tomb, it looks directly down Memorial Drive and is set on a hill overlooking the Potomac and Washington.  John F Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline lie side by side, there is a further two graves one on each side of their parents where their children lie, a still born girl and a little boy who died a couple of days after being born.  The eternal flame burns above them, Jackie lit the flame three days after her husband was assassinated at his internment and it has never gone out since.
Arlington is very much an active working cemetary, there is an average of 26 funerals here every day.  To be buried in Arlington you must have either fallen in action, or been a veteran and served in the military for over 20 years, Presidents are allowed to be buried here of which there are two and dignitaries with special permission.  Wives and one child can also be buried in the same grave one on top of the other as a space saving efficiency.

 

                           The amphitheatre is where the President makes his speech on Veterans Day, it is made of solid marble and is huge but seems very intimate.
 The Tomb of the Unknown soldier is behind the amphitheatre and held four bodies, one unknown soldier from WW1 / WW2 / Korean War / Vietnam War.  The unknown from Vietnam was actually identified a couple of years ago due to improvements in DNA identification, he was removed from the tomb and taken to his home town.  There is a guard of honour at the tomb 24/7, the guards do a one hour watch and then a changing of the guard ceremony is done on the hour every hour.  During the hour of watch the guard is on parade and he stands for 21 seconds – he turns and stands for 21 seconds – then marches 21 paces – and repeats.  The number 21 is symbolic  and represents the 21 gun salute of honour, the highest honour that can be given a fallen soldier.
Buried in this cemetary are soldiers from every single conflict, both civil and international.  Rosie considers it a waste, yet for the people on the tour they don’t see it as a life wasted, they fell in the line of duty fighting for freedom, freedom which is the basic right for all men and is a first amendment right.
From Arlington we drove to Mount Vernon which was the home of George Washington and his good wife Martha, they lived on the property for 40 years until his death in 1799.  Washington was a  farmer, politician, leader of the armies and First President of the United States, he was well aware he was setting a precedent for future generations of leaders and strove to lay a good foundation of leadership.
Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USA
Mt Vernon is only about a 15 min drive from Arlington Cemetary, it had turned into a roasting hot day peaking at 31c with about an 80% humidity.  Rosie was melting, her hair had expanded into an all over afro, curls and all, even The Operator was feeling it and he loves sweltering heat!
Slave Quarters Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USA
On the way up to the main house we walked through the grounds, past the house slave quarters, they are split into mens and womens  and are a big open room lined with bunk beds and a fireplace in the end for warmth and cooking.  20 slaves lived in these quarters 2 to a bed.
Slave Quarters Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USAThis is the kitchen area of the slave house, Rosie is sure it would be cold in winter and roasting in summer…although believe it or not as soon as we walked into the quarters….it was blissfully cool and air conditioned for the visitors….ironic.  The Washingtons owned 277 slaves to run their 8000 acre plantation, of which they predominantly grew tobacco, there were bunkhouses like this dotted all around the estate closer to the working fields.  The married slaves with families had their own small rooms but during the week the married men had to live in the bunkhouses so they could be more productive.
Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USAThis in comparison is the estate Overseer’s digs, pretty palatial in comparison!  He got free board and lodging and $30 per year.                  Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USA                           George Washington was also a lover of the unusual….he had this brick greenhouse built and grew exotic fruits and flowers.  He had a slave boy stoking a wood fire underneath the greenhouse to keep it warm 24/7….would be a nice job in winter….The gardens mimic old English and European palaces.
Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USA
 Inside the main house we were not allowed to take photos.  Check out the Mt Vernon website if you wish to enter…click on the diffrent rooms on the floorplan.                 http://www.mountvernon.org/visit-his-estate/virtual-tour-flash  We had a timed entry ticket because of the volumes there and about 25 of us at a time were escourted from room to room where we were given a narration by a guide of its uses and stories pertaining to the era.  Every room had a different narrater and they were brilliant!
Remember this house is from the 1700s, most family’s lived in houses smaller than one room in this mansion!  The Washingtons were great entertainers, according to the house accounts in one year they had 624 guests come to stay.  In a house with no electricity, running water and toilets!  The Washingtons house slaves were apparently a well oiled machine, warm water was bought to all 12 bedrooms every morning for washing and chamber pots were emptied, fires and candles lit in the evening and bedwarmers filled with oals and inserted into the beds in winter…..
Potomac River Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USA  Built on the banks of the Potomac River these are the views from the back porch that runs along the entire length of the house, it is a beautiful out look.  French doors open onto the deck from the main Banquet Hall where they could entertain and seat up to about 28 people, it is a stunning room painted bright green ‘Verdigris Green’, it would have caused a stir at the time because this colour was the latest trend in Britain and no one had it here.
Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USA
The cupola on the top floor is  an outlook tower over the estate and river….Rosie Washington would have hid up here and read her books, a real little sun trap.  The house grounds are planted and stocked as they would have been back in the day.  Washington also bred rare breed animals, chickens, turkeys hogs and cattle, they have people tending and looking after them full time, along with gardeners, it is a fully working property even today.  The little covered walkway on the left of the building leads to the kitchen.
Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USANo kitchens were built inside grand houses as they were only places of beauty, refinement and entertainment.  No one wanted the smells and noises of the kitchen to permeate the house.  The kitchen floor is stone (to avoid mishaps and stop it from burning down) and the fire place is huge, it has a separate bread oven to the side.  The slave girl had to get up at 4.00am to start the fires for the day.  Rosie thought the table in the kitchen was a little small….but it was only a cooking room, there was a separate scullery room for the preparation of food.
Mt Vernon George Washingtons House Virginia USA There was also another room for the dishes to be washed in and another for the laundry….everything certainly had its place.          We then headed for Williamsburg,  an hour and a half down the road in Virginia, where we spent the night at Rosies new favourite motel stop, The Holiday Inn.                                               Tomorrow we were spending the day in Oldtown Williamsburg, a living history museum…Rosie is very intrigued…..