River Farm in Alexandria

Last week the 52Frames weekly photo challenge subject was “unexplored.” So we tried to come up with some ideas of places we had never been to visit. And one of those places was River Farm on the Potomac River. February probably isn’t the best time to visit a farm or gardens, but it was worth the try. It is located right next to Mount Vernon and the land was once owned by George Washington. The original house still stands but has been enlarged and renovated several times. It is now a wedding venue and an artist by the name of Dhamin Jassim has works on display for purchase. We were almost the only people there. We parked next to the house and did a walkabout. The white rocking chairs on the porch overlooking the Potomac River would be a great spot to sit in the summer. The gardens were still in winter hibernation. There were hints of spring with a few crocus popping out along the paths. There wasn’t much to look at inside the house - although this is the national horticulture headquarters and this place does have quite a history. In the back was a dilapidated shack. We walked around the circular drive and path a couple of times before leaving. It is unlikely that we would ever visit again, but I am glad we checked it out. 

Six Degrees of Separation from George Washington!?

If you talk to someone long enough you are bound to stumble upon a connection using the famous standard "Kevin Bacon Six Degrees of Separation." Three circumstances stand out for me and a fourth has emerged. One of my high school classmates has a friend who is friends with the daughter of the senator who lives down the street from us; a past colleague of mine at the Library of Congress who is from China has a mother in law who was best friends with the Chinese President's sister; someone who works at the Library is a friend of a family member (our niece's husband's uncle) from Iran by way of California. Now we have a connection to George Washington by way of a piece of property that sits along a river in Virginia. It is said that the land belonged to someone at the time of the revolutionary war. Because of the tactical position of the land and river, George Washington insisted that a dam be built at this place. So the owner, who wanted to join the militia, was given dispensation by George Washington to create a dam, rather than fight in, the conflict. So, we know the new owners of the property, they bought it from the current owner of the surrounding property, who are related to the family that dates back to the 1700's, who knew George Washington. It is all documented in the archives and there is a storied history of the area. We are hoping to finally see this place soon. Apparently it is a great place to fish, relax, boat, hike, or camp - nothing we care to do, but definitely appreciate what we will see. It will certainly be worth the visit. Maybe we will come across some George Washington foot steps. 

George Washington Birthday Parade in Alexandria

It was not our intention to see it, but we ran in to it all the same. Since I have the day off for Presidents Day - a perk I only enjoyed since working for the federal government - we decided to have lunch in Old Town Alexandria and then do a few errands. We had no problem having lunch, but finding parking was a trick because streets were completely blocked off with no parking signs. Then I realized it was the holiday and this was George Washington's stomping grounds. He had a townhouse in Alexandria, and spent a lot of time here. So it isn't just the Presidents' Day parade, it is the George Washington Birthday parade. As we drove out if the city, we were met with participants on their way toward the festivities. I think I liked the Continental Army dude with his cell phone most. A lot of the animals arrive from Mount Vernon. As an aside, the donkeys who pull the river barge in Georgetown relax at Mount Vernon on the off season. Alexandria probably looks a lot like it did when George walked the streets. We didn't have the time to stop and watch all the action, but at least we got a feel for it. 

George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

After our usual Saturday brunch at McLean Family Restaurant - where today Mark Levin and Sanjay Gupta were also chatting about with friends - we thought a short ride to see the new George Washington Presidential Library was in order. We had passed by the area several times since the groundbreaking, and heard on the news yesterday that it would be opening.  It sits right across from Mount Vernon on the George Washington Parkway. It doesn't appear to be a place that you can just drop in and look around. It's intended to be a destination for visiting scholars and will house only GW's papers,all the books written about him, and all things digital. All other personal artifacts and such will remain at the estate, more or less. Perhaps there will be presentations that one could attend, but it appears to be more scholastic in nature rather than just interested to learn more. If anyone deserves a library is it George Washington. He was a remarkable person...and seemed to be a nice guy. I've never heard of anything really negative about him, and someone would have found something by now. Now that's something really unique in this day and age.