Mt. Vernon - DC Day 4

DC Day 4 - George Washington, Baseball, Apple Pie and Pat Sajak.

Today, after the all you can eat breakfast buffet (of which the kids excitedly partook) we headed out to George Washingtons estate.  At Mount Vernon we walked the grounds and partook in a number of lectures and tours from which we learned a lot about Washington and life in general back in those days.

We started our tour with a video presentation over which Pat Sajak presided.  I thought he did a good job.  I was chuckling as I thought about Pat being the Americana representative to the Mt. Vernon visiting world.  Wheel of Fortune is an international smash hit so I suppose it only makes sense.

Washington was a bit of a technology fan and you could see this in a number things he had around the house.  For instance he had a rotisserie powered by fan off the heat exhaust from the cooking stove.  He also had a greenhouse, shown below, that he heated in the winter with ducts from the fireplace.

The crowds were non-existent and we enjoyed lounging on the lawn and on the porch overlooking the Potomac.

A topic that was frequently aaddressed was Washingtons ownership of slaves.  This seems such a contradiction for one of the fathers of this nation of freedom.  The museum hosts were careful to point out that Washingtons views of slavery changed in the latter part of his life and his writings and actions bear witness to this.  In our cultural moment with the understanding that God created men equal we can clearly see that slavery is wrong, however in the milieu of his, it appears he did not have this same clarity.  This does not excuse the practice and I wonder what will be looked back upon and laid at the feet of our generation.  I cannot help but think it will be abortion.  We have legally redefined the unborn class of humans as life unworthy of life.  Our culture has cast off its Christian moorings and is adrift now in a sea of being right in its own eyes with no test against the absolute of Gods Word.  This can only lead to its destruction from within, without, or both.

There are images in the Day 4 link.