Mount Vernon

Yesterday, three hours after leaving Washington DC, we anchored below Mount Vernon. This morning we took our dinghy to their wharf, checked in with the dockmaster, and toured the estate.

The estate has been owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association since 1858. They accept no government funding and maintain and operate the estate through ticket sales and private donations.

Lucky for us, we were on a tour with several school groups and photography was encouraged; normally it's not allowed. We were surprised at the bright colors used on the walls, but the docent explained that the home has been accurately restored to how it would have been at the time of Washington's death in 1799.

And after a little Googling of the Federal style of decor, I learned that these bright colors were all the rage.

There is also a museum on the property with a great display of Washington's history from childhood to old age.

The museum contains three wax figures of him at various ages that have been painstakingly researched and created using original portraits, busts, and his actual clothing.

Shown here at the Federal Building in New York City, Washington is taking the oath of office to become President at age 57.

And the museum also contains his teeth, which were not wood, but human and cow, and set in metal. What a horrible thing to have to deal with every day! No wonder he didn't smile for portraits.

This visit to Mount Vernon is our last official Washington DC highlight. We have had a GREAT time in DC, and would highly recommend visiting, especially if you can go by boat. The moorings are inexpensive, close to all the museums, and close to a grocery store. The museums are top notch, free, and hold the historical treasures of our country. The art collections here are world class and beautifully displayed in architecturally stunning buildings. And where else can you anchor in the President's backyard?

National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery is a repository of some of our nation's most famous works of art, like this portrait of Benjamin Franklin. In fact, all the Presidents' portraits are there.

It is also home to many other works of art like this huge Bierstadt landscape. Our hometown museum, the Haggin Museum, has several Bierstadt landscapes and I like him, but let's just say he took lots of liberties with reality.

These peaceful halls also house photos, sculpture, Shaker furniture, and sketches, like this self portrait by Katherine Hepburn. Who knew she was an artist?

My daughter's cat's opposite is even there.

These beautiful hallways were originally built for the Patent Office in 1836, and have seen many of our Nation's most famous shakers and movers.

After the Portrait Gallery we visited the Naval Heritage Building where we saw this cool bronze sculpture,

and this eerie stained glass panel of a sub threading it's way between mines.

I think we have visited everything we wanted to here in DC, plus we've done some maintenance; changed the engine oil, changed the impeller, changed the transmission fluid, all the fuel filters, cleaned sea strainers, and replaced a bilge pump switch. This stuff never ends, but it's so boring we rarely mention it.

Tomorrow we'll load up with groceries and head back to the Chesapeake where we will sample blue crab. Join us, won't you?

More Fabulous Architecture

Smithsonian Castle, Gothic with Romanesque Revival, 1855

Eisenhower Executive Office Building, second Empire Style

Treasury Building, Neoclassical, 1836-1869

National Savings and Trust Company, Queen Anne Style, 1888

Woodward and Lothrop Building, Gilded Age, 1902

National Portrait Gallery, Greek Revival, 1836-1842

National Archives

Hirshhorn Museum and Freer/Sackler Gallery

The Hirshhorn Museum's signature piece is this huge hyper-realistic sculpture by Ron Mueck. What a cool introduction to their collection of modern art.

Fernand Léger's "Nude on a Red Background" was probably one of the few pieces I really liked.

I'll be the first to admit I don't always get modern art. For instance, this piece, which appears to be two sculpted busts; one perhaps bronze, and one perhaps marble; is actually two molded busts; one chocolate and one soap. The artist then licked the chocolate one and bathed with the soap one to obscure their features.

Seriously.

Then there's this one that perhaps is telling us to shove all that old classic art in a closet and forget about it.

And this piece reminds me that a woman's work is never done. No matter how perfect she is.

If you get confused about modern art, you can always read this to help sort it out.

Yeah, whatever....

We also visited the Freer/Sackler Gallery today. They have an interesting exhibition about a Japanese artist named Kitagawa Utamaro. Three of his huge scrolls are displayed together there for the first time in decades.

This first piece, called "Cherry Blossoms at Yoshikawa" was documented to be in Paris in the 1880s. It was purchased by a French collector, and in 1957 by Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Boston.

The second piece, "Moon at Shinagawa", was also in Paris in the 1880s and was purchased by Charles Lang Freer in 1903.

The third piece, "Snow at Fukagawa", remained in Paris for years. It was purchased in 1948 and returned to Japan where it was on display at a department store for three days. Then it just disappeared! And just as mysteriously, it was rediscovered by the Okada Museum in 2014 and the Freer/Sackler Gallery conceived and implemented this wonderful exhibition.

National Museum of Natural History

Frankly, this museum was a bit of a disappointment. Could it have been the weird colored lights, corrugated steel and cyclone fence backdrops (all of which I have edited out) in the dinosaur hall? Or could it have been the bare, modernized exhibits in the Hall of Mammals where the jungle animals are hanging from stainless steel pipes? Or could it have been the hundreds of middle-school-aged visitors with their running, shouting, and rude behavior?

Probably a little of both.

Here is an example of the modernization. This elephant used to be displayed on a realistic, landscaped mound which helped to draw the visitor into its environment. Now it crowns a smaller stripped-down platform which the museum "reimagined" back in 2015. 

They even bragged about it on their website. I'll let you judge for yourself, but I guess I'm old-fashioned because I prefer the diorama effect.

In the Gems and Minerals Exhibit I learned that we had sailed right by the source of much of the sandstone used to build the White House and the Capitol. Up the Aquia Creek, less than 40 miles from here, is the quarry where that sandstone was obtained. Because it is soft and prone to erosion, it is no longer used outdoors and the quarry (now called Government Island) is a nature park.

I also enjoyed seeing the gemstones including the famous Hope Diamond. Which is impossible to photograph. (See paragraph one)

So I guess I'm turning into a grouchy old lady, aren't I? Complaining about noisy kids and modernized exhibits. Yearning for the old days when children were quiet, natural history museums were realistic, and my knees didn't complain about stairs....

The Architecture of a Republic

National Archives

Our founding fathers felt that Neoclassical architecture reflected democratic ideals, so many of the oldest and most important buildings in Washington DC are of this style. I feel that it gives a sense if dignity, permanence, and respect to these hallowed institutions and I've always admired Neoclassical architecture. In that respect, Washington DC has been a veritable goldmine for me.

DC War Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

Arlington Amphitheater

Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium

Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian Columns; Pediments, Friezes, Architraves, and Domes; Marble, Granite, and Sandstone; Bronze, Gold Leaf, and Trajan; it's all here in spades!

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier

There are also some Romanesque Revival buildings like The Old Post Office.

And this Beaux Arts beauty; The Library of Congress.

Sure there are some fabulous modern buildings here too, but I find the straightforward, strong lines of these older buildings to have an ageless attraction.

Have you been to Washington DC? Do you enjoy architecture too? Which buildings are your favorites?