June 27, 2021

June 27, 2021

From BWI airport we drove south down the east side of Washington DC passing several federal facilities, like Fort Meade and NSA. There are also a string of National Park-managed green spaces. The first is Greenbelt Park. The entrance is under construction so we don’t go in very far.

Our next stop is Fort Foote Park on the east shore of the Potomac River. This is one of dozens of small forts that were built at the beginning of the Civil War to protect Washington from attack by the Confederates.

A few miles down river is the granddaddy of the protective emplacements, Fort Washington Park. The original fort guarding this water approach to Washington was built in 1824 in response to the British burning the White House in the War of 1812. It is a substantial fortress with dozens of gun emplacements and even a drawbridge entrance. We give ourselves the guided tour of this bluff top guardian.

A little further down the Potomac is Piscataway Park. We missed the main entrance; instead reaching Farmington Landing, a popular fishing spot on the river. Backtracking we made our way to the main entrance and National Colonial Farm. This green space was preserved to  protect the view from George Washington’s Mount Vernon that sits directly across the river. We walked out to the pier to get our glimpse of George’s home.

We also walked around National Colonial Farm which is trying to duplicate what a subsistence farm in that era would have looked like. They also grow many heirloom vegetables to preserve their seed stock.

A half hour drive south takes us to Thomas Stone National Historic Site. This park consists of the family home of Thomas Stone and his descendents, a very prominent Maryland family. The patriarch, Thomas Stone, signed the Declaration of Independence. That was a heavy decision for a wealthy family. If we had lost the war for freedom, (as was likely), all the signers would have been hanged as traitors and their property seized. The Visitor Center is closed so we walked around the main house reading storyboards.

We crossed the Potomac into Virginia on a long high toll bridge, or at least it was supposed to be. We have yet to pay any toll in the normally fee-hungry East Coast. We are guessing they shut down the manual cash collection because of the pandemic. At least there are some small benefits. Fifteen minutes later we arrive at George Washington Birthplace National Monument. This is the ancestral home of the Washington family. George was born here in 1732 but grew up elsewhere before eventually inheriting Mount Vernon.

As we pull in, we are amused to see a one tenth scale Washington Monument greeting us. Unfortunately the birth home was destroyed by fire long ago. A recreated memorial home was built in 1931. We got a guided ranger tour of this house. We learned the Washington men gained wealth and prominence the old fashioned way; they consistently married well above their status. Afterwards we walked out to see the Potomac view enjoyed by his family.

The heat and humidity is wearing on us so we quit early and drive west to Fredericksburg, VA and find a hotel. We have a delicious Thai Curry for dinner.