Mount Vernon, Monticello, Shenandoah National Park and Harper's Ferry

Mount Vernon was fabulous. The grounds were beautiful and the estate was an exercise in self-sufficiency. We took a boat ride on the Potomac and saw Mount Vernon from the water. Also saw Fort Washington, and we could even see off in the distance the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac from DC to Alexandria, VA.
Mount Vernon was much more Washington-esque - humble, yet stately than Jefferson's Monticello.




Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, sits atop some prime real estate. The estate is flawlessly designed. Jefferson was truly a brilliant visionary. With all he accomplished, and all he read/wrote, it makes me wonder if he had a personality disorder, or had difficulty in his personal relationships. I wouldn't mind living at Monticello. Nice house - but only if it included staff.




A view of the beautiful Shenandoah River Valley from along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Shenandoah National Park. We hadn't planned to go this way from Monticello back to Baltimore, but it was worth the few extra hours to see this gorgeous part of our beautiful land.




We made an unscheduled stop at Harper's Ferry - the beginnings of rumblings of Civil War, and underground railroad for Slaves getting to freedom in Maryland. This is at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. 3 States border this confluence - West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.