Camel in Winter

We had never seen George Washington's Mt. Vernon mansion decked out for the holidays, and with it being only about a 20 minute drive from the house, we headed down there last Sunday to check it out.  

You might wonder about the relationship between camels and winter (other than the generally-held belief that the three wise men from the East rode camels on their journey to bring gifts to baby Jesus). 

Well, among the lesser known "fun facts" about George Washington is that he had a fondness for exotic animals, which is why there was a camel there to greet us as we made our way up the path from the visitor's center to the mansion. 

Aladdin was the modern-day equivalent of the camel George Washington brought to Mt. Vernon to entertain visiting children during the holidays in 1787. Aladdin was a gregarious and gentle beast who seemed to be posing and flashing a cheesy, toothy smile in every photo we took. And yes, he was even a good sport when we, and other passersby, yelled out "Mike . . . Mike . . . Mike . . . Mike . . . Mike!!" and "What day is it?!? (a la the Geico commercials).

By today's new construction "McMansion" standards, the Mt. Vernon mansion is smaller looking in real life than you would think.  In its day, though, it was considered to be huge.  The original structure (the center part of the mansion) dates back to 1735.  Under George Washington's stewardship, it underwent two significant expansions to ultimately become the three-story, 21-room edifice that still stands today, unchanged from how it looked in 1799 when George Washington died.

The sweeping views of the Potomac in winter from the back of the mansion were spectacular!

Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the mansion, so you'll just have to check it out for yourself when you get a chance.  Or,  if you can't wait, you can catch the virtual tour at:  http://www.mountvernon.org/site/virtual-tour/.  

As a special treat for the holidays, we got to go up to the third floor and see the cupola and Mrs. Washington's bedroom and retreat where she spent her remaining years after George Washington died. 

We also enjoyed touring the grounds and seeing the outbuildings (the Blacksmith shop is pictured below) and taking in some of the exhibits and information in the Visitor's Center.

Merry Christmas to all, and hope this blog post finds you happier than a camel on "hump day" (woot, woot!).  Wishing you peace, joy and abundant blessings this Yuletide season!