"The Mansion" has been restored to look as it did in 1799, the year George Washington died.
There was a short guided tour of the mansion. We were only able to see a few rooms...one of which was Washington's bedroom, the room where he died. No photos allowed inside.
This is the other side of the house. It overlooks the Potomac River.
This is the view from the porch.
After the mansion tour, we could wander around and look inside the outbuildings.
The kitchen was in a separate building off from the house, and there were slave quarters, a smoke house, blacksmith shop, manager's cottage and more.
Back at the visitor's center there was lots more to look at...a museum, a theater, and an education center. You could easily spend an entire day here if you want to see everything.
We had to get going though, because our plan was to drive part way down Skyline Drive, which is a scenic roadway that follows the crest of the Blue Ridge mountains. It's in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
The road was constructed just for people to be able to enjoy the amazing views. There are many pull over areas and overlooks.
There was still lots of fall color. It's impossible to capture the real depth and beauty with a little point and shoot camera.
As the sun started sinking behind the mountains, we checked our map to find the next lodge along the drive. We were close, but didn't know if they would have any vacancies Luckily they did!
The lodge is older and the rooms are outdated, but what could be better than waking up to a lovely scenic mountain view?
The fog hanging in the valley looked like a river.
We got an early start and drove further on Skyline Drive. Lots of birds and squirrels were out looking for breakfast....and deer...dozens of them!
Soon we reached the point where we had to turn off and head for home...
...which was a nice scenic drive as well - as we wound through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia.
We both had a great time and felt that we saw a whole a lot in a few days.
It's always good to be back home!
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