I'm Sleeping Where George Freaking Washington Did!

There is so much history east of the Rocky Mountains that I've forgotten about since cramming for school final exams!  On our trek from Utah to Virginia, I saw monuments to Lewis and Clark; Robert E. Lee; Davy Crockett; Daniel Boone; David Farragut; Jefferson Davis; Kit Carson; Mark Twain; Hunter S. Thompson; Casey Jones; Patrick Henry; Abraham Lincoln; Pocahontas.  (If you don't know who these important Americans are, look 'em up!  You'll be glad you did.)

For 9 days, we are staying at Travelers Rest, a farmhouse located on a lonely country road about half way between two historic places: Richmond, Virginia and the Potomac River.  This dwelling built in 1760 is where General George Washington would stop and rest when he was traveling between Washington DC and Williamsburg.

(Yes! THAT George Washington!)

When we first walked into the amazing old house, I was struck by the scent of wood-burning hearth, and by the high ceilings above short and crooked doors.  I don't know how much of the house is original, but I do know that nothing looks like really old bricks like really old bricks do, and that the handrail on the stairs has been polished smooth by time in a way that just can't be faked, and that the staircase inside is slanted just enough to make me think I've swigged a second beer every time I go up or down them.

 
Outside among acres and acres of gently rolling hills is a big ol' red barn with horses, a pond, a hammock, the obligatory gang of geese patrolling the property, fenced pastures in front of endless woods. There is not another house in sight.

Absent are sounds of city life, replaced by a constant chorus of birdsong (not completely welcome at 5 o'clock this morning, but pleasant nonetheless), punctuated by the occasional peacock holler, worried goose chatter and soft horse whinnies.  And after dark, only the willows rustling in the breeze.

This is the future "peaceful place" in my mind.

Todd and I went on a long walk into the woods this morning, before the heat of the day settled onto the Virginia landscape.  We tromped along in the company of a farm dog, whose name I don't know, but he was happy to join us strangers on his land.  We meandered deeper and deeper into the woods, farther away from signs of human settlement, on a trail just about wide enough for a pair of horses to march side-by-side between the tree trunks.  Todd broke our silence, to tell me he'd once read that George Washington used to personally walk around his property on a regular basis, possibly so he could tell others what needed to be tended to later.  It was even possible, he said, that The General walked on this very trail during one of his stops here at Travelers Rest, some 250 years ago.

George Freaking Washington!

I love history.