A REAL National Treasure: Mt. Vernon! - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Yes, it is very interesting, and it is all privately owned by MVLA (as opposed to being a National Park). They seem to not be shy about getting sponsorships.
By the time we got to the distillery, everyone was getting tired, so I didn't have time to get photos of the inside, but the copper still pots are huge, and the condensers are in standard barrels with running water and the drains are in the floor. It is really quite a contrast from the moonshine exhibits I have seen. They have a large, open boiler to warm the water for the mash barrels, so they are completely set up make real product. It might be neat to try some, just to say you did!
There is so much more to see at Mount Vernon! We did not get to view the Upper and Lower Gardens along with the greenhouse. There are also many, many more out-buildings, each with its own purpose and wonderful restored artifacts and information. We did not get to see the fruit garden and nursery, either. We also did not visit Washington’s tombs and the slave memorial which have a very interesting contrast, from the photos I have seen. A couple of times every month they have special programs of various types and there is even a daily sightseeing cruise as well as a cruise that travels from Washington, DC to Mount Vernon, and back. They seem to handle both large groups and small groups well as our experience was not affected by any large groups. I think they have received a lot of help with customer service as they have things set up pretty well so visitors entering and leaving an ‘attraction’ don’t get in each other’s way. I guess that’s queue theory, or something like that?
According to the MVLA website, the National Treasures tour has been extended through October! Check it out if you can.
Mount Vernon is a wonderful place to visit on a spring day. I hope everyone can get a chance to go there sometime!
The weather today: Started a little chilly and breezy, but ended up sunny and 67. Magical Moment: Seeing the film of Washington’s life with some locations we have seen in Williamsburg. Souvenirs: the requisite spoons, bells and thimbles as well as books! The best thing: The National Treasures tour (and getting the last tickets for the early one). The worst thing: The food. The funniest thing: Traveling 200 miles to see cows (we have them in our front yard). Today we tried: Taking the whole family on a day trip. And the result was: We had a nice time!
I enjoyed your report very much. Mt. Vernon is a very fascinating place to visit. If you ever have time, give Monticello a shot - it's driving distance from DC
I really enjoyed your trip report! I wish I had had that much time there and the tour would have been nice also. I wondered why they didn't allow photos in the mansion, I never thought of the fact of how slowly people would move if they were taking pictures. That does make sence. I also agree with you on the food, not yummy. Glad you all had a such a good time.!
I enjoyed your report very much. Mt. Vernon is a very fascinating place to visit. If you ever have time, give Monticello a shot - it's driving distance from DC
Jim,
Thank you for your kind words.
Monticello is on our list and we plan to go sometime soon while on our way to visiting family in Virginia. I went when I was much younger, and it was pretty neat, so I would love to take the kids there!
I really enjoyed your trip report! I wish I had had that much time there and the tour would have been nice also. I wondered why they didn't allow photos in the mansion, I never thought of the fact of how slowly people would move if they were taking pictures. That does make sence. I also agree with you on the food, not yummy. Glad you all had a such a good time.!
Thank you, B.
I like your TR so far. It is nice to see what other people think of our nation's capital. I'm sorry you didn't have much time at Mount Vernon, it really is worth a full day.
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We live in the outer 'burbs, far to the south of you. I work in the center of town. We have to take the beltway and go over THAT bridge.
I'll bet that wedding was nice. We went to one in Davidsonville, once.
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