It’s been ages since I’ve written anything personal up here and that’s mostly because life has kept me busy LIVING outdoors and away from the computer. This is definitely a good thing but I do miss keeping this blog up-to-date. I certainly can’t promise to be more regular about my writing, but I do plan to post more frequently when there is actually something to share.

That said, over the weekend I had the chance to visit Mount Vernon, George Washington’s Virginia estate, right outside of Washington, DC. I’ve known that the attraction has existed for years, but never heard anyone say anything [positive OR negative] about it. Most recently when I was searching for local hikes that were dog-friendly, I came across a thread that suggested Mount Vernon as a wonderful place to take a dog. This sort of struck me as bizarre because in DC you can’t drink water on the metro let alone take dogs in many public spaces.

I did a bit more research and discovered that Mount Vernon IS indeed dog friendly, mostly because George Washington himself loved dogs and animals as is evidenced by the numerous farm animals on his estate. Dogs are allowed nearly everywhere except inside the manor and the museum.

Yesterday was a perfect afternoon to explore the property and my father who was in town accompanied us on the gorgeous walk. After walking through the main building (marble floors and dioramas – very Smithsonian-like), we found ourselves on a beautiful gravel path that wound its way around the main manor, down to the wharf, through Washington’s tomb, and past his working pioneer farm.

There were tons of tourists, though not tons of dogs. I imagine part of this was because of the heat. I kept waiting for an exhibit guide to tell us we were breaking a rule when we walked through the air-conditioned buildings or when I let Atlas step up and use the human water fountain (a great trick he has mastered), but all I got were kind nods and Atlas received numerous head pats and tummy rubs. Even though it was a very warm day for his fur coat, he enjoyed all the attention and the occasional rest on cool stones underneath log benches.