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I’ve visited George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate a few times as a child. It was mostly when we had relatives visit from Ohio and my parents would take them there. I visited Mount Vernon once or twice as an adult but that was when I went with my then-husband.
I saw an ad on Facebook saying that there are only two days a year when Mount Vernon has free admission. One is on the Presidents’ Day holiday and the other is just a few days later on February 22, which is Washington’s birthday. Since the admission fee is now $30, there would be free admission on Presidents’ Day, and I was married the last time I went to Mount Vernon so I decided to spend the Presidents’ Day holiday there.
The good news was that I got to save $30 admission. The bad news was that so many other people had the same idea and that place was crowded the entire time I was there.
When I first arrived I saw a group of men put up a floral bouquet that was shaped like a Masonic symbol.
Here’s a fun fact: George Washington was a Freemason. In fact the George Washington Masonic National Memorial is located in nearby Alexandria.
I have to admit that the bouquet was pretty.
The first thing I did after I arrived was to go to the visitors center. There I was greeted with a giant bust of George Washington.
I checked out the gift shop where these George Washington dolls were on sale.
They also had George Washington-themed teddy bears on sale as well.
Th visitors center had a cafeteria where one could eat. I purchased an Italian meat sandwich (which included ham and pastrami), a bag of potato chips and a can of diet soda. The price wasn’t so bad considering the fact that I was in a popular tourist area. But I soon regretted my choice of lunch because I ended up spending more time in the restroom than actually touring the place.
Once my stomach started to settle I began to walk around outside where I found more indicators that George Washington once lived there.
I came across this really pretty stained glass window illustrating scenes from the life of George Washington.
I finally came upon the mansion itself.
The mansion was just as I remembered it from years ago.
Someone gave out timed tickets for touring the inside of the main house when I arrived in the area. I got the one for the tour that began at 3:40 p.m. I had an hour to kill so I sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful yet cold day.
I didn’t do as much walking as I would’ve liked. I grew physically tired. I began to curse myself for not bringing a cane with me because I could’ve withstood walking a bit more with some support. On top of that, there were a lot of people. Like I wrote earlier, Mount Vernon was crowded that day, which was a hassle. When I arrived at the line for the 3:40 p.m. tour one of the employees informed us that due to the large number of crowds, the tours were running behind schedule. The 3:40 tour wouldn’t begin until after 5 p.m. I wasn’t into waiting that long because the rest of Mount Vernon closed at 4 p.m. plus it was the time of the year when it was still nighttime by 5 p.m. Then there was the hassle of driving on unfamiliar roads at night and I decided to skip the house tour.
It’s been years since my last visit so there were things that I didn’t remember seeing before. One example was this museum that I didn’t recall seeing before. The museum itself had closed for the day (because I didn’t stumble upon it until after the 4 p.m. closing time). The entrance had this giant head of George Washington, which you can see below. What was really weird was that as you walked right by it, his face seemed to follow you.
I left Mount Vernon around 4:30 p.m. due to the crowds. It was great not paying the $30 admission but encountering crowds who were also taking advantage of the free day took some of the joy out of visiting Mount Vernon. On top of it, Mount Vernon has some lovely gardens but they tend to be dead in February because it was still winter.
There was another opportunity of visiting Mount Vernon for free on Washington’s birthday (February 22). Since it was on a workday there would’ve been fewer crowds. But the gardens still would’ve been dead. On top of it, the initial weather report had called for rain that day. The rain didn’t materialize on February 22 but it was cloudy and gloomy outside so I decided to just skip it.
Seeing all of these buildings have me thinking about visiting Mount Vernon again in April or May. I would have to pay $30 but the gardens would be lovier to look at. If I arrive early in the day, I could make a full day at Mount Vernon. If I actually go there again, I would go on a warm sunny day that’s not too hot. I could bring my own lunch (instead of eating another sandwich that gave me diarrhea on the day I went) and eat on a bench outside. On top of it, Mount Vernon closes at 5 p.m. from April through October.
I need to do more fun outings because I don’t know if I’ll get the opportunity if Donald Trump somehow manages to get reelected president and goes through with his threat of ruling as a dictator.
Venetian blue beads found in Alaska predate the arrival of Christopher Columbus.
The history of the little-known, short-lived “pocket records” format.
Before the Internet, there was the 1960s Dial-A-Poem hotline.
Snow White is real and she’s a Chinese blogger.
A giant 650-feet long horse earth sculpture integrated with natural landscape in the UK.
The real Irish-American story that is not taught in schools.
A pilgrimage to the ancient penis monastery.
A fascinating look at Nordic folk bands who make instruments from human bones.
A photographer captures rare sight of 65-foot-tall lava dome in Hawaii.
Artist fills forest with life-size sculptures made from woven rods of willow.
Japanese artist hand-crafts giant dragon sculpture from palm tree leaves and wood.
Caravans of color: The intricate vardo wagons of Britain’s Romani people.
Who is Generation Jones? A micro-generation between the Baby Boomers and the Generation Xers.
Recompose, the first human-composting funeral home in the U.S., is now open for business.
See what Corporate America looked like in the 1970s.
A look at New York’s radical female and non-binary skateboarders in photos.
At Seattle’s Little Free Art Gallery on Queen Anne, you can take a tiny piece of art or leave one.
340-pound skateboarder shatters stereotypes with new Bay Area club.
Meet the soil scientists using dirt to make stunning paints.
15,000-year-old bison sculptures are perfectly preserved in a French cave.
How the ocean polishes broken glass and turns it into treasure known as sea glass.
Hilariously threatening warning signs.
Every part of this tiny Polish village is covered in lovely floral paintings.
Once a neglected house, the “Rainbow Embassy” is a beacon of rebirth in Arkansas.
People who are suicidal don’t want to die, they just want the pain to stop.
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Star Wars characters reimagined as Winnie the Pooh and friends.
New app lets you hear Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in the original 14th-century English.
People are recycling their old glassware into garden mushrooms.
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Your homophobia isn’t a difference of opinion, it’s hate.
There’s a museum in Japan that honors rocks which resembles human faces.
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Artist creates pencil drawings that look like they’re lit with fluorescent lights.
3D printing gives voice to a 3,000-year-old mummy.
Amazing footage of thirty hummingbirds partaking in a peaceful bathing ritual together.
Mount Everest is melting, revealing tons of garbage and human bodies.
How being LGBTQ affected my AT thru-hike.
Wiki has released over 83,500 vintage sewing patterns online for download.
Exposing the myth of plastic recycling: Why a majority is burned or thrown in a landfill.
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This year I’m taking part in the 20th anniversary edition of Artomatic. Unlike previous Artomatics, this one will be a virtual event due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Trying to provide a direct link to my Artomatic exhibit is a challenge due to the way the website is designed, which I already griped about in this blog. I decided to write a separate post focusing on what I currently have on display just in case you don’t want to deal with the horrible interface of the official Artomatic website. I’ve included the size and price of each item. Purchasing information will be posted at the bottom of this post.
Desire
Acrylic on canvas
9 inches x 12 inches
23 cm x 30 cm
Price: $125
Robot in the Park
Mixed media (circuit board, rubber superball, tin, plastic 8-ball, string, glass beads, sticker, and acrylic paint on canvas)
5 inches x 5 inches
13 cm x 13 cm
Price: $50
My Little Pony
Acrylic on canvas
10 inches x 10 inches
25 cm x 25 cm
Price: $100
Souseiseki and Suiseiseki from the anime Rozen Maiden
Acrylic on canvas tote bag
15 inches x 10 inches x 5.5 inches
Price: $125
Fashion Show
LEGO Minifig and acrylic paint on canvas
4 inches x 4 inches
10 cm x 10 cm
Price: $10
Unfortunately the Artomatic website has a limit of just five art pieces, which is a far cry from the real-life shows where we were only limited by the amount of space we had in our area so we could fit as much art as the space could hold. I can change the graphics and descriptions so if I don’t get much response to what I have now, I’ll probably swap them in a couple of weeks for other art that I’ve done.
Artomatic will run until August 20, 2020. As for purchases, I am only accepting payments through PayPal. If you live within a five-mile radius of my home, I will provide free contactless delivery to your front door. For addresses further than five miles I will ship Priority Mail with the U.S. Post Office. To begin making a purchase, contact me via email at kimstark61 at gmail dot com.
UPDATE (August 9, 2020): I have received no notices from anyone regarding my work. In an effort to increase interest in my exhibition, I attempted to swap out what I currently have on display with more art only to discover that the Edit button that used to be there has been completely removed. So it looks like what you see in this entry will remain as my official Artomatic exhibition until the show officially closes on August 20, 2020.
UPDATE (August 20, 2020): Today is the last day of the virtual exhibit. I haven’t gotten any sales or attention from what I displayed. I’ll admit that I haven’t attended any of the virtual workshops or other virtual events at this Artomatic mainly because I was busy with other things going on in my life. This year’s virtual Artomatic was not quite the same as being there in person but I gave it my best shot so I’m not going to let it bother me at all. I’ll probably check out some of the prerecorded workshops that took place this year at a later date.
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The sound shirt that lets deaf people feel music using haptic sensors.
There’s a Greek Festival that’s held at a local Greek Orthodox Church in my area about twice a year. I’ve been going to that one for a number of years but I haven’t blogged about it until a couple of years ago. Since that 2016 post, I’ve gone back to that Greek Festival a few times but I haven’t taken any new pictures until earlier this month. So, without further ado, here are some new photos I shot at the Greek Festival that was held at St. Theodore Greek Orthodox Church in Lanham, Maryland earlier this month.
Sagittarius Dolly 
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