The Castaway Hotel - 1 - 20. Chapter 20 - Presidential Estates

The sixth day of our trip, Friday, we awoke early (5:00 a.m.) and began with a quick breakfast. While we were eating, the boys tried to discover what we were going to do today, so I reached into my pocket and extracted all the change I had there. I then handed each of them a coin and explained the clues to our itinerary could be found on those items. Immediately, they began studying them, making observations as they went.

“Well, we saw where Lincoln was assassinated and the Lincoln Museum,” Jay said, looking at the penny, “and we saw the Lincoln Memorial, so I don’t see any clues here.”

“And we saw all of Washington and the Washington Monument,” Brandon said, while gazing at the quarter, “and I have no idea if the eagle on the back is supposed to mean anything,” he added.

“And I think this is supposed to be Jefferson,” Ricky offered, observing his nickel, “and we’ve seen the Jefferson Memorial and the Capitol Building on the back,” he added, after flipping the coin over.

“I’m not certain, but I think this is FDR on the dime,” Danny commented, while looking at me, so I nodded that he was correct. “If I remember right from history class, Roosevelt was from New York and I don’t know of any monuments to him around here.”

“Just keep working on it and you may figure it out,” I explained, without offering to give them any more information. “Pass the coins around and take a good look at all of them and maybe you’ll come up with something.”

The boys did as I suggested and continued to look at the coins, passed them around and debated with each other about their meaning as they ate. However, they still hadn’t figured out what I was up to by the time we left the restaurant. Once we were in the van, we set off for our next destination, with the boys complaining that I wasn’t being fair and needed to give them more clues.

“Okay, have you boys been reading that Harry Potter book I bought for each of you?” I asked. They each nodded their head in response. “Okay, there’s another clue in there, in one of the character’s names.”

The boys quickly put their heads together and tried to figure out which character it was and how his or her name could lead them to figure out where we were going next. They still hadn’t figured it out, by the time I pulled up to our next stop.

“What is this place?” Ricky asked, looking at the building in the distance.

“That is Mt. Vernon, home to George and Martha Washington from the time of their marriage in 1759 and until his death in 1799.”

“So my quarter held the clue, huh?” Brandon commented, mildly upset that he hadn’t figured it out.

“But what did that have to do with anyone in Harry Potter?” Jay asked.

“What’s Harry’s uncle’s name?” I responded. He thought for a minute.

“Uncle Vernon,” he replied.

“Yes, UNCLE VERNON and MOUNT VERNON,” I offered.

“That was pretty lame,” Ricky stated, disgusted, “and not very helpful.” The others quickly agreed with his observation.

“Well, it was the best I could do at the time,” I added, in justification.

We got out and I quickly tried to prepare them for this visit. “Washington loved this place and continued to expand it throughout his life. We will tour the house and some of the dozen or so outbuildings.”

“What’s an outbuilding?” Jay asked, not understanding.

“It’s a structure that is not part of the main building,” I informed him. “Back then, the kitchen would have been located in a separate outbuilding, so as not to set fire to the house, if anything happened.”

“You know, like the outhouse,” Danny also added, “where they’d go to take their dumps.” Suddenly, they all understood what an outbuilding was.

“We’re going to see an outside toilet?” Jay followed, confused, so I felt I needed to show them there were other reasons for such structures.

“No, Jay,” I assured him. “That was just Danny’s way of trying to explain what an outbuilding is. It was accurate, but limited in its scope. A barn or a chicken coop could also be considered an outbuilding, if that helps.” He nodded his head, so I felt I didn’t need to explain any further.

Upon first entering the home, you can’t help but be impressed by the large foyer and its graceful walnut staircase, not to mention the walls, which were covered in a lovely honey-colored pine and made the area almost glow. “This area served as a main entertainment area too,” I advised the boys, “since it captured the cool summertime breezes, in the days before air conditioning.”

“What’s that key in the case on the wall?” Brandon wanted to know.

“That is the key to the Bastille, the French political prison that was stormed during the French Revolution, which took place a few years after the American Revolution. The prison was later torn down and the key was presented to Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette, who assisted Washington during the Revolutionary War and then also took part in the French Revolution.” The boys seemed to be impressed and studied the key closely.

Once they tired of that activity, we moved on to the room to our right. This was a small dining room, with green walls. The boys didn’t really care for the color, so we quickly passed into Washington’s study, where he spent a great deal of time conducting the business of the estate in private. The one item in there the boys became interested in, other than the bust of Washington, was the fan chair. It was an ordinary Windsor chair that had a pasteboard fan attached above it, which the ‘sitter’ could operate by pumping the wooden treadles with his or her feet.

“That seems like a lot of work,” Ricky observed. “Wouldn’t you sweat more just making that thing work?”

“Maybe,” I agreed, “but seeing they didn’t have motors to operate such things, the only other way for it to work would be to have someone else operate it for you, like a slave.”

“But he didn’t have a slave, right?” Ricky followed.

“He did, as did most of the early founding fathers,” I told him.

“But didn’t they say ALL men were created equal,” he pressed.

“They did, and that was one point all of them had trouble justifying, with the high ideals that they saw as the basis for this new country,” I told him. “Some of them, like Washington and Jefferson, tried to rectify this later, by freeing their slaves upon their death.”

“At least they did something,” Brandon added, as we left that room and moved on.

“This is awfully small for a bedroom,” Danny observed, as we moved into the next room.”

“Yes, but that was typical for homes of this period. The room would be large enough for a bed and a few other small pieces of furniture and that was all.”

“Where’s the closet?” Brandon inquired.

“If they had a place to store their clothing, it would have most likely been a small wardrobe,” I informed them. “You have to remember, most people didn’t have many clothes, at least not compared to today’s standards.”

Crossing the foyer, to the other side, we entered the ‘little parlor/music room,’ which contained some chairs and the harpsichord that Washington had purchased for his step-granddaughter. From there, we passed into the elaborately decorated and elegant two-story ‘large dining room,’ where the Washingtons loved to entertain family and guests.

The final room on the first-floor was the ‘front parlor.’ This was the room where coffee and tea was generally served after dinner and the family could come to read or discuss the latest political news.

“How come all these rooms have fireplaces?” Jay asked, innocently.

“In the days before central heating, each room needed its own fireplace,” I informed him. “A fire would be lit in the room before it was occupied, to keep its occupants warm and cozy.” Immediately, Jay was chagrined to think he hadn’t figured that out for himself, as it seemed so simple.

The second-floor had three rooms of interest. The ‘Nelly Curtis room,’ which was the room used by Washington’s step-granddaughter, and contained the beautiful mahogany crib, which Nellie used when her oldest child was born, and a canopy bed. The next was the master bedroom, which was located directly above Washington’s study on the first-floor. The unusual aspect of this room is that the canopy bed is six-feet wide and six-feet, six inches long, which was needed to accommodate Washington’s six-foot, three-inch height. The final room was the ‘Lafayette Room,’ which is the largest of the guest rooms and the room commonly used by the Marquis de Lafayette when visiting Mt. Vernon. The remaining rooms were also guest bedrooms, but quite unremarkable, when compared to the three I’ve mentioned.

On the third-floor, was the steep and narrow ladder that led to the cupola, which is one of the most striking and easily identifiable features of Washington’s home. Although the boys weren’t allowed to go up there, we suspected it provided stunning views of the surrounding estate. The other room of interest on this level was ‘Mrs. Washington’s bedroom,’ a small bedchamber that Martha retreated to after the death of her husband. It is said that she spent most of her time there, until her own death, two and a half years later.

After leaving the house, we walked around the four gardens, saw Washington’s tomb and visited the ‘Pioneer Farmer site.’ At this last stop, we watched horses tread wheat in the 16-sided barn and saw cooking demonstrations in the ‘kitchen.’

As we drove away from the home, I informed the boys the key to our next stop was on one of the three remaining coins, so they began searching them for clues. We were a little more than halfway through the three-hour drive to our next destination, when we stopped for lunch. As we walked inside, Danny spoke to me. “I think I’ve figured it out,” he commented, in a low, assured voice. “Jefferson also came from Virginia, so I’ll bet we’re heading to his home next. I forgot the name of it, but I remember he designed and built it.”

“Bingo,” I exclaimed, surprising all of the boys. “You’ve figured it out. Our next stop will be Monticello, the home of third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.” The boys in general, but Danny in particular, seemed pleased with having solved this mystery. Now they ate their meal quickly, so we could be off again.

“Hey, that’s the building on the back of the nickel,” Ricky exclaimed, as we approached it.

“Yes, Ricky, it is,” I concurred. “It is Monticello on the flip-side of Jefferson’s bust, not the Capitol Building. I was wondering when you were going to figure that out.” Ricky blushed a bit, because of his error, and realized, belatedly, that was the reason he hadn’t figured out our next destination before Danny did.

As we entered the house, we moved in to the entrance hall, which is a large space that served as a reception area and waiting room for visitors. Its most unique feature is a balcony that connects the two mezzanine-level wings.

Off to the left side of the entrance hall is the south square room, which served as Martha Jefferson Randolph’s sitting room, where she sewed, schooled the children and ran the household. Next to that room was Jefferson’s suite of rooms, which included his bookroom or library, the south piazza or greenhouse, the cabinet that Jefferson used for reading, writing, architectural drafting and scientific observation, and Jefferson’s bedroom, with it’s unique alcove double bed.

“Look, the bed’s build right into the wall,” Jay commented, admiring the design. The other boys readily agreed that it was quite ‘cool’ as well.

Directly to the rear of the entrance hall is the parlor, which is a large room with beautiful parquet floors and displays most of Jefferson’s art collection. This room was used for games, music, reading and was the center of much of the social activity. It was also the site of weddings, dances and christenings during Jefferson’s lifetime.

On the right side of the entrance hall was the north square room, which served as a guest bedroom, the north octagonal room, which doubled as both as a bedroom and sitting room, the tea room, which was used as a small dining area, but was also a place where Jefferson might also read or write, and the formal dining room, complete with dumbwaiters, to bring everything that was needed into the room.

“Man, if it took us that long to drive from Washington to here,” Brandon remarked, “how long did it take Jefferson to travel back and forth.”

“Much longer than that,” I assured him. “It might take days, or even weeks, to get from one place to another, so you had limited contact with others. Your only forms of entertainment would be with family or friends at your home or someone else’s, or at other social gatherings, most likely held at a church. You would spend much of your time reading books or learning what was going on by reading regional newspapers, which might be printed once a week or once a month.” The boys all agreed they would probably have been very bored, if they lived back then.

The biggest surprise on this stop was not the house, but the additional knowledge the boys gained about Jefferson. They discovered that not only was he one of the founding fathers, but he also authored the ‘Declaration of Independence’ when he was thirty-three, served as Minster to France and Secretary of State under Washington, and was Vice President under John Adams, before he became the third President.

While serving in that office, Jefferson eliminated the unpopular whiskey tax, sent a naval squadron to fight the Barbary pirates, cut the national debt by a third and made his most significant contribution – the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon in 1803. The addition of that piece of property effectively doubled the size of the young country and removed another foreign influence from the continent.

“I would have loved to be with Lewis and Clark when they explored that area,” Ricky informed us. “It would have been fun to camp out every night and see all those great places for the very first time.”

“You’re forgetting about how difficult the travel was and the wild animals and hostile natives they might have encountered along the way,” I informed him, “not to mention what problems Mother Nature might create for them.”

“Well, I still think it would have been neat,” was Ricky’s retort, as he didn’t want to give in on this point.

In addition to everything else Jefferson accomplished, he was an architect and not only designed his home, but also developed the plans for the University of Virginia. He was also an inventor and came up with ideas for a folding ladder, a portable writing desk, a clock that told the date too, an improved plow, a swivel chair and the first dumbwaiter in the US. He was truly a man of enormous genius.

One other ironic, if not unbelievable, fact about Jefferson’s life was that he died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Not only that, but he succumbed only hours before John Adams, the second President, also passed away. I do believe the boys came away with a whole new respect for the man.

Leaving Monticello, we hit the road again, for another two and a half hour drive. After stopping for dinner, I took the boys to their first truly non-educational stop of the vacation, a visit to ‘Go Karts Plus’ in Williamsburg, VA. We would be spending the next four nights here, but for the next few hours, the boys drove go carts over two different tracks, rode bumper boats, played miniature golf and a variety of other games.

Jay’s awkwardness carried over to the track, when he had some trouble navigating the course. After seeing him bump into Ricky’s cart and nearly forcing Brandon completely off the track, I was afraid those in charge might decide he was too much of a hazard to allow him to continue driving. However, other than a few unbelieving and shocked expressions, they let him be. I think if there had been many others there, besides us, they might not have been so generous, but the boys weren’t going to let these incidents pass without comment.

“Jay, you get to bang into others on the bumper boats, not the go carts,” Danny informed him, tongue-in-cheek.

“Yeah, Crash,” Ricky began, giving his friend a new nickname in the process. “The idea is to stay on the track, while avoiding the other carts.”

“Jay, don’t mind them,” Brandon began, causing the other two to look at him oddly. “They just didn’t realize this was the demolition derby track,” he added, which caused Ricky and Danny to begin giggling. Jay took all the ribbing good-naturedly, but I wondered if down deep it didn’t hurt his feelings a bit.

I joined the boys in some of the activities, as I took a few spins around the track and played some of the games with them, but for the most part, I was more than content to sit back and watch the boys be boys. By the time we left there and checked in at the Inn we would be staying at, the older pair was so tired that they merely took quick showers and then collapsed into bed. I guess they had enjoyed themselves enough for one day.

The younger duo, however, still had energy to burn. Heading into the shower, they began whispering between themselves. “What do you want to do tonight?” Jay asked his blond partner.

“I don’t know,” Ricky responded. “Do you just want to suck each other off again?”

“Sure, that would be okay with me,” Jay confirmed. Without further encouragement, the pair entered the shower and Ricky knelt down in front of Jay.

Ricky seemed eager to play with Jay’s uncut penis again, since he was still fascinated by that extension of skin that he had been deprived of. He slid it playfully back and forth over the glans, before engulfing it. Eagerly, he slid it in and out of his mouth, teasing it with his tongue as he went. Jay was enjoying this attention very much, and it didn’t take long before he exploded into Ricky’s waiting pallet. Swallowing greedily, Ricky accepted the entire load and sucked Jay flaccid, before giving up.

Quickly, the boys exchanged places, so Jay could return the favor. With as much enthusiasm as his partner had shown, Jay got to work, licking and sucking Ricky’s entire genital area, before suckling on Ricky’s boy treat. Enthusiastically, he bobbed up and down and the stiff rod, adding as much suction as he knew how. The high-speed effort and Ricky’s horniness quickly brought him over the brink, and Ricky flooded Jay’s mouth with his offering. After drinking down every drop, Jay refused to stop until Ricky held his head still, letting Jay know that his little friend couldn’t take any more attention.

The pair quickly finished up and then came out into the main room and convinced me to join them in bed again. After such a long day, it didn’t take any of us long to drift off.