And that includes mine, as I have yet to visit Mount Vernon , the plantation house of George Washington, first President of the United States, and his wife Martha Washington. The estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria, across from Prince George's County, Maryland. The mansion, which is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the estate, is made of wood in a loose Palladian style, and was gradually constructed by George Washington between 1758 and 1778. It occupies the site of a one and a half story farmhouse built by George Washington's father Augustine in 1735. When Augustin moved his family to the property in 1735, it was known as Little Hunting Creek Plantation. In the early 1740s, during the War of Jenkins' Ear, Lawrence Washington, George Washington’s eldest half-brother, served as a militia officer at the Battle of Cartagena. Lawrence inherited the Little Hunting Creek Plantation in 1743 and changed the name to ...

Ever heard of Montpelier? Neither had I -- at least not until a couple of years ago. It happens to be the plantation house where James Madison (1751-1836), 4th President of the United States and father of the U.S. Constitution, and First Lady Dolley Madison (1768-1849) lived. They didn't live there full-time, of course, until Madison completed his second term in 1817. Located near Orange, Virginia, the estate is comprised of a mansion, historic buildings, exhibits, garden, forest trails and archaeological sites. The origins of the name Montpelier are dubious at best, but the first recorded use of the name is traced back to a letter written in 1781. Madison liked the French spelling of the word -- Montpellier -- which translates to "Mount of the Pilgrim." Madison had a staff of roughly 100 enslaved African Americans at Montpelier who served in a variety of roles, from cooks to carpenters. It was declared a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Reg...

All of us yearn to win the lottery someday so that we can gleefully hand our bosses a resignation letter and live in the lap of luxury. Or do we? We claim to want to be millionaires, but how can we be sure we would really enjoy that kind of lifestyle? For people like me who aren't heavy spenders and don't necessarily gravitate toward luxury brands, being rich may not be our ultimate goal in life. We may not be all that interested in acquiring more money than we know what to do with. And some of us might feel pressured to live like millionaires -- say, driving around in a Maserati and living in a resplendent mansion -- simply because we have the means to do so. I have never aspired to become a millionaire. I've only wished to have enough saved up to afford me a comfortable life. What's more, I am not -- nor have I ever been -- materialistic. While other people may look forward to their next vacation or contemplate which fancy restaurant they are going to hit up nex...