[77] His profligate spending combined with low tobacco prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764, prompting him to diversify his holdings.[78] In 1765, because of erosion and other soil problems, he changed Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded operations to include corn flour milling and fishing.[79] Washington also took time for leisure with fox hunting, fishing, dances, theater, cards, backgammon, and billiards.[80]
Washington soon was counted among the political and social elite in Virginia. From 1768 to 1775, he invited some 2,000 guests to his Mount Vernon estate, mostly those whom he considered people of rank, and was known to be exceptionally cordial toward his guests.[81] He became more politically active in 1769, presenting legislation in the Virginia Assembly to establish an embargo on goods from Great Britain.[82]
Washington's step-daughter Patsy Custis suffered from epileptic attacks from age 12, and she died in his arms in 1773. The following day, he wrote to Burwell Bassett: "It is easier to conceive, than to describe, the distress of this Family".[83] He canceled all business activity and remained with Martha every night for three months.