A Trip to Monticello

Monticello was the plantation of Thomas Jefferson. 2,500 of the 5,000 acres are owned by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and they maintain the property which as been open to the public for 90 years. It is located near Charlottesville, Virginia

We first took a tour of the house that he designed and had built after inheriting the land from his father. He also inherited his fathers salves and he was only able to afford to built it by selling some of the slaves. The house is around 11,000 square feet and has 43 rooms. There are also 13 skylights which was something new in that day. In the 40 years he lived there he was constantly designing and redesigning the house. There is also a library which has some of the thousands of books he owned. He was a voracious reader.He sold many of the books to the Library of Congress in DC after a large fire burned most of the Library's books during the war of 1812. There was another fire later and two thirds of the over 6,000 books they received from Jefferson were burned. The Library of Congress, through a generous grant, are attempting to replace the books they got from Jefferson. We couldn't take pictures of the inside of the house but took some of his gardens which are quite extensive. There were 100's of types of vegetables and fruits planned n his gardens and many from different countries.

We also took a tour on slavery and the plantation. It is hard to believe that the person who wrote the Declaration of Independence with its freedom and liberty for all, would own slaves. At any time there were around 130 slaves working on his estate. He was said to abhor slavery and would have worked to abolish it if a piratical solution could be found. However, when he died he still had slaves. It shows that even some of our greatest heroes can be flawed. It was an interesting and enlightening visit.

On our way back to the campground we saw several deer. Our last night in Virginia gave us another beautiful sunset. We are next headed to North Carolina.

Stay tuned ya all.

Shenandoah National PArk

We left DC and went out way south to Virginia. Our destination is Shenandoah NP. There are four campgrounds in the park. We entered from the north end meeting our first challenge. We weren't sure we were going to be able to get through the entrance as the overhang looked low. I walked up and checked with the rangers there. One of them said we should be able to get through on one of the sides. One was too low and we made it through with an inch to spare. However, they told us there was a tunnel ahead that was 12'8", one inch too short. There is a campground before the tunnel and another entrance station we could use if we wanted to go farther down. We first drove to the visitor center and talking to one of the rangers there decided on Loft Mountain, which is the farthest one down. We decided to drive back to the entrance we came and go around and enter back into the Park down there. It would be a beautiful drive but lots of windy roads and low hanging branches. We got to Loft Mountain and got the last of the pull through sites that had somewhat of a view.It is lovely.

From the sitting area you can see a little bit of the mountain and there is a short path to a point where you have awesome views. This is also where you can take a hike on the trail that goes around the park. Actually it is part of the Appalachian Trail.

One day while there we did hike on the trail. The area we walked went through the heavily treed path with flowers, ferns and even some mushrooms.

After our hike we took a drive on Skyline Drive. It goes from one end of the NP to the other and where the south end stops, it becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Hard to believe looking at the views that there was a huge battle that took place over 150 years ago during the Civil War.

Then to complete the day we got a beautiful sunset that we could see on the overlook right down from our site.

Kayaking at Waller Mill Park

Yesterday when we got back, one of the people who worked there asked if we had taken our boats out yet. We had mentioned we checked out the James River but we don't decided where we wanted to paddle. He told us about a place that was just 5 minutes away from the campground. We weren't enough aware of it and decided to check it out today. It was easy to find. We did have to pay to enter the Park and a small charge for launching our boats. It was worth it. We had a very enjoyable paddle in a beautiful spot. There was even some fall colors on the trees that crowded the banks of the lake. When we first started off, we went through a tunnel that went under the roadway. We saw a few people fishing at the start of the paddle but didn't see anyone else until we were on the way back. Then when we started to go back through the tunnel, we had to wait for a boat to go through, Then another and another. Traffic jam. Also glad Joe paid attention as you could hardly see the place where the opening of the tunnel is when you heading back.

                                                                   

Jamestown Settlement

Friday, we went to another historic site, Jamestown Settlement where America’s first permanent English colonists and the Powhatan Indians they encountered lived in the early 1600's.In 1607, 13 years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, 104 English men began a settlement on the James River in Virginia.

Two young costumed girls get in the spirit

Besides the re-creation of the colonist's fort and the Powhatan village, there was also replications of the three ships that the first settlements made their journey across the seas. The ships are not that large and you can only image what the journey was like for the 103 men and boys crowded below deck.

One of the historic interpreters demonstrating how to built a canoe

                                                                                             

Yorktown

Wednesday was another of the rainy days we seem to have at least once no matter where we go. Thursday was a nice sunny daly and  we drove over to Yorktown, another historic site near the York River. We first went to the Vistor Center and decided to take a tour of teh Yorktown Battlefield. On October 19, 1781, a British army under General Charles Lord Cornwallis was forced to surrender to General Washington’s combined American and French army at this site. The guide discussed the battle and showed us some of the weapons used.

We walked on down through the town of York where the last major battle of the American Revolution was bought in 1781. By the early 1700's the town itself was a major port serving Williamsburg, the new capital of Virginia

Yorktown Victory Momument, which was first momument authorized by Continental Congress just a short time after the battle but not erected for 100 years.

House of Thomas York Jr, governor of Virginia in 1781

We continued our walk to the river front and found  a pub  for some lunch.