The National Park system is such a marvel. Within the course of 48 hours, we were able to experience the full breadth of what they do, from maintaining Monticello, the only Presidential estate to also be recognized as a Unesco World Heritage site to maintaining the nearly 80,000 acres of Shenandoah National Park, which was finally established in 1935, providing an area for nature and recreation for those who live on the east coast.
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| Obligatory Monticello selfie! |
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| Obligatory Shenandoah National Park selfie! |
Our day in Charlottesville started and ended with yummy meals in quaint restaurants (Farm Bell Kitchen for brunch and The Local for dinner) that pride themselves on their locally sourced ingredients. Since we have spent the past weeks driving by all manner of these local farms, it makes the whole "farm to table" mission so much more authentic in this part of the country.
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| the list of farms is on the blackboard |
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| Their version of a "Moscow Mule" is a Moonshine Mule - delicious! |
After brunch, we were off to a 12:45 "Highlights" tour of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate, made famous for not only his contribution to history but also his contribution to architecture and innovation within his home. From the weighted clock that is rigged with pullies to tell you what day it is (though the construction of the first floor was just a tad short, requiring Saturday to be placed in the basement!) to the dumbwaiter for wine installed within the fireplace in the dining room (an empty bottle was sent down, and a new one sent back up) to his "polygraph," a device that enabled him to make a copy of every letter he wrote (and he wrote about 19,000 of them!), the home is a living document to Jefferson's interests and passions.
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| You can see the polygraph behind Jefferson's bed, where he died on July 4th. |
In addition to his attention to the details of his home, Jefferson was equally attentive to his garden and to the building of the University of Virginia, which he watched through a telescope from his grounds. If he was unhappy with something they were doing, apparently he mounted his horse for the couple hour ride down to the site to ask for modifications.
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| The view of the UVA dome from Monticello |
Once the tour is completed, you are encouraged to wander around the grounds, where there are multiple displays along Mulberry Row where the enslaved labor (as the guides refer to Jefferson's slaves) lived and worked. Our guide did a wonderful job bringing to life the walking contradiction Thomas Jefferson was, and we all came away with a richer understanding of the man.
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| The original tree had to be removed as it was threatening the house; the new tree comes from the same root system. |
We stopped a peach and apple orchard just outside Monticello for some views and some apple cider donuts before heading back into Charlottesville to take a closer look at the university and drive around some of the surrounding neighborhoods.
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| The view of the orchard shop and beyond |
Today we bid farewell to Charlottesville and headed for Shenandoah National Park and the famed Skyline Drive. Since our final stop is Richmond, which is less than an hour from Charlottesville, we had a day to devote to exploring the park through the drive, the dozen or so lookouts we stopped at and the Stony Man Mountain hike we took to the second highest summit in the park. During a good part of this hike, we were on the Appalachian Trail, which was marked with white paint (while the Stony Man Trail was marked with blue). Somewhere in the midst of all that, Maddie took a phone call from California and was offered - and accepted - a job! There was much talk. both figurative and literal - about climbing summits and looking out on the horizon. And I only had a mild heart attack or two as Dana and the kids went out a bit further than my comfort level allowed on the craggy rocks.
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| Maddie takes the call! :) |
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| Maddie points out the trail markings |
As beautiful as the park is and as breathtaking as some of those views are, I was almost as impressed - and certainly more surprised - by our subsequent drive to Richmond via Route 231. The rolling hills, farms, horses, weddings (yup, we saw a couple getting married at sunset on one perfect hill), vineyards - that dot the drive on the Blue Mountain turnpike astounded me. Having lived in Virginia for just a short while during college, I never realized just how much natural beauty there is so close by the big cities. I took note of the names of a couple of places to which we might want to someday return - Spotswood Lodge, anyone?
We arrived to Richmond and our magnificent historic Jefferson Hotel with time to ogle the glorious lobby before getting ready for a sumptuous dinner (perhaps the best of our trip thus far) at Lemaire, the hotel's wonderful restaurant.
We have just one final day left before calling it a wrap on states 48 and 49 of our Amber Waves tour. Tomorrow, we left ourselves blissfully wide open to explore this capital city, the 3rd to be established in the nation's history. Of course, we're already envisioning a return trip to these dappled sunlit drives in that future October five years from now.
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