U.S. Presidents #'s 4, 5, and 3

For those of you playing along with the home game, that would be James Madison, James Monroe, and Thomas Jefferson. This would also be the order of visitation of their homes that occurred today. Wha???

Chris + a day off + Google Maps = a full day of travel.

An early morning rise. The dogs were fed, watered, and bladders emptied. The Jeep was gassed up and ready to go. Let's hit the open road...


Stop #1: 217 miles northward from Greensboro to James Madison's Montpelier.

$14 entrance fee.

Book purchases? One. Fife purchases? One. (Yes, a fife. Of "fife and drum". Chris bought a fife.)

The furthest of the three destinations from Greensboro, Chris hit this one first then would backtrack southward. Montpelier is undergoing a massive reconstruction project 4+ years in the making. So it was ever so exciting to tour an empty house with plastic sheeting covering doorways, fresh paint everywhere, the smell of plaster, and not one iota of furnishing within the house. Oh, the poor tour guide; trying so hard to liven up an empty construction zone. "This is President Madison's bedchamber. The bed upon which he died would have been here." Or statements such as "The study of nail marks on the walls indicate where the portraits would hang." Construction on the house proper will not be completed until September 2008; and a 100% furnished home will not occur until sometime in 2010. So make your travel plans accordingly, OK?



Stop #2: 29 miles south of Montpelier to James Monroe's Ash Lawn-Highland.

$10 entrance fee.

Book purchases? None. The gift shop was rather cruddy. Beanie babies? Crystal sun catchers? Come on. Not even a commemorative ticket here. A purple-inked register receipt that is given to the tour guide as your proof of entrance. No trinket. No chochki. No souvenir. Sigh...

A simple home for a president from relatively meager means. No family wealth paraded around. No lap of luxury. A basic plantation farmhouse. An odd, post-death addition of a two-story structure that in no way, shape, or form adds to the beauty of the home. All the "Victorian addition" that the tour guide raved about was lost on Chris; it looks disjointed and out of place. I mean, look at it! At least this home was furnished and fully constructed. 2008 is also the 250th year of Monroe's birth, so the big celebration of this monumental birthday is to have period dress throughout the home illustrating mid 1700's clothing. Really? Not too much of a 250th birthday "celebration" in my book. But to each their own. Easily the least of the three visits today.


Stop #3: a meager 3 miles southeast of Ash Lawn to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. By far the gem of the bunch.

$15 entrance fee.

Book purchases? Two. DVD's? One. (I mean you can't take any pictures INSIDE the house, and there are so many cool, cool things inside that a DVD was a must have! You buying the argument?)

Gorgeous. Stunning. Beautiful. A home that frankly looks smallish on the outside, but is so jam-packed with rooms and gadgets and studies and books and furniture it is amazing. Honest to goodness Lewis and Clark mementos on the walls, scientific gadgets abound, it is really a celebration of the genius, if a bit distracted, mind of Jefferson.Why have a home that is all one "style", when all sorts of items pique your interest? Native American souvenirs, classical European artwork, new fangled technology such as automatically-closing doors, closet-sized lazy susans, and dumb waiters in the side of the dining room fireplace! All a hodge-podge, but all tied together somehow into the home of a rather intriguing man. This would be an EASY revisit with Kimberly, with a plantation tour, a winery tasting, and more exploration of the gardens involved. A romantic weekend getaway in Charlottesville would seem to be in order in our future...

Today was indeed a hectic, whirlwind tour of mountainous central Virginia and the history that just drenches the landscape. A bunch of fun. Plenty of pictures can be found here. Now, exhausted, sleep beckons. But not the "permanent" sleep depicted below: