Thursday, November 5
Bruce and I visited Ash Lawn, home of 5th US president, James Monroe. He was also U.S. Senator, Minister to France, England and Spain; Governor of Virginia; Secretary of State and of War.
Not so fancy as Montpelier (he called it his "cabin castle"), but still very interesting with a lot of French culture and more slave information. Monroe was over 6' and had a rather short bed. Apparently they slept propped up on pillows rather than stretched out, so his feet didn't hang over the edge. They intended to retire here but had to sell it because of finances and poor health. Presidents did NOT have all the perks they do today!
The gardens and fields were beautiful and we got a personal tour of a kitchen in what had been slave quarters. A gal in colonial dress was waiting for some school kids to come for a demonstration, and she invited us in and showed us how they cooked on the hearth and a lot of the utensils they used. She explained how they kept the food warm in pans of hot water as they brought it from the kitchen under the house. Quite interesting, but I'll keep my microwave. For more information, go to www.ashlawnhighland.org
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Montpelier
Wednesday, November 4
Bruce and I drove out to Montpelier along a beautiful, winding road. Montpelier was the home of James and Dolley Madison. Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution and we got to tour the house and see his library where he wrote it. This is my way of learning history! We had an excellent tour guide. I never knew Madison was so little, my height (5' 4") and about 20# less! He was friends with Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe who were both over 6' tall! A lot of the period furniture is on display as well as clothing, dishes, jewelry, etc.
The slave culture was also fascinating. As many as 110 slaves worked at Montpelier during Madison's time, some in the home, many in the fields. They were very skilled at what they did and were sometimes hired out for $2.00 a day. The owners got the $2.00, not the slaves. If you want to know more about the place, go to www.montpelier.org. I don't know how to add pictures to this yet.
Bruce and I drove out to Montpelier along a beautiful, winding road. Montpelier was the home of James and Dolley Madison. Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution and we got to tour the house and see his library where he wrote it. This is my way of learning history! We had an excellent tour guide. I never knew Madison was so little, my height (5' 4") and about 20# less! He was friends with Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe who were both over 6' tall! A lot of the period furniture is on display as well as clothing, dishes, jewelry, etc.
The slave culture was also fascinating. As many as 110 slaves worked at Montpelier during Madison's time, some in the home, many in the fields. They were very skilled at what they did and were sometimes hired out for $2.00 a day. The owners got the $2.00, not the slaves. If you want to know more about the place, go to www.montpelier.org. I don't know how to add pictures to this yet.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Well, we made it to our first destination--Charlottesville, VA. We had a very good trip even though we had to clean up stuff in the camper every time we stopped. The spilled bottle of olive oil was the worst, but as my daughter reminded me, at least it wasn't honey and 85 degrees like she had to deal with. We are learning a lot about what works and what doesn't in our "little home on the pavement"!
Our first day of travel involved massive rain and wind and we didn't make it out of MI--spent the night in a truck stop in Fowlerville, well known to my trucker hubby. We had breakfast there the next morning and then headed out through Ohio. It was still overcast but not as wet. There were some areas of beautiful scenery even though we kept saying, "I bet that was really gorgeous a few weeks ago". We missed a lot of the fall colors, but imagination is a blessing. We spent the next night in a Walmart parking lot in Washington PA.
Sunday we drove the rest of the way and found the scenery increasingly beautiful when we got to VA. The Blue Ridge Mountains were very pretty and the gold leafed trees on the hills as well as the cattle sprinkled throughout, and the many rivers and rocks along the way, often reminded me of the song--
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
the wealth in every mine.
He owns the river and the rocks and rills,
the sun and stars that shine.
Wonderful riches more than tongue can tell,
He is my Father so their mine as well.
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
I know that He will care for me.
Just be glad I can't sing it for you.
We arrived at Jeffrey and Heather's home about 3:30 and got the camper parked. Ari got adjusted to their dog, Lucy, very quickly, which we were all glad of.
Monday, Heather and I took the dogs to the dog park to let them run, then Bruce and I spent relaxing and getting the camper
organized while the kids worked. Jeffrey gave us a tour of down town Charlottesville--a very historic city with a lot of culture variety. That's it for now. I catch up on the next few days (which are much more exciting) later.
Our first day of travel involved massive rain and wind and we didn't make it out of MI--spent the night in a truck stop in Fowlerville, well known to my trucker hubby. We had breakfast there the next morning and then headed out through Ohio. It was still overcast but not as wet. There were some areas of beautiful scenery even though we kept saying, "I bet that was really gorgeous a few weeks ago". We missed a lot of the fall colors, but imagination is a blessing. We spent the next night in a Walmart parking lot in Washington PA.
Sunday we drove the rest of the way and found the scenery increasingly beautiful when we got to VA. The Blue Ridge Mountains were very pretty and the gold leafed trees on the hills as well as the cattle sprinkled throughout, and the many rivers and rocks along the way, often reminded me of the song--
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
the wealth in every mine.
He owns the river and the rocks and rills,
the sun and stars that shine.
Wonderful riches more than tongue can tell,
He is my Father so their mine as well.
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
I know that He will care for me.
Just be glad I can't sing it for you.
We arrived at Jeffrey and Heather's home about 3:30 and got the camper parked. Ari got adjusted to their dog, Lucy, very quickly, which we were all glad of.
Monday, Heather and I took the dogs to the dog park to let them run, then Bruce and I spent relaxing and getting the camper
organized while the kids worked. Jeffrey gave us a tour of down town Charlottesville--a very historic city with a lot of culture variety. That's it for now. I catch up on the next few days (which are much more exciting) later.
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