Williamsburg 10-23 to 10-17
We entered Virginia hacking and coughing our way down the road. We apparently picked up a virus in D.C.
On our last day in Williamsburg I was feeling much better…good drugs:) ! So we first went to the Williamsburg Visitor’s Center. The price we had been quoted must have been a combination price. However we felt given our time, our health, and the rain that the $38 ticket was still too high.
So we headed for Historic Jamestown. The drive out the causeway was beautiful. The fall leaves are showing color. We enjoyed riding along the waterway too.
At the Jamestown visitor center we watched the movie and took in the museum displays. Historic Jamestown shows the archeological dig in progress. Everything except the church tower had been buried. 
Through the dig Jamestown is being reconstructed.
A very expressive Ranger guide led a lively narration on the site. He emphasized that Jamestown had already set up a representative government before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The statue is of John Smith. A museum on site shows the artifacts found so far. A model shows what has been discovered about the settlement.
On the way out of Jamestown we saw this awesome tree and a couple of eagles.
We also stopped at this reader board and found the story of the oak trees, food for thought. " These oaks were sprouting acorns about 1750 and were growing toward fair size during the time of Washington, Jefferson, Wythe and Marshall. They are white oaks with a height near 90 feet and a spread together of some 150 feet."
Following the Colonial Parkway we traveled to Yorktown. A gruff lady ranger delivered the narration of what happened at Yorktown. Most people remember Yorktown at the site of Cornwallis’ surrender to Washington in the Revolutionary War. The town also saw Civil War action in 1852. The York River happens to be a deep water port with a river depth of 75-85 feet deep. 
In the town of Yorktown several homes and historic places can be viewed, each with its own price tag. Again if time and health had permitted, Yorktown could use more exploration.Charlottesville, VA 10/27 to 11/1
We traveled to The Charlottesville KOA. The trees showed their colors as we traveled the highway. Several people have told us that Fall Color may not be too spectacular this year because of the hot summer. Some tree leaves may just die and fall off before changing into the awesome colors. 
Fortunately it was mid-week and we had our choice of sites. Satellite reception was most likely in # 54. We took it. The satellite TV came in....hurray! We were more than glad to see it come in since this park does not have cable. However cell phone and air card service (computer) showed zero bars. Fall colors surrounded us and we heard the coyotes yip at night.
The University of Virginia calls Charlottesville home. So we are in another college town. The downtown historical center features the brick buildings and houses. In keeping with the style the town government buildings are of clean red brick with brick pavers on the street. 
A pedestrian mall replaced Main Street. Many restaurants feature outside dining. The U of Virginia begins at the west end of the pedestrian mall. On this Halloween night, a variety of characters strolled by. The number of families all dressed in costumes made us think that UVA may have had some special event for them.
Skyline Drive follows the mountain ridge and extends north through the Shenedoah National Park.From scenic outlooks we gazed beyond the shades of yellow and orange forests bunched against the foothills and saw them flow into the valley below. 
The green farm land stands out as if a giant cookie cutter removed the orange and gold forests, leaving a section of green field in its place. We noticed that the higher we climbed in elevation fewer trees even had leaves. Only a hardy few leaves still clung to the almost bare branches. At the lower elevations the yellow, gold, rust, orange and fading green leaves still maintained the tree's rounded shape from summer.
We visited Thomas Jefferson's home called Monticello. Surprisingly it is located just north of our campground, and southwest of Charlottesville. Highway 53 takes visitors past the historical Michie Tavern established around 1784.They serve midday meals from a historical menu very much like Eagle Tavern in Greenfield Village where we stopped in June. We don't care for that fare and chose not to stop although their general store looked interesting.
A bronze statue of Jefferson stands in the shuttle waiting zone. Through their process of shuttle buses, and triage of ticket time lines, we met our guide Katie at the front steps of Monticello right on time. It took Jefferson over 40 years to complete the house. His wife died before its completion. So his daughter moved in with her husband and eight children to become mistress of the manor for her father. Jefferson wanted the two story house to appear as a one level home.The entry foyer decor includes trophy heads, and antlers. Jefferson wants visitors to compare animals they will never see with those they know about. Native artifacts fill the other walls. No staircase to the next floor is available from the entry foyer. We viewed two small rooms to the left of the entry. One was the daughters work room. Two doors at the back of the entry foyer opened into the parlor. Several musical instruments and games were on display. The dining room was to the left of the parlor. Built into the each side of the fireplace were small dumbwaiters: each big enough to bring up a bottle of wine from the cellar. A tearoom extended off the dining room and out to the left terrace. To the right side of the dining room, Jefferson's sitting room, library, study and bedroom filled that side of the house. Jefferson felt that beds wasted space in a room, so part of the wall was cut out between his study and the bedroom. The bed was then placed in the cut-out half way into the rooms on each side.
From each side of the house a tiled terrace extended a ways from the house. The tiled areas took a 90 degrees turn and extended toward the back of the property. At the end of each walkway a small 12 x 12 " building stood. One is where Jefferson and his wife lived durng the construction of Monticello.
Below the terraces and concealed against the hillside, Jefferson created spaces for all those things needed to operate a mansion. A passageway extended through the cellar where beer, wine and other house needs were stored.
Under the left terrace was a privy, the kitchen, cook's room, smokehouse and dairy. Under the right side terrace was a privy, the ice house, stables, carriage house and washrooms. As with the Mt. Vernon estate, Monticello had other things to see on the extensive grounds. On our way home, after running an errand, we noticed that the police were closing down parts of the freeway to help control the number of people attending the UVA pep rally for the pending football game.
West Coast football fans alert! Appreciate being able to turn on early Saturday TV and having a selection of football games from which to choose. On the east coast, football comes on much later. On October 30, a Saturday, Derrille turned on his ESPN and the feature game was.....Miami vs. UVA! The game that was happening about 6 miles away as the crow flies. Who would have thought???
Our next exploration was the Blue Ridge Parkway that continues the Skyline Drive southward for about 460 miles, and connects Shenandoah NP with the Great Smoky Mountain NP. The drive here was similar to the Skyline Drive. The sun filtered through the assorted orange and gold canopies making the trunks look black. The bright red trees were still absent in this forest. 
The colorful puff of canopy crowded the mountainsides and flowed into the valley. The number of cars parked at trailheads showed people were using the many trails in the area. The distant ridge we viewed from the pull outs maintained the smoky blue color for which they are named.
We exited the Parkway a little ways down and headed for Appomattox to see the famous court house where Lee surrendered to Grant. However the park just closed minutes before we arrived. We'll save that for another time. We continued on home as the sun set under a pink and orange sky. An orange haze came in and tinted everything, houses, trees, and fields, orange, just like everything in Oz was tinted green. The orange haze created a memory.
The sun shone brightly on this Halloween day as we drove north on the Constitution Trail. We passed Charlottesville and continued north to the town of Orange. Here the green grass covered rolling hills open up the landscape. Miles and miles of rail fencing, often white in color, divides these large expanses of land. Gated driveways lead to big houses way back from the road. Signs hang next to the gates announcing Canterbury Farm, Bella Vista, Christian Oaks, Somerset Plantation, etc. Behind those rail fences sleek, groomed horses graze on the green grass. We have undoubtledy arrived in the rich horse neighborhood of Albemarle County. As we passed beyond this area some of the fields included cows or grains.
We arrived at our destination of Montpelier, the home of James and Dolly Madison. To our surprise, you pay the entry fee before even entering the grounds. The road to the visitor center passed white railed race tracks and parking areas on green grass. Beyond the white fences the home loomed up on a slight hill.At the visitor center we watched the film and checked out the gift shop before walking around to the house.
Several families owned the house and made renovations since the Madisons. The last family returned it to the Madison Foundation. The Foundation has since remodeled the house and returned it to Madison's time.
Originally James Madison's father built the house. He made the family money with tobacco, hay, and a sawmill, a grist mill and a blacksmiths forge. James only kept the tobacco so when the market fluctuated he died in debt. Dolly had to sell most of their belongings to survive. Consequently the interior of the house is still being worked on. The Foundation is trying to find their things or reproductions to furnish the interior. Unlike Washington, Jefferson, Monroe and others who kept the mansions in the family, the many owners of Montpelier and the lack of good records makes the furnishing task monumental.
After our tour of the house, we returned to the visitor's center through the garden with a much greater impression of Madison's contributions to our country's beginning.
We drove back down the road toward home and turned off on Hwy. 53. We passed the exit to Monticello and drove to Ash Lawn-Highland the home of James Monroe. This home includes an old white part and a new yellow part. Jefferson chose this site to create "a society to our taste", and sent his gardeners over to set up the house for his friend Monroe. The Madison's were Monroe's first guest. Monroe and his wife Elizabeth moved in on Nov. 23, 1799. Monroe held more major offices than other President. He was a senator, ambassador to 3 different countries, Governor of Virginia, Sec. of State and of War and the fifth President of the United States. His Monroe Doctrine formed the cornerstone of our foreign policy. 
While living in France, Monroe noticed that the French had kitchens as part of the house, rather than as an outbuilding.
He was the first to build a house with a kitchen and wash room under the main part of the house. We took ourselves to dinner in downtown Charlottesville and got ready to move on.
The Fall colors are spectacular...we hope to go to the East to see them ourselves...we were in Williamsburg several years ago...really neat place to visit! Hope you feel better!
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