Yeah, Monticello day. The drive there was without incident. For the third day in a row, it was a 100 degree day. I’m getting a little more wilted every day from the heat, but I wouldn’t miss the stuff we’re seeing.
We couldn’t get into Thomas Jefferson’s house until an hour after we arrived so we went on the “slavery” walking tour with a local historian. I can’t recommend this tour enough. The guy (Brandon) was very knowledgeable and he used stories to explain the history. He then beautifully tied all six stories together at the end. It was like he was reading an hour long post-graduate thesis to us. The subject was very dark, but when you are dealing with the issue of slavery, you can’t make it light. I am now convinced that Thomas Jefferson must have been a very conflicted man. On the one hand, he desired that slavery was abolished, yet he had slaves his entire life. He hated dealing with them, but had to deal with them if he was to maintain his vast land holdings and compete with the other farms.
Next up was the house tour. Again, a great guide; thorough and knowledgeable. The thing I learned the most here was how curious Jefferson was about his world. He was a farmer/scientist above all else. He also really enjoyed having people at his house to chat with him and to view all his curiosities. He had one of the earliest museums at his house. He also founded and designed Virginia U. I did not know that. You can see the “Greek” building on the campus from his home. He hated being president because it kept him from his home. At one point, he said that farming was the greatest and most useful pursuit, and that the dearth of all usefulness was living in a city. What makes this statement funny is that he spent 40 of his prime years living in the four biggest cities in the world.
His house was ingeniously made. The guy was obviously brilliant. He was a problem solver. I think I liked the basement rooms better than the main rooms. They were so interesting. Also, the picture you see of his house on bills and coins is the back side of the house, not the front side.
The familiar (rear) view of Jefferson’s house
After seeing an absolutely worthless 20 minute film about Monticello (skip it – save yourselves!), then somehow losing our car in the vast and confusing multi-level parking area, we were on our way to Kevin’s house.
Greta chose to take us exclusively on back roads today – no highways for us! The drive was great, and we avoided all the afternoon DC traffic when we got close. Kevin cooked a wonderful meal for us, we watched a movie, and then we pretty much went to bed.