Greetings from Charlottesville, Virginia!

Hello,




It is supposed to be close to 100 degrees in DC everyday for the next few days so I decided maybe it would be a little cooler in the mountains and I should go visit Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. Yeah, good idea, too bad it didn't work. It was still about 100 degrees, but I like to think that it wasn't as humid.


Monticello is about 2 -2 1/2 hours from DC so I decided to rent a car and stay for a couple of days. A friend of mine from school is going to be driving out to DC next week to stay with me, and she offered me the use of her car, but I thought this might work better. I am driving a Volkswagon Beetle! It is black and doesn't have the flower in it, but it is still cute and it drives really nice. I haven't driven in over a month, and I haven't really missed it.


I have always wanted to see Monticello, and it was one of the first things that went on my "to do" list when I got the grant. There is no way we could ever bring students here because it is too far from DC. Jefferson was a self-taught architect who actually built two houses here. The first one was partially torn down after he went to Europe as the first U.S. ambassador to France, saw their architecture for himself, and decided to make changes to his own home. It was supposed to be this wondrous house, and I have seen pictures of Monticello, or "little mountain", but I never really understood what made it so great. The pictures don't do it justice.

When my sister and I went to Mount Vernon, George Washington's house, we had fun redesigning it for more modern tastes. I don't think we would have to do that with Jefferson's home. Granted, Jefferson built his home later than Washington did, but still he "finished" it by 1809. This house has the cathedral ceilings, skylights, and wall colors that work in 2010 (except maybe for the yellow in the dining room. I don't mind it, but it is pretty strong). The layout also works well; although, now that I think about it, I am not sure where we would put the kitchen. It was pretty easy to move one in at Mount Vernon.


There was also a garden tour of the grounds that I know my husband would have LOVED! The second picture is for him--a golden rain tree. You are welcome, honey! It was HOT walking around the gardens, but the guide was very personable and knowledgeable so it interesting even as I was sweating.

I was still there when they closed so that was the perfect excuse to go cool off at the hotel! President James Monroe lived in the neighborhood so I am going to visit him tomorrow!



Think cool thoughts,
Tami