Back in March, Aaron and I took a little spring break vacation to Charlottesville, Virginia. Our goal was simple: visit a bunch of presidential homes. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, James Madison's Montpelier and James Monroe's Ash Lawn-Highland are all located within an hour of Charlottesville, so it was a Founding Fathers road trip. After an unexpected overnight in Richmond due to a blown tire, which is a story in and of itself, we started our vacation visiting Monticello.
Aaron likes Jefferson. Really really likes him. I think if Aaron could be someone else in a past life, Jefferson would be high on his list. Maybe it is because he secretly yearns to be a redhead. Maybe Aaron wants the freedom to wear breeches and a tricorn hat without all the stares and whispers. Whatever the case, Aaron was eager to see Jefferson's home, library, and some of the inventions. The tour was great and very thorough, going room by room and sharing not only Jefferson's hand in the design, but the histories of specific pieces and who may have visited or why things were historically significant. It was still early spring and rainy, so the gardens and yard were not at its best and brightest. It was still beautiful, it just took imagination to think of what it looked like in full bloom on a sunny day.
After drooling over everything in the gift shop and resisting the compulsion to spend a small fortune there, we headed down the hill to Mitchie Tavern, a refurbished colonial era tavern and inn. They have a little restaurant that serves food that could have been served at the tavern in the 1700s. I think the menu changes seasonally, but what we had was fantastic. It is served buffet style, so Aaron and I got a little of everything. I think the best fried chicken I have eaten, stewed tomatoes, pulled pork, roast chicken, rolls, green beans, beets, cornbread, slaw. So very very good - sit by the fire and eat off tin plates while the wenches ask if you would like any more food. I think if they were renting rooms I would have stayed just so I could eat the next meal. After we glutted ourselves, we made our way over to the inn and a wench took us through the house. This was an interactive tour, so we played some games they would have played (I beat Aaron) and danced a little. It was especially appealing for me to see the kitchen tools they used - like the toe stir! She also showed us tea bricks, which are compressed tea leaves that people would use when traveling so the leaves would not spoil and use as a form of money. After seeing these at several places, I caved and got a small brick of black and green tea. Still have yet to try it out, and even if it is not delectable, the designs are pretty neat.
That evening, Aaron and I went to downtown Charlottesville. For a relatively small city removed from other metropolitan areas, I was surprised how vibrant and modern the downtown was. If Austin could be compressed into one street, Charlottesville's downtown is close to how it would look and feel. We ended up having dinner at a panini and wine restaurant. The sandwiches and salads were excellent, Aaron enjoyed his wine and I was all but driven to distraction by two ladies nearby who spent about 45 minutes and several tastings of wine to try and find the bottle they wished to purchase. I am new to wine lingo, so I could not tell if they knew what they were talking about or knew enough to be dangerous with buzzwords - tannins, oak, earthy, floral, etc. The poor wait staff was opening bottles, pouring glasses, and trying to remember which wine they served 3 glasses ago.
The next day, Aaron I drove out to Montpelier, Madison's home. We came upon a happy accident when, at the gate, we were told it was Madison's birthday and entry to the park was free. The tours of the house were special, too, as they were set in 1810, the year Madison turned 50. All the questions the tourists asked referring to events and dates after 1810 were quickly answered by the guides with an "I do not know what you are referring to. What is this you speak of?" It also worked well as they are still working to restore Montpelier and the house is bare save for a couple swatches of wallpaper and a dining room table. Fortunately, Dolley Madison was redecorating in 1810, so the absence of decor fit well into the story.
That afternoon, a ceremony was held at the Madison family cemetery where the local, state and national government, as well as Thomas Jefferson's descendants and historical societies gave speeches and presented wreaths at Madison's grave. A Marine color guard was in attendance to provide a 21-gun salute. All in all, a special, unique and unexpected experience that made Montpelier come alive.
Aaron and I were able to drive back to Charlottesville in time to go to James Monroe's Ash Lawn-Highland before it closed for the day. This was perhaps my favorite house - it was more modest, less palatial and felt more retreat-like than the previous two. It did not hurt that we had the best tour guide ever. Seriously, this guy was phenomenal. He knew all these snippets of the Monroes' lives that made the tour of their house more alive and intriguing. For instance, the master bedroom was the warmest in the house in winter, so it was typical that if there were guests, one would invite them to sleep in the master along with the husband and wife. Well, Mrs. Monroe, being from New York and not used to Southern ways, detested this. After Monroe passed, she converted part of the slave quarters into a guest house so, should guests stay over, they could sleep somewhere other than her bedroom. I have no clue if all the tales he told are true or not, but I am not positive it matters all that much. He knew how to spin a yarn and I was happy to follow along with him.
The final day of our spring break history trip was thrown together on the fly. We got through the presidential homes more quickly than we expected, and were left with a day to fill with something. In reading some of the pamphlets, we learned that Jefferson had a retreat home outside of Lynchburg, so we decided to go there. After circling the city a couple times and going over a questionable wooden bridge, we found the entrance to Poplar Forest. Unfortunately, in our haste and excitement, we did not read in that pamphlet that Poplar Forest did not open for the season until April. Oops. Oh well, I suppose we shall save Poplar Forest for another time. (More on that in a later post...someday.)
Thankfully, Appomattox Court House is relatively close to Lynchburg, so we redirected ourselves there for the day. I was most surprised by the quietness of the area. There sat this little town, largely as it looked the day Grant and Lee met there to end the war, with only small glimpses of a road or car. If you had even a small amount of imagination, it was simple to picture the procession of Confederate soldiers as they surrendered their arms. No whoops and hollers from the Union soldiers lining the road, only a quiet dignified respect for their brothers. (Can you tell I am a sucker for the Civil War?) The museum on site had many items, both small and grand, from the events that took place at Appomattox. The park rangers have done an excellent job of presenting what happened there, keeping the area how it would have looked to the eyes of the soldiers, and have a wealth of knowledge about the details of the surrender process.
And so our historical spring break came to an end. Despite the rough start, we saw everything and more than we had planned, and both agreed to come back to Monticello, Montpelier and Ash Lawn-Highland again someday.
