Visiting with Thomas Jefferson

Ellen and I are on vacation, and we began our trip on the Cape May NJ to Lewes DE ferry, crossing the mouth of the Delaware River. It's about 13 miles, and takes 70 minutes, but a pleasant way to begin any trip, though this voyage was under dark, cloudy skies and through misty waters, but at least no rain.

Here's one of the other ferries making the return trip. We always man the deck looking for birds on such trips, but didn't see many this time. And we had more rain and fog on our drive west through Delaware and Maryland and into Virginia, where we skirted Washington DC and headed southwest to Charlottesville for our first stop.

We stayed near the University of Virginia, a school founded by Thomas Jefferson, and one where he was the architect of its earliest campus, including this handsome Greco-Roman Rotunda. Note that the capitals on the columns are covered in black material, perhaps being treated or worked on. On either side you can see covered walkways connecting the original dorms and classrooms, which also has a walk on top of it.

We walked around these, looking down into enclosed courtyards with huge Magnolia trees inside, as well as grass, brick walks and benches. Not sure if these were designed by Jefferson himself, but they're quite old and beautiful.

We arrived too late to go inside the Rotunda, but I liked the giant keyhole in the upper doors, looking like something out of Alice in Wonderland.

Ellen had a peek inside, where she saw a statue.

On Sunday morning we drove a short distance to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's famous home and estate on a hilltop nearby. In the visitor center is this life-size bronze statue of Jefferson where I'm sure nearly every visitor wants a photo with the Prez. Ellen did! Jefferson was quite tall for his time, when people were shorter on average than they are now. He must have cut quite a figure in Washington.

Taking the shuttle bus up the hill to the house itself, we waited out front for our guided tour to begin, looking around some of the front garden. While the sky was threatening, thankfully it didn't rain while we were here.

Our tour guide, Kelly, was very good, and we enjoyed our half-hour tour inside the house, though unfortunately photos are not allowed. If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it. Jefferson was not only a talented architect, he was well ahead of his time in many ways, and the results are evident everywhere inside.

Outside again, the back of the house is even more attractive than the front, and the gardens are lovely. We did a tour of them as well. Raised walkways extend out at either side, similar to those at the Rotunda, and beneath them are all the working areas of the house: kitchens, storerooms, washrooms, an ice house, and so on. The house itself is meeting rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms.

This small building in the vegetable garden, where Jefferson used to sit and oversee work on his grounds, is delightful, and views all around are wonderful, though they were not so good this day because of the low clouds and mist. We greatly enjoyed our visit to Monticello. Now we're visiting my cousin Bev, and her husband Bill further south in Virginia. More on that soon.