Monticello

This week is Aubrey's spring break and I was able to convince John into asking his boss for a day off so we could do something fun as a family - and with much gratitude to his boss, he was given today off! In advance, we planned to take the kids on a trip to Monticello. It's about 85 miles away in Charlottesville, Virginia. This being our first time visiting Thomas Jefferson's home, we were really excited! (Well, the kids were once we arrived. We made this trip a surprise, as we do most of the time when we go somewhere far from home.)

Warning: Monticello is packed full of history, science, architecture and beautiful scenery, so I had a hard time filtering out just a few pictures I liked from the trip. I have also packed in a lot of interesting facts for you that we learned while on the home tour (no pictures were allowed then) and also from our tour guide booklet. So....make yourselves comfy and enjoy! And at the end, you may just feel as if you took the trip to Monticello right along with us! :)

{The kids ready to leave for our day trip}

{Andrew looking cute as always!}

{Vapor trails left in the sky from military jets flying overhead}

{A picture of me - we stopped to get some bottled water for the trip}

{"Hello???"}

{Jocelyn sporting her sunglasses}

{Aubrey reading during the drive}

{Entering Orange County - Home of James Madison}

{John and the kids on the tour bus that drove us up to the home for the tour}

DID YOU KNOW...

Before becoming President, Jefferson was:

*a farmer and a lawyer

*a member of the Virginia legislature

*a delegate to the Continental Congress

*Governor of Virginia

*U.S. minister to France

*Secretary of State

*Vice President

He also wrote a Virginia law promising religious freedom.

{The Blue Ridge Mountains in the background}

{Our family enjoying the shade while waiting for our tour to begin}

{Trees along the front of Monticello}

{Besides Andrew getting wiggly, he did really well on the trip!}

{John and the kids following our tour guide to the front of the home}

{Pictures from the front...}

{And this is where our tour guide told us to turn off our cameras as the things inside did not all belong to the Monticello foundation.}

{Had to take this cute pic of Jocelyn sitting on her daddy's shoulders first.}

{Tour ended about 30 minutes later. Here's our family at the back side of the Monticello home}

{We were told that the spot close to center in this photo here is always prunned back so people can see the view of the University of Virginia - the college Pres. Jefferson founded.}

INTERESTING FACTS:

*Jefferson was one our "Founding Fathers." He wrote the Declaration of Independence and helped create the United States of America.

*Jefferson was the third president.

*Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743. He died at the age of 83 at Monticello on July 4, 1826 - the 50th anniversary of America's independence & on the same day as his long time and dear friend, our 2nd President, John Adams.

*While he was president, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France...and sent the Lewis & Clark Expedition to explore the West. 

*Jefferson was 6 feet, 2 1/2 inches tall and had red hair.

*He loved books and could read in seven languages - English, French, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek and Old English.

*Jefferson was a scientist: he used lots of scientific devices: a model of the solar system, a polygraph which made a paper copy as he wrote, he invented a "moldboard of least resistance" (part of a plow) & designed a "cipher wheel" to create secret messages in code. He owned the latest gadgets of his time.

*He owned up to 7,000 books but due to his acrued debt, had to sell everything he owned. He wrote down much of the books and things he owned so the Monticello Foundation has, over time, collected the same book editions (1500 of them) and other various artifacts in the home - either owning it or out on loan.

{Monticello at the back (West Lawn). There was a 45 minute garden tour afterwards that looked interesting so we started off with a group of people but the kids attention spans weren't patient enough to stand and hear about the flowers, etc. so we took off on our own around the lawn - and as a result, LOTS of pictures were taken.}

 

{World's Favorite: Tulips}

{Virginia Bluebell}

MORE INTERESTING FACTS:

*It took more than 40 years to build Monticello.

*The house has 33 rooms on four floors. The first Monticello (before remodeling) was a two-story, eight room house.

*Thomas Jefferson designed Monticello, the Virginia State Capitol, and the University of Virginia. He learned about architecture from books and from buildings he saw in Europe.

Monticello's design is called "neoclassical" because it is a new version of the classical styles of ancient Greece and Rome ("neo" means new).

*Fish caught in local rivers were kept alive in the fish pond until they were needed for meals.

*Jefferson played the violin. Many of his 12 grandchildren played musical instruments, including the English guitar, harpsichord, and pianoforte.

*Thomas Jefferson organized races for his grandchildren outside on the West Lawn. The winner received dried fruit as a prize.

*Trees ranked high among Jefferson's favorite plants. He documented the planting of 160 species.

{view: West Lawn}

{The girls with Monticello in the background}

{Three little monkeys sitting in a tree...}

{Daydream Tulips}

AND MORE INTERESTING FACTS:

*The main meal of the day was served about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

*Ice cream was a family favorite at Monticello.

*The work rooms under the house are called "dependencies" because Jefferson and his family depended upon what was done in these rooms, especially the kitchen. These spaces included: a wash house, carriage bays, an ice house, two privies, a wine cellar and other storage cellars, a kitchen, a smokehouse, a dairy, and three rooms for slaves.

*200 years ago food was preserved by drying, smoking, salting, or pickling.

{View from across the Plantation at the Museum shop}

{Beyond the vegetable garden is the vineyard and south orchard}

{Garden Pavilion overlooking the gardens}

{Mulberry Row}

AND SOME MORE INTERESTING FACTS:

*Mulberry Row is referred as a 1,000 foot long section of the "roundabout" that encircled the house and immediate grounds. In the 1770's, he planted mulberry trees along this stretch. In their shade, enslaved, free, and indentured workers and craftsmen lived and worked in small stone, frame, and log buildings. Mulberry Row was the main "street" of the Monticello plantation.

*From his mountaintop, Jefferson had a panoramic view of a plantation stetching almost four miles from one boundary to the other.

*The Vegetable Garden is 1,000 feet long - as long as three football fields.

*Over 330 different varieties of vegetables were grown at Monticello - more than 70 species of vegetables. Jefferson grew 23 kinds of peas. They were his favorite vegetable.

*Apples, peaches, pears, and grapes were among the fruits grown on Monticello's hillsides.

*For most of his life he was the owner of 200 slaves.

*Jefferson initially raised tobacco as his main cash crop and Indian corn as food for man and beast. By the 1790's, when grain prices were on the rise, Jefferson and most of his neighbors made wheat the principal staple crop.

*Jefferson raised Spanish Merino sheep for their prized wool.

{More views of the garden while walking down Mulberry Row}

{The Joinery - one of Virginia's best-equipped woodworking shops and where they made most of the home's furniture.}

{Seriously...FREE entertainment!}

{Jefferson's Grave}

AND MORE FACTS ABOUT THOMAS JEFFERSON:

*He had no middle name.

*Was born April 13, 1743.

*In 1772, marries Martha Wayles Skelton, a 23 year old widow. She passes away 10 years later. Jefferson described his marriage to Martha as 10 years of happiness. They had 6 children. Two girls, Martha and Mary, lived to be adults.

*Monticello means "little mountain" in Italian.

*Had pet mockingbirds.

*Liked to hum or sing when he rode a horse or worked in his Cabinet/office.

*Is considered to be the father of American archaeology because he excavated an Indian burial ground near

Monticello.

*Established the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

*Established the decimal currency system in the United States.

*Owned Natural Bridge in Virginia. (He thought it was one of the natural wonders of the world).

{My Hero! I had a horrible headache and John carried a heavy backpack, a toddler on his shoulders and pushed the stroller holding another toddler! I have such an awesome and loving husband!}

{Our family next to a statue of Jefferson - although, it looks as though Jocelyn is giving him a neck adjustment! :)}

{LUNCH TIME!}

{The kids exploring the Griffin Discovery Room - all hands on replicas of Jefferson's furniture and inventions.}

{Jefferson's invented clock}

{Statue of Jefferson}

{Quote on the wall}

{A picture of a picture - Jefferson's Chambers/ Sleeping quarters}

{John enjoyed the Visitor's Center/Museum architecture}

{And through a headache and walking back to the car, I was lucky enough to find my favorite flower: The Dogwood!}