Fall at Monticello

We picked the perfect weekend to visit Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.  It has been on my list of fun places to visit with the family for a long time and coincidentally BB is studying about colonial America. 

I have a vague recollection of visiting Monticello as a child but no more visits after that, so in essence it was new to all of us.  The drive out to the Charlottesville with the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains is beautiful, enhanced by the season.  We got a late start so by the time we arrived, we needed to eat ASAP.  I had read about The Ordinary at Michie Tavern which dates back to the late 1700s.  The employees dress in colonial clothing while serving you huge amounts of southern fried and baked chicken, pulled pork, blackeyed peas, beets, green beans, corn bread and buttermilk biscuits.  You eat and drink using metal plates and mugs.  We ate pounds and pounds of food before heading to Monticello.

No photos of the interior were allowed so you'll have to visit yourself. There is something about being in the space of a historic figure - seeing the same views, walking the same floors, smelling the same smells - to get a deeper level of understanding.  After we took a tour of Jefferson's home, we took a walk down to the slaves' quarters.  I wanted the boys to understand the disparity in conditions experienced by a master and his slaves.  BB and DD asked me how Jefferson is such a revered historic figure in U.S. history yet he owned slaves his whole life.  I guess that's something we adults struggle to understand as well.

The ride home was a quiet one; both BB and DD fell asleep on the way.