Our stay with Aunt Peggy and Uncle Jay was quite enjoyable. Jay was a pilot for the Navy during the Vietnam War and made the Navy his career. He has so many great stories and I could sit and listen to him for hours on end. Peggy is no slouch either, she is one tough lady and in addition to her time spent supporting her military husband and raising their children she is very knowledgeable about horses and “horse things” – so you know, she and Robin had their own stuff to discuss. We are already planning our next trip to Spotsylvania.
When Jay found out that I’d never been to Monticello he said that he was going to take care of that & we were on the road to Thomas Jefferson’s home. Right before you get to Monticello there is a place you have to stop called Michie (pronounced Micky) Tavern. Back in the late 1700’s and up until mid 1800’s it served as a rest stop and watering hole for travelers. The food they serve is much the same as you would have gotten if you’d been a traveler 200 years ago and you eat off pewter plates. The food is really very good & go ahead and take an extra helping of the stewed tomatoes, you won’t be disappointed.
The tour of Monticello was quite interesting; we barely made it in before they suspended operations due to the lightening. Did you know that most of older trees at Monticello have lightening rods on them? It was quite a storm and it was nice to know that the house we were in had stood the test of time for over 200 years. Monticello needs to be on your “list” if you’re ever in the area. There is SO much history out here – looking forward to next time.
Monticello’s back yard – Black skies from the storm in the background
Thomas Jefferson was truly an amazing man. Someone once said that Thomas Jefferson was a gentleman of 32 who could calculate an eclipse, survey an estate, tie an artery, plan an edifice, try a case, break a horse, and dance the minuet. I could go on and on but if you’re that interested I’m sure you’ve already done your research. I will leave you with this quote from JFK. He was having a dinner at the White House honoring the Nobel Prize winners of the Western Hemisphere. He said, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, and of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
I still have my co-pilot and photographer but need to get back into practice so I took a couple pictures along the way today. It was a short ride but the scenery along the way was exactly what I was looking for – especially after having been so wet just a couple days ago.
I learned something while in one of the shops around Monticello that I’ll share with you:
The history of the Lead Pencil –
Soldiers on the frontier during the French & Indian War found the Quill Pen quickly wore out and was difficult to replace. They tried charcoal which was easy to obtain but very messy to use and did not last at all. The soldiers knew that their led musket balls marked easily on the paper cartridges used to hold the powder and ball for loading, and they knew that they could change the shape of the ball by hammering. One solider, using this knowledge, hammered a ball into the shape of a squared stick with a point and the “Lead Pencil” came into common use, first by soldiers and later in schools on the frontier. This use of a hammered lead stick or “pencil” continued throughout the mid-nineteenth century. Today’s pencils are graphite.