Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's Home

Charlottesville, Virginia was cold yet beautiful. From TJ's home (ever since we parked at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial everyday in DC, we call him TJ) there are beautiful views of hills painted with fall colors, though most of the leaves have fallen now.

Today, we enjoyed the home TJ designed, that you see on the back of the nickel.

This stop was special because Ky had dressed as TJs sister a couple years ago for faces of history when she presented on President Jefferson.

Even though it was a couple years ago, she still had information to share with us and was excited to take her photo with the man himself. (:

Photography is not allowed inside the home. ): We got to see the front room where Jefferson's daughter, Martha, homeschooled her 11 children. The docent wasn't going to tell us much until she found out we homeschooled - then she really enjoyed talking to us and shared a lot of great information.

We saw Jefferson's office filled with "gadgets" like a polygraph (copy machine), telescope, microscope, orrery (a miniature solar system - with only 7 planets discovered so far), and rotating chair and rotating book stand (so you can have 5 books open at once).

In the main parlor, we saw where the family relaxed with many paintings, instruments, games like chess, and more gadgets like a camera obscura. 

Finally, we saw the dining and guest rooms. 

Outside, we could take photos. (:

In the carriage house we were reminded of Ben Franklin again as we saw yet another of TJ's gadgets, an odometer.

Underneath the house, there was "indoor" privies, an ice house, cellars for food and wine storage, and a kitchen. From the wine cellar, there was a small dumb waiter just to bring a bottle of wine upstairs.

Playing with locks and the bellows

At the graveyard, I was initially annoyed that they were cleaning up the change people had thrown at Jefferson's grave.

But after talking to the man, I felt special to have come at a time when a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson was there to clean his ancestor's grave. The family still owns and maintains the graveyard... and are allowed to be buried there as well.

Appomattox Court House

Today we had the privilege of visiting Appomattox Courthouse.

I was not picturing this: cannons, because there was a battle going on the morning of the surrender.

I was picturing this: a courthouse.

But this is a picture of what really happened.

And it didn't take place in the courthouse, but in a private home across the way.

In the downstairs parlor.

While the family waited upstairs in a bedroom.

The name of the town where this all occurred is Appomattox Courthouse. So the surrender took place in the town, but not in the courthouse itself.

The movie in the visitor center was really well done. I loved hearing the heart of President Lincoln: for the confederate officers (and soldiers) not to be punished, but be given rations and free passage home so that the country could begin to heal.

My big "aha" moment of the day was when I realized that less than a week after Robert E Lee surrendered to Ulysses S Grant, President Lincoln was assassinated. How a freshly united country could survive after that is pretty miraculous. 

Richmond, VA - Capitol #28

Thomas Jefferson designed this Capitol building. The center building was all that was originally here to house all three branches of the government. They have since expanded, adding the two side buildings.

The statue of him is featured in the new wing of the building and this side of the base highlights the things he wanted to be remembered for.

However, when Jefferson designed it, there was not a statue of himself, but the statue of George Washington in a very prominent place, the center of the building.

Above the statue of Washington is the dome, which cannot be seen from the outside.

Here in the old house chamber is a statue at Robert E. Lee. When the south seceded from the union, this building not only served as the Capitol of the Commonwealth of Virginia, but also as the Capitol of the Confederacy.

Down this hall into one of the additional buildings that were added on either side of the original building, we find the location of the modern-day house

and,at the end of the opposite hallway, the senate.

Our tour guide spent quite a bit of time having a personal conversation with Sy while everyone else listened in and learned. He was the youngest on the tour as there were no other families with children and for the most part he kept up with her and she was impressed. 

Outside there was another statue of George Washington, truly honored as our founding leader.

Thanksgiving at the Macy's Parade - 11/24

So thankful!

EARLY morning subway rides.

Got off with a bajillion other people to find there was only one exit open because of the parade.

Originally, we knew the parade started along Central Park and we're hoping to watch from Central Park because that was our chance to go to Central Park. But, as we exited the subway, the officers working crowd control said it would be very difficult to get to Central Park because we couldn't cross the street. At at each street the officer would say, "Just go up one more street." We went away from central park one block and made our way from 59th where we exit at the Subway on the way to 68th.

Along the way we found the ABC News room where they were filming the morning news.

At 67th we said let's go up one more. And it 68th we found these two ladies. We were just going to check out and see if we could get close to the parade. But they asked us for tickets. We said we didn't have any intern to move onto 69th. But then they offered us tickets!

and that is how we ended up watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from Central Park comfortably seated in bleachers.

Paddington was a favorite.

It was a comfortable 45°.

It was fun to see the Ocean Spray cranberry guys.

And all the Christmas-y-ness marching by.

After the parade, we took a little stroll in Central Park "on the way" to the subway station.

Back at our camper, we packed up and headed out. We had already left New York by subway. Now, we left New Jersey, drove through Pennsylvania and Delaware and into Maryland.

Some fun photo ops.

We had our official Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel just outside Baltimore. This is the first time in my kids lives that I have not cooked a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It was a little challenging to settle for eating out. But the cleanup was way easier. (:

So thankful for so many things!