Morning Window View I
Date: 12/28/2009
When I woke up for our day of sightseeing, I was lying in bed, looking out the window, and thinking that the day looked quite lovely. So I took a picture of it while I was lying in bed.
Lying in Bed
Date: 12/28/2009
To demonstrate that I was, indeed, lying in bed for that previous photo: these are my legs. At the risk of creating scandal, I point out that the lump at the far left, under the duvet, is Isaac's feet.
Morning Window View II
Date: 12/28/2009
I got up and went to the window to take a few pictures of the view. The morning was bright and inviting, and the view was pleasant.
Our Room
Date: 12/28/2009
I was standing, so here's a picture of our room at the Hilton Garden In, Charlottesville, VA.
Monticello: New Visitor's Center
Date: 12/28/2009
The recently completed visitor's center at Monticello was a pleasant quadrangle of buildings with a garden in the center; there was a museum, gift shop, ticket office, theater, and "discovery center". The cost of the complex was something like $70 million.
"Body Fluid Clean-Up Kit"
Date: 12/28/2009
One wonders just which "body fluids" they had in mind, and how frequently this kit was required on the shuttle bus where I took this photograph.
Angular Tree I
Date: 12/28/2009
The branches on this tree looked very angular, as though from a cubist painting.
Side Porch
Date: 12/28/2009
When we finished our tour of the interior of the house, we came out through a door onto this porch, which empties onto the walkway to the North Pavilion.
Rhododendron and Cistern
Date: 12/28/2009
The buried structure behind the rhododendron is one of several large cisterns on the estate that Jefferson put in to help manage water and provide for times of draught.
Backyard Plane Tree
Date: 12/28/2009
This was a very stately plane tree, with its distinctive white and green camo bark.
North Basement
Date: 12/28/2009
Just to the right is the North Pavilion; this area is a covered passage under the walkway, giving access to several cellar rooms with various uses.
A lot of people visit Monticello every day, maybe 100 an hour while we were there. These are just some of them.
Basement Plan
Date: 12/28/2009
This little map was used to point out the locations of various components in the basement (the beer cellar is circled in red). It gives some sense of the organization of the house (center), with the long walkways to the North Pavilion (right side) and South Pavilion (left side).
Cistern
Date: 12/28/2009
This is another view of the cistern that we last saw tucked behind a rhododendron bush.
Corking Table (Beer Cellar)
Date: 12/28/2009
We suspect that the coffee mug on the front corner is not quite period.
Paper Mulberry Tree I
Date: 12/28/2009
This mulberry tree was evidently old and had grown in the most provocative fashion.
Paper Mulberry Tree II
Date: 12/28/2009
This mulberry tree was evidently old and had grown in the most provocative fashion.
Paper Mulberry Tree III
Date: 12/28/2009
This mulberry tree was evidently old and had grown in the most provocative fashion.
Mulberry Lane
Date: 12/28/2009
Along the south side of the house, near the kitchen gardens (to the left in this view).
Thought House I
Date: 12/28/2009
In the short film we watched in the visitor's center as an introduction to our tour, there was a moment where the Jefferson re-enactor was seen to walk into this little pavilion for reflection during a time of crisis. It seemed to be the thing that people remembered most easily, and everyone exclaimed "There it is!" when they came across it on the south side of the estate, near the kitchen gardens.
It's a tiny room with great views. Because of its portrayal in the film we called it the "Thought House".
Grave of Rachel Phillips Levy
Date: 12/28/2009
Grave of Rachel Phillips Levy, mother of Commodore Uriah P. Levy, who bought Monticello in 1830.
Monticello Cemetery Fence I
Date: 12/28/2009
Isaac and HelenJean are looking into the cemetery at the obelisk that covers Jefferson's grave.
Graveyard Orange Tree
Date: 12/28/2009
Growing in the graveyard along the fence, there were several specimens of this orange tree with the amazing thorns.
"A Perfect Gentleman"
Date: 12/28/2009
I never read the other side to see who might have earned this title.
Jeff: Such a Joy and Loved by All
Date: 12/28/2009
Since this gravestone had my name on it, I was thinking of adopting this as my motto, or perhaps as my epitaph.
Rock Outcropping
Date: 12/28/2009
On the path from the graveyard back to the visitor's center, I saw this outcropping of rock. It's colors and shapes caught my eye.
Monster Ivy I
Date: 12/28/2009
As we strolled along the path back to the visitor's center, we saw this thing growing up a tall tree. We couldn't decide at first what it could possibly be, but finally decided that it was the trunk of a monster English Ivy plant--an incredibly large plant.
Monster Ivy III
Date: 12/28/2009
This is the lower half of the tree up which the monster ivy grew. Please not that the tree is deciduous and all of the green leaves showing here are ivy leaves.
Monster Ivy IV
Date: 12/28/2009
This is the upper part of the tree up which the monster ivy grew. Please not that the tree is deciduous and all of the green leaves showing here are ivy leaves.
A Young Beech Tree
Date: 12/28/2009
I like the way one can easily spot young beech trees in a woods by the light-brown leaves they retain through the winter.
Isaac & Tom
Date: 12/28/2009
We paused for portraits at the life-sized bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson.
Jeff & Tom
Date: 12/28/2009
We paused for portraits at the life-sized bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson.
Scotty & Tom
Date: 12/28/2009
We paused for portraits at the life-sized bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson.
Evening Window View I
Date: 12/29/2009
We end the day the way we began: by looking at the duck pond outside our (fourth-floor) bedroom window.
Evening Window View II
Date: 12/29/2009
We end the day the way we began: by looking at the duck pond outside our (fourth-floor) bedroom window.
