On August 17, 2006 we left Long Island to visit the Old Dominion – Virginia. We decided on Charlottesville, since it’s near the mountains, and in the immediate area are the homes of three presidents, as well as wineries and also the University of Virginia. The hardest part was getting down there, since there was a traffic accident on the New Jersey Turnpike near Jamesburg, and then in Virginia there was traffic on Interstate 66, even in the HOV lane. It took us about 8 hours to make the 400 mile trip.
Today Charlottesville is becoming a Silicon Valley of the Mid Atlantic Region, as well as an education mecca. The University of Virginia has been here since 1819 when it was founded by Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson had lived at Monticello (Little Mountain) since 1772 until his death in 1826. Since university days, I have been fascinated with him and with his accomplishments. So for me, this was almost like a pilgrimage to visit his home and the university that he founded. On August 18, we drove from our hotel to Monticello and took the tour of the mansion. Compared to the ugly McMansions that we see today, it is not that large. However, it is unique in its shape and with the rotunda, and with Jefferson’s use of space inside. The foyer has Native American artifacts, mastodon fossils, portraits, and mounted animal heads. Like me, Thomas Jefferson was an avid reader and his library was always full of books of all types in several languages. He placed his bed in a wall between his study and a parlor, so as to utilize space. His study had a telescope as well as an 18th century sate of the art copying machine. The parlor contains musical instruments, a chess board, and portraits of people whom he admired, among them Locke, Newton, Bacon, Lafayette, Washington, and Franklin. In the dining area is a dumbwaiter that he designed to bring wine from the cellar. He also had a room where his friend and fellow Founding Father, James Madison, often stayed.
Outside you can see how the out buildings and dependency buildings were used to serve the mansion. They were built into the hill under the house: a stable, passageway, kitchen, wine & beer rooms, ice room, and privee. Since he was from the Enlightenment, and lived before 1865, he did have slaves but did do all he could to make their lives bearable. All along Mulberry Row are the remains of slave quarters, as well as factory buildings where weavers, smiths, nailers, and joiners worked. Past Mulberry Row and down the hill is the cemetery where he, his family and descendants are buried.
A few miles from Monticello is the Jefferson Winery, where several types of grapes are grown and numerous wines are made. I was able to taste several of them and recommend them to any wine connoisseur.
Thomas Jefferson’s final achievement and the one that he is the most proud of, is the finding of the University of Virginia in 1819. It sits on the western end of Charlottesville and occupies several acres. As you walk down Main Street you will see that the street splits into two different streets, one of which is University Avenue. Along this avenue are shops and restaurants, including two which sell UVA clothing. Across University Avenue at Madison is the Rotunda, which looks remarkably like Monticello. It should not be a surprise, since both were designed by Jefferson himself. The Rotunda is the base of the long Quadrangle, of which two sides are composed of dormitory rooms, one of which housed Edgar Allen Poe in the 19th century. The University’s sports teams are officially called the Cavaliers, but somehow an unofficial nickname came about – Wahoos. That is shortened to ‘Hoos. But be careful how you pronounce it, as it could sound like “Hoes” and that could insult a large number of women. The Cavaliers play football and basketball in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and also have softball, baseball and lacrosse teams.
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