The weather is still cooperating with no rain, cloudy, and not too hot. Today we are off to Thomas Jefferson’s Home – Monticello. It’s hard to believe that I’ve never been to Charlottesville, VA or to Monticello. From Richmond, it’s about an hour and 40 minutes drive through the beautiful Virginia countryside on I-64. The trees are not changing colors yet, although you can see a hint of yellow on a few especially as we drive closer to the mountains.

Monticello was saved by a person who acquired the property back after Jefferson’s family had to sell everything upon his death to pay his $500K in debt. Jefferson inherited the land upon his father’s death when he was 14 years old. It was approximately 3,000 acres and he managed to acquire additional land to total 5,000 acres. The home sits on a mountain top with great vistas to appreciate.

This house is the third iteration of his home. He enjoyed changing things and modifying with architectural changes he saw while serving the country in Paris.

There is a parking lot down the mountain from a visitor center where you purchase tickets. You start the tour here with a short film in the theatre, a stop in the gift shop, and a visit to the exhibit gallery. The gallery currently has a printed copy of the Declaration of Independence on display.

To manage the traffic, you must take a shuttle up to the home and surrounding property. At the shuttle stop, Thomas Jefferson greets everyone.

There is a variety of tours you can sign up for. Given our time, the Highlight Tour made sense. With this tour you can tour the grounds at your own pace and also visit the house first floor only.

Once on the property, we wandered around to see the garden, an archeological dig, the slave quarters, the outdoor kitchen, the original building Jefferson built when he first moved to the property, and his gravesite. There is a lot to see!

Once in the house, the tour guide leads us through the various rooms. The house is 90% original and the items inside are items acquired over the years from individuals whose family had bought them when they were sold upon his death. The first room you enter was the ‘unexpected’ guest entrance. Here people would just come whenever and then they had to wait to see Jefferson. He made the room museum-like with a variety of items collected over the years. There is also a clock he built to not only tell time but the days of the week by the location of the weights against the wall.

The tour continues through his office, library, bedroom, entertaining room, and dining room. The guide tells stories about the various items in the room. Jefferson was quite the inventor and avid reader. Amazing he was only 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence and lived until 83. Having served his country as Secretary of State, Vice President, and President. Then he came back to Monticello and continued his learning and experimenting. Incredible man!

After the tour, we return to the car and stop for lunch at the Michie Tavern ca. 1784 which is just down the road from Monticello. Historic place serving a southern buffet in the old tavern building. Enjoyed eating too much!