Now, we arrived at the last of our "Dead Presidents" homes. Not far from the Monticello is the home of James and Dolley Madison, famously named Montpelier.
We got to stand in Mr. Madison's temple where he contemplated democracy. James Madison is most commonly referred to as the father of the U.S. Constitution, architect of the Bill of Rights.
The view from the upper floor terrace is spectacular. From this terrace you can actually see the horse stables and track (far off in the distance) that they still use for horse racing.
On the back lawn you are greeted by a sculpture of James and Dolley. Dolley, beloved by the people and politicians alike, defined the role of "First Lady" in the nation's new capital of Washington, D.C. She famously saved the portrait of George Washington from the British in the War of 1812. After Dolly's death, she was granted an honorary seat in Congress.
We walked through the beautiful gardens...
...and the forest walking trail that rambles through much of this huge property.
One of the things that we found very interesting was that the chairs that Jefferson so loved was available for us to actually try out. It was surprisingly comfortable!
As we have seen at the other presidential homes, conforming to the the past president's request, they are buried at their homesites.
While we were in Charlottesville we had the opportunity to play golf at the best manicured course we have ever played in our travels. I just have to share with you one of the beautiful holes at Spring Creek. This course looks more like the professional golf tour courses than the courses that we usually play on. We loved this course!!
Next stop - North Carolina
No comments:
Post a Comment