Month: October 2018

Tuesday, October 2: Th. Jefferson

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One cannot visit Charlottesville without paying attention to Thomas Jefferson. But before that, I neglected to include a picture of the exterior of The Clifton main building.

The Clifton, October 2018

Architect, scholar, farmer, educator, inventor, statesman, author of the Declaration of Independence, and President of the United States – those are some of the things he is known for. And I’ve undoubtedly left out a few of his fields of accomplishment.

The classic view of Montecello, two ways, October 2018

Anyway, Jefferson was a incredibly accomplished individual. We all know he was author of the Declaration, but he either drafted or assisted in the drafting of many laws. He designed Monticello, his home on his plantation here. He invented a machine that made an exact copy of the thousands of letters he wrote in his lifetime. He wrote a book describing everything known about Virginia. His home had extremely large windows and skylights, very unusual for the time.

Food prep at Montecello in the basement, October 2018

We took two tours at Montecello. The first took us through the first floor of the house, which included the public rooms and Jefferson’s bedroom, study and library (1). The upper floors are an extra cost item (and extra time), so we passed. And we took the Slavery tour, which was really more of a lecture and a tour. It was interesting, and like the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, depressing.

Inside the Rotunda, October 2018

After leaving the Presidency, he founded the University of Virginia, given his belief that only an educated citizen could effectively contribute to public life. He not only founded it, he was the first Regent, and he designed the original campus which is still in use today. It’s quite beautiful. Sadly, it started raining when we left the parking garage on campus, continued until returned to the garage later.

The centerpiece of the old campus is the Rotunda, which was inspired by the Panthon in Rome. It was designed to be a library for the students, and the upper floor still serves as perhaps the most beautiful study hall in the country (2).

As I write this Wednesday morning, we’ve packed up our stuff and we’re about to head home. We should arrive before dinner tonight.

(1) So where are the pictures of the first floor? No pictures allowed there. Only the exterior and basement.

(2) So where are the pictures of the campus? It was raining …

Monday, October 1: Blue Ridge Parkway finale

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Our fourth day on the BRP was our biggest mileage day, and our shortest time day. The mountains in northern Virginia were lower, the valleys on either side of the Parkway extended further, atmospheric haze made the distant scenery less interesting, and we were Scenic Overlook’d out.

Hazy view across the Great Valley, October 2018

The day started as they all have, leaving the hotel in Roanoke to hook up with the Parkway a few miles away. The weather finally turned nice, with mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures. So we drove with the sunroof open and the A/C off all day. We were surprised by the lack of traffic, especially today, but actually all four days. We had heard horror stories of long backups and congestion, combined with 20 to 45 mph speed limits. We found little to no traffic, and the speed limit was 45 for most of the trip. In fact, we stopped for a roadside lunch (2) and not a single car passed us in the ~20 minutes we were there.

Sharp Top in the Peaks of Otter, October 2018

We stopped in the Peaks of Otter region and took a walk around a small lake. Turns out there are no Peaks named Otter; it’s just a regional designation.

The beginning and our end, October 2018

After that, we pretty much drove straight through to the north end of the Parkway, which is actually designated the beginning. We passed about 380 mileposts along the way – actual stone posts in the ground with numbers on them – so I was anxious to see MP 0. Sadly, it was not to be found.

The Clifton Carraige Hojse, October 2018

The Clifton (1) is a charming property which I understand changed owners and was renovated in the last year or so. Our suite is the Carraige House, which presumably was a carriage house at some point in the past. While the multi-level layout looks cute, it’s highly impractical. The loft ceiling angles in so sharply that I need to be careful getting out of bed, and the bathroom down a narrow flight of stairs makes those nightime visits risky. The top step is unusually small, and the next one has a longer than expected riser.

Downtown Mall, October 2018

We went into downtown Charlottesville for dinner. They have a several block long pedestrian mall lined with shops and restaurants. We opted for simple, and had burgers and beers.

(1) Not “The Clifton Inn”, although the address is Clifton Inn Road.

(2) Sally points out “lunch” is a generous description of the power bars, chips and water we ate.

Sunday, September 30: Blue Ridge Parkway, Day 3

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Today was the shortest of our BRP segments, at about 80 miles from Fancy Gap, NC to Roanoke, VA (1) (2). We headed north, stopping at a few cutouts and exhibit points to see what there was to see.

Overlooking what?, September 2018

Like Saturday, we traveled at a lower altitude and over less mountainous terrain than on Friday. Again farms dominated the landscape on either side. I took a short hike – 15 minutes – to a promised overlook, which turned out to be a small stream with no discernable overlook. But it was nice being in the woods, even for a few minutes, and I got an interesting picture of the highway bridge we had driven over.

Puckett Cabin, September 2018

We passed a number of sites that had either old cabins or re-creations of old cabins. One of interest was Orleana Hawks Puckett, who lived in or around the spot from 1837 to 1939 – 102 years. At age 50, she took up midwifery and reportedly delivered upwards of 1,000 babies until her last year. Pretty amazing.

Mabry Mill, September 2018

Our next stop was Mabry Mill, the self-proclaimed “most photographed site” on the BRP (3). Regardless of the veracity of that claim, it was both interesting and photogenic. And fairly busy, with cars being directed to the overflow lot (4).

Wool for weaving, and basket weaving, September 2018

The mill itself was built by E.B. Mabry between 1903 and 1910. E.B. operated a sawmill and woodshop, while his wife operated the grist mill. All three were housed in the structure above. Rangers give interactive talks and demonstrations about the mill and rural crafts. We saw a ranger weaving a basket.

Yes, my camera lens was clean, September 2018

We planned to make another couple of stops, including climbing up Roanoke Mountain (in the car). But the weather, which had been overcast, descended and we found ourselves driving through heavy fog for quite a while. Even after we arrived into Roanoke Valley, the clouds remained low. So we bagged that plan and checked into the hotel.

Hotel Roanoke, September 2018

The Hotel Roanoke is a structure that the railroad built in the late 19th century and donated to Virginia Tech in 1989. It was subsequently remodeled and enhanced into a conference center. The room is nice (5) but small. Our Hampton Inn room last night was much larger, but more simply furnished.

View from our room, bridge to downtown, September 2018

After depositing our bags in the room, we walked across the tracks on a pedestrian bridge and had lunch downtown in a Thai restaurant. It wasn’t great Thai food.

(1) We also drove about 20 miles from our hotel in Dobson to the Parkway, and 7 miles from the Parkway to our hotel in Roanoke.

(2) I recalled that Roanoke was somehow a part of the early settlement story of our country. Turns out that the Roanoke Colony was by the Outer Banks, about 250 miles from the city of Roanoke.

(3) How could anyone know that? Is there an official registry somewhere? No one has asked me for a count of my pictures along the Parkway.

(4) The overflow lot was actually closer to the exhibit buildings but farther from the gift shop.

(5) Sally didn’t like the room at all; I did.