Waynesboro, Charlottesville, and Dead Presidents 20 July 2014

From the Northern Neck, we headed east to Waynesboro, Virginia.  We stayed in one of the rare RV parks where we had good shade, and a clear path for satellite TV reception.  Getting level required putting the front tires in a hole, but that is RV parks on the East Coast.  Most were developed long before big rigs, like ours.

Waynesboro is located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley  When Penny's parents moved from this area to Illinois, she cried.  It took her nine years to appreciate the beauty of the prairie.  The town has a rich history of its own.  Named after General "Mad Anthony" Wayne, hero of the Revolutionary War, it sits near Jarman's Gap, the major passage through the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It was also the site of General Phillip Sheridan's triumph over General Jubal Early late in the Civil War, effectively closing the Shenandoah Valley as a supply source for the Confederacy.  Still, it was not the main reason for our stop here.  

The history of this area is some of the richest in the Nation.  One of the important places nearby is James Madison's Montpelier, seen here. 

 Madison's brilliance was reflected nowhere better than his pivotal work in drafting the Constitution of the United States.  This bronze depicts Madison with his celebrated wife, Dolley, a distant relative of Penny's.  Alexander Randolph, Madison's opponent, often said that had he run against Madison alone, he may well have won the election of 1808, but he had to run against not only James, but also the beloved and admired Dolley.

This is the view from the front porch of Montpelier.  The racetrack in the background had a working gate indicating that races are still run there. 

In the center here is our interpreter, Pat Dietch.  She made the Madisons and their guests come alive.  Barbara W. and Dixie Cassell were running a cooking demonstration using the resources and techniques of the time on the spot where the Madison kitchen once stood.  The cookies they baked were delicious.

Montpelier, not far from Charlottesville, is the home of the University of Virginia.  Laid out by Thomas Jefferson, this is one of the most stately campuses we've ever seen.  The UVA rotunda exhibits the strong Jeffersonian architectural influence that marks much of this campus.  It is considered by many the University's signature building.

Also, not far from Waynesboro is Staunton (pronounced "Stanton"), Virginia, birthplace of, perhaps one of the most famous dyslexics, President Woodrow Wilson.  He was born in this house on December 28, 1856, nine years before the end of slavery.  His father, a Presbyterian minister, relocated the family to Augusta, Georgia two years later.  The Woodrow Wilson Library is a couple of doors away. 

A few years ago, we posted a blog of our trip to Monticello.  Unfortunately, we left Monticello too late in the day to visit President James Monroe's Ash-Lawn Highland estate, seen here, so determined to see it on this trip.  Poor Monroe was nowhere nearly as affluent as any of his predecessors.  The white painted portion of this house is the portion that existed during Monroe's tenure here.  It faces Jefferson's once adjoining estate, Monticello.  We thought the contrast between this estate and His monument in Hollywood Cemetary seen in our earlier blog, was quite interesting.

By all accounts a very bright and accomplished man, he still suffered by comparison to the brilliance of his immediate predecessors, Jefferson and Madison. Who wouldn't?  He was a doer, not a writer, so there is much unknown about him.  One of his accomplishments, near and dear to our hearts, is his commissioning of the first federal interstate highway (think the wider definition of "interstate"). This is a cast of one of the mileage markers on that road.

The guides at each presidential home have made our understanding of our history much richer and more alive than anything we learned in school or read on our own.  These visits are well worth the time and effort.  

There is so much history here, we still missed a lot.  I suppose we'll just have to come this way again.  All together now, "AWW".