Monticello

Published April 3, 2015

11:25pm – boarded my last red-eye flight ‘til August, when I travel to Kathmandu 🙂 Landed in Boston at 4:45am EDT, hour half later caught my connection to Washington-Dulles. Rental car pick-up, 30 minutes to Leesburg to see my Aunt Joyce – before the 2-hour trek south to Charlottesville, this weekend’s marathon destination.

IHOP breakfast, hot chocolate at Starbucks – think I talked out my dear Aunt. LOVE, LOVE time with family. 50 State Quest has been great for seeing family & friends in 2015 🙂

Late start to Charlottesville, compounded by heavy Good Friday traffic – lotta folks travelling home for Easter. Starting to feel sleep-deprived, channel surfed ‘til I locked on a local bluegrass station. Nothing spells Appalachia like bluegrass – FAAANNNTASTIC!

Bib pick-up in historic Court Square, 15 minutes further to today’s pre-race destination: Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

Thomas Jefferson has long been my favourite American President, expanding our shores from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. Having always been enthralled with the American West, Jefferson best supports my present day life – commissioning the historic Lewis & Clark expedition, exploring modern day Colorado. Jefferson was a mega-mind, a thinker, an inventor, an agriculturist.

Entering iconic Monticello, one is immediately impressed with the dome architecture – first of its kind in Colonial America. Jefferson’s Grand Hall greeted visitors with exotic North American treasures – Native American art, buffalo hides, elk/bighorn/antelope/moose antlers, mastodon bones PLUS maps of all known continents (surveyed portions of Africa & the Americas).

Absolutely incredible all this existed in early America – before roads, before D.C. was built/created as our nation’s capitol. WOW!

Took the tour – Jefferson’s Book Room, his gardens, Parlor, Dining Room, bedchamber, wine cellar & Monticello Graveyard. What an amazing journey! Grounds closed at 7:30pm – yikes, time to go.

Quick shut eye, tomorrow will come soon enough. Marathon Day.