May 22, 2009

Montpelier






We had a lovely visit to Montpelier yesterday, although we arrived rather late in the day. In the morning, we were all set for a day of historical discovery and exploration when the car wouldn't start. We had the same problem in Williamsburg the day before and had to find somebody to jump the battery. We borrowed my sister's car for the trip, since it's bigger than mine. So, sixty miles and several hours later, we had a new battery installed at a Nissan dealer in Harrisonburg. The car is an Infiniti SUV, but the nearest Infiniti dealer was in Richmond, which was even farther away.

But we did eventually reach Montpelier, our planned destination. The house is looking wonderful. Still a ways to go on the restoration, but much farther along than it was two years ago when we visited. At that time, the walls were down to lathe. Now the plaster's been done, most of the rooms are finished, doorways are painted and everything looks great. It's exciting to see this work in progress and we're thrilled that our nation is going to the trouble to restore this extraordinary historical monument. The grounds also are beautiful, but we didn't have much time to explore. We did, however, walk through the formal walled garden just beyond what would have been the slave's village. I've provided a couple of pictures of the garden I found on the Internet. Dan shot a few, too, so I'll replace these with our own when we get them downloaded.

It still gives me chills to stand on the same floorboards that Madison, Jefferson and others trod while hatching the blueprint for our country! Although it pains me that they, and their friends, Aaron Burr and James Monroe, plotted to bring down my beloved Hamilton. Sigh.

Nina

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