Notes on Thomas Jefferson

The grey nomands
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I thought it was about time someone wrote a note about him as he seemed to write a note about everything else conceivably possible! From wine to slavery to macaroni, this guy had an opinion about everything!!

A trip to Charlottesville wouldn't be a trip to Charlottesville without visiting Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. So we lined up again with the 'Gray Nomads' (will explain shortly) for a guided tour of the house and gardens.Em and I are slowing realizing that we have probably opted for the more mature choice of route to take whilst in the US. Whilst most people our age are probably living it up in LA or risking it all in Las Vegas we seem to be bumping into the same mature aged (60+) ragers all the way along our trip! On the upside we are getting more sleep and have more to spend when shopping!

Monticello
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Anyway back to TJ! The tour was very interesting and the grounds and house are beautiful. The only thing we found a little strange was how the man that declared 'all men to be created equal' in the Declaration of Independence and called slavery an 'abominable crime' managed to get by with having over 100 slaves himself for his whole life?

After the tour we made our way to Richmond where we were helped again by the wonderful people at the local visitors information centre. These places are always our first stop when we arrive in town, sometimes I think it's the most exciting part of our day because we get to get rid of the old brochures we have collected from the last town and pick up new ones for the new one, sad I know!!

TJ's plantation
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Anyway the lady at the Richmond centre was especially helpful, especially when it came to shopping hints. She gave Emma the inside info on all the cool places to shop both in Richmond AND New York City! Emma and her got on so well that at one stage I thought she was going to continue on the trip with Emma and I was going to get left behind in the visitors centre!

Richmond is one of the prettiest towns we have been in yet with its tree lined streets, immaculate gardens and houses that look more like they should be in the English countryside than the state capital! It also has great shopping so I think it's shot to the top of Emma's list!

Tomorrow we are off to the national capital, DC!!