Virginia, Days 2-3

After spending the day in Colonial Williamsburg last Friday, we drove out to Lynchburg, Virginia, about 150 miles inland. We stayed overnight there, then in the morning visited Appomattix. This is where the last of the Civil War battles was fought, and indeed where the South surrendered and the war ended (in this court house, pictured at left). The community there has been restored nicely to 1860s condition. We wish Justin could have been with us; he would have loved it, and he probably could have told us a few stories.

While driving around in central Virginia, we were surprised at the lack of big roads there. It seems everywhere we had to go, there were just two-lane undivided highways - sort of tough to drive. It's no wonder they had such a hard time moving troops around in the Civil War! :-)

After Appomattix, we took several of these quaint roads to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson's mansion and property. Pictured here are Christopher and Mom behind the mansion. Way impressive house and furnishings - it's not tough to figure out how he died with so much debt! Thomas Jefferson penned our nation's Declaration of Independence and was the Minister of France for five years, but what's amazing is that his headstone doesn't list that he was POTUS (President Of The United States)!

After Montpelier, we drove on to Montpilier to see James Madison's mansion and property. Though James Madison was also POTUS and was known for such, he perhaps is best-known for authoring our great Constitution. 4,440 words (man... I've seen IP licensing agreements twice that long!!!) that are incredibly inspired - we ignore them at our nation's peril.

Whew!!! I almost waxed political in that last paragraph; I'll do my best to keep neutral here. :-)

Digression: They say that Thomas Jefferson wasn't a good speaker because he had a speech impediment, though he obviously was a very gifted writer. I like two quotes attributed to him, the first being "Science is my passion; politics is my duty." He also said, "A little rebellion now and then is a good thing." Hopefully we'll see that in the Massachusetts Senate election today, with the electorate realizing the HOPE was merely HYPE. Uh oh... I waxed political again!

To the left here is Madison's house - it was nice but far less ornate than the Jefferson mansion. It's tough to believe that little 5-feet-4-inch, less-than-100-pounds Madison was the father of our Constitution. I think in today's TV and internet-world, the U.S. would have a hard time electing such a little guy. James Madison had a very successful entrepreneurial life; it's too bad he had family that squandered his fortune away, leaving good ol' Dolly Madison to die a pauper.

There are also a couple of quotes from Madison that I like. He said that under the new Constitution, the nation's powers would be "derived from the superior power of the people" (really trying hard here not to make a political comment). He also said, during the War of 1812, "I flung forward the flag of the country, sure that the people would press onward and defend it."

Perhaps you can tell here that during our tour of some of Virginia's historical spots I was way impressed with our Founding Fathers and what they accomplished, as well as for most of the values that they held.

Right up there with that was the greatness of George Washington. After staying in Fredericksburg, VA Saturday night, we went on to Mt. Vernon Sunday morning to see Washington's home and grounds. Though the weather thus far had been great, Sunday it was VERY rainy, and it made it tough to see things. In the pic here on the right, you can even see rain drops falling in front of the rain-soaked "Bowling Green" in front of the mansion. I hear that the view from the back of the mansion, overlooking the Potomac River and Maryland beyond, is really spectacular. Unfortunately, the weather was so poor that we couldn't see it.

OK... continuing with my trend of listing quotes by these great Founding Fathers, I do like how George Washington was offered the position of "King" and how he promptly refused that, saying that power should be in the hands of the people. His quote here is awesome: "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence - it is a force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."

Wowzers!!! Today's politicians please take note! Anyway... pictured here at the left is one of the original trees at Mt. Vernon - more than 300 years old!!! My children would probably tell you that I'm about the same age! Again to check out all the pics (more than 60) from the trip, please click here for Facebook, or here for Flickr.

Though I didn't get any pictures of this last part, I honestly believe it was the best part of the trip. Michelle, Christopher and I spent Sunday afternoon and evening with my cousin Steve Detton and his family at their house in Springfield. My cousin Matt Jensen and his wife Melinda also joined us there, and we really had a great time!!! Shelley made a delicious pasta dinner, and despite what she might tell you the cookies she baked were also awesome. We really enjoyed hanging out with family back there, and hope we get an opportunity to do so again in the near future!!!