Huddleston, VA - Charlottesville, VA

 

 April 8 - 11, 2025

On Wednesday, April 9 we drove to the Charlottesville KOA Holiday.  It's full hookups and $71 a night.  A little pricey for what we get.  They have a pool and other activities but no one is using them because it's too cold.

Site #28

On Thursday we went to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.  I don't care how many pictures you see and things you watch on TV, the real experience is different.  You just get a bigger perspective on how things are laid out.

The are doing archaeology on the grounds. What they find is displayed in the museum. We had an 11:15 tour of the house.  First you have to go through security, then go up some stairs to catch the shuttle bus to take you to the grounds.  From there you go to seating area 3, and are moved up a seating area until it's your turn for the tour.

 

Monticello

View from the seating area below the house. Our tour guide, Tom, took us to the porch and pointed out the clock above the door and the bottom side of the weather vane in the ceiling.

Clock

 

Weather Vane He said that most of the furnishings in the house were not original, but reproductions.  I asked if the window glass was original and he said that it wasn't, but it was made wavy to make it look like it was original. We then went indoors where they had some paintings and other things displayed.

Bust of Thomas Jefferson

 

Portrait of Thomas Jefferson

 

The inside part of the clock.  Notice the wires going out from each side.

 

They go down on each side of the wall and have weights on them.  On Sunday the clock is wound with the help of a folding ladder and the weights are lifted to the ceiling.  The top ball right-hand set of weights reveals the day and even the approximate hour as it falls past markers on the wall (you can see two of the markers on the wall to the right), with Sunday at the top and Saturday at the bottom. Unfortunately, when the weights arrived at Monticello, the ropes were longer than the wall, so they cut a hole in the floor for the weight to pass through, and now the marker for Saturday is in the basement.  The clock is also attached to a Chinese gong that chimes the hour. In the eighteenth century, the gong rang loudly enough for field slaves to hear it three miles away.

 

Inside Entrance Hall

 

Jefferson's Desk

 

Desk with Adjustable Top

 

Plans of the House

 

This was Jefferson's private room next to his bedroom.  Very few people were allowed here.

 

Jefferson's Bedroom This bed looks small but was big enough for his 6'2" frame.  This is where he died on July 4, 1826, hours before John Adams on the 50th anniversary of our country.

 

Jefferson remodeled Monticello extensively in the 1790s. In his bedroom he added a skylight and a partition wall to form a bed alcove below and a closet above. The closet was reached by a steep stair or ladder.  The holes above the bed are used for ventilation.

 

All of the pediments in the house are different.

The wood floor in the parlor is original.

This is a dumbwaiter on the side of the fireplace in the dining room.  There's another one on the other side.

Tea Room off Dining Room

 

Pediment Between Dining Room and Tea Room

 

Sundial
Note the beautiful view with the redbuds and dogwoods blooming in the valley below.

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello on the back of the nickel.  Jefferson is on the front.

The blooming tulips were beautiful!

Kitchen

  

I thought this was really smart!

Kitchen

Burners

A much better idea for a smokehouse.

Fireplace coming into the smokehouse.

Where the meat was hung.

Sketch of the smokehouse areas.

Vegetable Garden

Vegetable Garden

Thomas Jefferson's tomb, which he designed before he died.  It reads, "Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom
& Father of the University of Virginia
Born April 2, 1743 O.S.
Died July 4, 1826
O.S. means "Old Style." The Julian or Old Style calendar was in effect in England and her colonies until 1752, when the Gregorian or New Style calendar was adopted. This added eleven days to the current date to bring the calendar year into step with the astronomical year. Thus, the birthday of Jefferson, who was born on April 2 under the Old Style calendar, is now celebrated on April 13, the New Style date.

Cutaway of the house.

Interesting idea for collecting rainwater.

Zig-Zag Roof

What happened to the house after Jefferson died is interesting.  You can read about it at https://colonialquills.blogspot.com/2016/01/rescuing-monticello-from-ruin-by.html 

After visiting the tomb we took the shuttle back to the visitor's center.  We could have taken a trail back but it was cold so we opted for the shuttle.  We looked in the gift shop but didn't see anything we couldn't live without.  I think if it had been a nicer day we would have stayed longer, but it wasn't so we didn't.  We went and got some lunch and ran some errands.

Soon we'll be...

Roving on...

For this is what the LORD says, He who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and not create if as a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited): "I am the LORD, and there is no one else."  Isaiah 45:18

 

 

Home - Fancy Gap, VA - Huddleston, VA

 April 4-7, 2025

On Friday, April 4 we left home headed for Fancy Gap, VA.  About a half mile before the Mt. Airy exit on I-77 (right before you start going up the hill in VA), the truck showed a warning light that said that the exhaust system needed servicing and went into limp mode.  I called Mt. Airy Dodge and Autumn answered the phone.  Since it was a Friday afternoon she said they were really busy and weren't sure if they could get anyone to work on it, but she went and found someone that could help us.  When we got there they were waiting for us, and they found a place we could drop the 5th wheel and have the work done on the truck.  Chris, the diesel mechanic, went right to work.  He and John went for a test drive so Chris could see what it was doing.  He replaced the fuel filter and it seems to be running well now.  I think we got some bad diesel fuel that caused the problems.  God was certainly looking out for us again.  If it had happened a mile later we would have had to go up the hill six miles, turn around and go back six miles, then to the dealership.

We then continued to Fancy Gap Cabins and Campground for two nights.  It was 50 amp full hookups at $49.14 per night.

Site #8

Site #8

The Blue Ridge Parkway is closed because of the ice storms they had in January and February, and trees and brush are on the road, so we had to take a long way around to the campground.  There were so many trees down it looked like a tornado went through.  I originally thought it was from Hurricane Helene, but the campground owner said they were on the outskirts of that and this was from the ice storms.

On Saturday John dropped me off at Fancy Gap Fabric and Pottery and then went back down to Love's to get more fuel.  Dilution is the solution to pollution, right?  He came back and patiently waiting for me to finish my shopping.  I bought some fabric to make a black, grey, and white table runner.

While we were there it rained and we had a thunderstorm, so we didn't get to explore the trails there.

On Sunday, April 6 we drove to Smith Mountain Lake State Park for three nights.  It's a beautiful campground and I would come again.  It's 30 amp electric and water for $43.79 per night.

Site #41

Site #41

John took a rag and cleaned the outside of the 5th wheel where he could reach.  It looks a lot better.  We knew rain was coming so we took a little walk around the campground last night and talked to the camp hosts.

Today, April 7, it's still raining so I decided to get my to-do list done.  Before I did anything else I cleaned the trailer.  I cleaned it before our trip to Poinsett State Park, but it had been sitting for a couple of weeks and really needed it.  Then I got the rest of my to-do list done and now I can relax.  :-)

Soon we'll be...

Roving on...

For this is what the LORD says, He who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and not create if as a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited): "I am the LORD, and there is no one else."  Isaiah 45:18

Poinsett State Park, Wedgefield, SC

March 17-21, 2025

On the road again - sort of.  John has done a lot of work on the truck and 5th wheel since we got home and we wanted to take a shakedown trip.  We chose Poinsett State Park near Wedgefield, SC because it was not to far from Congaree National Park.  We have lived in this area for years and never been to Congaree, so we decided this would be the time.  It wasn't hot and humid, and there were no bugs.  There was LOTS of pollen, but that didn't stop us.

We arrived on Monday, March 17 and set up.  We were in site #21 which was really nice.

Site #21

Site #21

With our SC resident discount the nightly rate was $20.01. The weather was sunny but just a little too cool to sit outside for very long.  Tuesday was beautiful and I sat outside and read most of the afternoon.  Wednesday we went to Congaree.  First we went to the visitor center, watched a film, and got the national park brochure and information on the trails.

Congaree National Park

There is a boardwalk that goes in a loop from the visitor center.  The west side was open but the east side was closed for refurbishing.  So we took the west side to the Sims Trail which ran back to the boardwalk loop.

Boardwalk

Swamp and cypress knees.  Cypress knees are the roots that rise up from the roots of the tree.  It is believed that the knees provide the tree with extra structural support during floods and high winds.  Bald cypress trees can live to be over 1,000 years old, and are rot and water resistant.

It's hard to tell but some of these trees are quite large around the base.

If you haven't been to Congaree it's worth the stop.  Just don't go in the summer!

Thursday was cloudy, rainy and cooler, so we stayed inside and relaxed.

Speaking of pollen!

Friday we packed up and came home.  Going for such a short time it was easy to pack and unpack.  We got home at 2:15 and by 3:15 John was taking the trailer back to storage.  That's the way to do it!