On Sunday of our trip we spent most of the day at Ash Lawn (home of James Monroe), had a late lunch at Michie Tavern (a tavern dating back to the 1700s), and then went over to see downtown Charlottesville and the University of Virginia.
Loading the car at the hotel that morning (we were driving back to Waynesboro that night), I ran into none other than "the Nature Boy" ... Ric Flair. He was leaving the elevator, heading to his limo, no doubt on the way to his jet plane (those wrestling fans will know what I mean). Unfortunately, he did not recognize me without my Wrestling II mask on.
Flair was a tough act for Ash Lawn to follow but it was great.
The Virginians - Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe - held the presidency for a remarkable 24 straight years from 1801-1825 ... each winning two terms. Monroe is the least famous of the three and an underrated president (in my not-so-humble opinion).
Ash Lawn was a much smaller house than Monticello or Montpelier, but the grounds were beautiful. It's only a few miles south of Monticello and supposedly Jefferson and Monroe would signal each other using flags when they were both home. The trees have grown up so much that they wouldn't be able to do that now. In their time, all three places were working plantations complete with slave quarters, livestock, fields, etc. Ash Lawn still has some livestock on the property - it's run by William and Mary College.
Here are some pictures of Ash Lawn ... will post Charlottesville/Michie Tavern pics in next post.
* Click on any picture to enlarge
The Nature Boy ...
Pool at Doubletree in Charlottesville
Ash Lawn ...
The white part of the house is the original ... yellow added after Monroe.
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