May Getaway Post 5

Montpelier

After a full day at Monticello, we moved into a new hotel (the Doubletree in Charlottesville - I'll tell you why I mentioned that in a future post) and the next morning headed northeast about 25 miles to Montpelier, the home of James and Dolly Madison.

It was a gorgeous Saturday, sunny and low 70s.

We spent much of the day there seeing the new visitor center, the museum and gift shops, and the huge grounds and gardens. Another visitor we kept running into that day was Ted Turner (in a small group of about six people). He was there all day too and left about the same time we did.

In the early 1900s, the du Pont family bought Montpelier and Marion du Pont Scott (married for a while to cowboy star Randolph Scott) turned it into a major equestrian venue with horse and steeplechase races still held there.

Montpelier is quiet and beautiful ... and James Madison wrote most of the US Constitution there. A place worth visiting.

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Ted ... is second from right in the group by the tent (blue shirt and hat).

May Getaway Post 4

May Trip

For our annual May vacation we planned a trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, to visit the homes of Presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe (all within about 20 minutes of there).

After that we were going to Washington DC for a few days, but decided it would be too much. We postponed the DC trip, and spent four days in Charlottesville and two in Knoxville on the way home.

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Monticello

The first night we drove to Waynesboro, VA, ... about 30 miles west of Monticello on I-64. The next day it was up and off to Mr. Jefferson's home at Monticello.

Pool at Waynesboro

This picture is from the visitors center at the base of the small mountain leading up to Monticello (at the risk of going all Ben Stein in The Wonder Years on you ... Monticello means Little Mountain in Italian).

The rest of these pictures are at the main grounds of Monticello ... beautiful mountaintop views, vegetable and flower gardens. We also took a tour of the main house. Great day.

Elaine ... our tour guide. Her son is a policeman in Athens, GA.

April Trip Post 3

ACC Country

After visiting the UNC football stadium and then NC State's facilities, we made it over to the Dean Dome and then drove over to Duke to see Cameron Indoor and the football stadium (Wallace Wade Stadium).

Quite a contrast between the Dean Dome (which is about like the old Omni) and Cameron Indoor (which is about like the old Berry gym).

Loved the campus at Duke and UNC ... NC State not so much.

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Dean Dome

Duke ...

Wallace Wade at Duke ...

Here, I was pointing out a plaque commemorating the Rose Bowl being played at Duke due to WWII. Of course, he then informed me the teams (Oregon State and Duke), the score (20-16 OSU), and the date (New Years 1942) ... still, I saw that plaque.

April Trip Post 2

Tobacco Road

Having never been to the research triangle area of North Carolina, getting to visit all the colleges in the area was a real treat.

We stayed in Chapel Hill, and drove to nearby NC State and Duke, but missed Wake Forest which was a bit too far way.

The college sport research conference included Jay Bilas, Danny Green, the heads of ESPN and Raycom sports, and many others. Made for a great time.

Kenan Stadium - UNC

Carolina Basketball HOF

(Dean Dome closed this day - pics in another post)

NC State ... one of the best statues outside their athletic offices that I have seen. As for the stadium and basketball arena, they were nice but several miles removed from campus ... did not feel like a college atmosphere. The Carolina Hurricane of the NHL also play in the RBC facility.

NC State Football Practice ... in the pic below we think we might be getting run out of practice by a grad assistant for Tom O'Brien of the Wolfpack ... they didn't realize I had dealt with one Harry "Squab" Jones before, or that I could flash some media credentials at them ... all was well (as soon as we left).