Saturday Justin took me to Charlottesville and Lexington. After visiting with his aunt and uncle in their log house on the side of a mountain we went to Lexington and walked around the Virginia Military Institute, or VMI. I'm not used to military schools, or the military for that matter, so it was so crazy for me to see all these young guys in uniform standing around display cannons. It felt like glimpsing the Civil War, but really it's 2006 and those guys will go back to their bunk rooms and instant message online just like every other college kid. Also, VMI is where Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson once taught, and if you don't already know, he happens to be my seventh great uncle.
After VMI and Lexington we stopped by McCormick's Farm. Cyrus McCormick is the guy who "invented the first successful reaper and founded the harvesting machine industry." The buildings were closed for renovation, but it was a cute area near a stream and surrounded by sheep and cows. We even went on the Interpretive Trail along the stream and learned about the ecosystem and how McCormick liked roasted chestnuts.
Next came Charlottesville. We walked all over the University of Virginia. I liked it a lot. Justin likes to categorize the Virginia public schools pretty broadly/stereotypically, and he doesn't describe the UVA kids very nicely, but I'm not gonna lie, I feel like maybe I would have wanted to go there if I were from Virginia. Or William and Mary, which is a school I really did want to go to when I was applying.
It was so nice to get out of Richmond and into the country for a day. The weather was beautiful and I feel like we saw a lot for one day. I definitely want to go back though, since there are tons more awesome places to see. I've been to Jefferson's Monticello before, in the sixth grade I think, but I would love to go again. I also want to visit Madison's Montpelier and Monroe's Ash Lawn-Highland. There's also a Frontier Culture Museum that I'm interested in, and I want to see the Natural Bridge, which I'm told was owned by Jefferson and surveyed by Washington.
As an American history lover, these sorts of things make me giggle with glee.
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1 comment:
he's our sixth great uncle
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