Charlottesville

Yesterday we drove from Washington to Charlottesville in Virginia along the Skyline Drive which runs along the northern part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This road twists for one hundred miles through the forest with numerous viewing points along the way. The highlight of the journey was seeing a black bear! It was grazing among the trees at the side of the road..

Charlottesville is very well-heeled town, the main business of which seems to be the University of Virginia, which was founded by Thomas Jefferson at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The main reason we came here was to visit Montecello, Thomas Jefferson’s house and plantation. We spent about five hours doing this to-day.

We went on guided tours of the house and garden and then got a description of the conditions on the plantation for the slaves at the end of the eighteenth century. It seems incredible that the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence (“We hold these truths self-evident that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”) was the owner of 150 slaves. No matter how it is dressed up - he treated his slaves well, etc, etc - the two things are totally incompatible and devalue the words of the Declaration. Even after his death, his will only freed five slaves, and it is suggested that some of these were his sons as a result of a liaison with one of his slaves!

Enough of the political rant. The tours were very interesting and Sue enjoyed the gardens.

Tomorrow we’re off to Charleston, West Virginia.