August 7, 2015

1711, Fri, 080715. Sherado Lake National Park, Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia.

The last couple of nights we stayed in the Chippokes Plantation State Park, Virginia, just across the James River from Jamestown. We had the camping section of the park all to ourselves, guess no one tents that much anymore. From there we headed into Jamestown via the local ferry which was free of charge. I guess they charge for their roads so the ferry can be free. It was a fun little ride across to Jamestown. There are two parts to Jamestown, a visitor's center, then the real place. Lots of artifacts to see at the visitor's center but that was about all we could get in for the day. Next morning we headed back to the real Jamestown for a look around. These people weren't the brightest bulbs in the pack. They arrived too late to plant crops, starved out most of the people in the first few years and almost called it quits when another supply of new people and wares came in from Britain. I think they may have thought the native people would take care of them but it was in the middle of a three year drought so the Indians didn't have much more than it would take to sustain themselves.
There was an archeological dig going on which looked like it would have been fun to be a part of. I was peeking at the group sifting through pebbles and one of the workers came over to show me what they had found. It was a part to an old pipe of some sort, so she said, but about the size of two grains of sand. Now that is exciting, ha.
Connecting Jamestown with Williamsburg and York Town was a beautiful road through the woods. Williamsburg has a large section of town closed off to vehicles and is set up in the old style. Lots of actors dressed in great outfits doing all sorts of chores just like the times. Of course we visited the cabinet shop and got a great look at a bunch of old hand tools.
Next visit was York Town, where the last major battle of the Revolution was fought. Cornwallis held the town and thought he had the upper hand but the rag tag rebels managed to out do him with the help of the professionals from France. Cornwallis's last resort was to retreat across the river in small boats but when it came time, a storm came through destroying the boats and a lot of the men. He had to surrender.
We were awakened by another great thunderstorm this morning. So great not to be sitting in salt water with a stick above your head that is six stories in the sky. It sprinkled on and off most of the day but we managed to get in a visit at Jefferson's home, Monticello, Virginia. We spent a good eight hours there. Simply a fascinating man. We got a tour of the home which Jefferson had built and torn down only to remodel and do some more building. The gardens were another tour where Jefferson experimented with every kind of plant he could get his hands on to see what would grow there. The final tour was about the slaves and the life they led. Yes, it does look like Jefferson might have had six offspring by one of his slaves but first off DNA can only be accurately traced through male heirs of which Jefferson had none. There is a close match though that the current family descended from slaves so it appears that the story may have some validity. Now, the affair was after his wife had died and Sally Hemmings was a half sister to his wife. Oh, life can be complicated.
Jefferson was full of questions, dabbled in science, architecture, botany, and on and on. He could read Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, Anglo Saxon and English. He was just starting to get into German. He enjoyed his books but when he went to donate them to the Continental Congress they weren't sure they wanted them since they couldn't read them.
With all his wealth he died a poor man. It may have been partly due to his own undoing. When he made the Louisiana Purchase it doubled the size of the country and hence cut the value of current land immensely. There were lots of family and friends he helped financially and wasn't able to claim the money owed to him. There was a depression of sorts with crop prices dropping and it all came together in the last ten years of his life. He did hang on long enough to make his last day on the Fourth of July, fifty years after the signing of the Constituion.....more later..