VA Wrap Up: Wrap Up

(Last VA post, promise.)

After DC, Matt and I headed back to my temporary home in order to host our favoritest head pastor and his wife. They came a long way to make a pastoral visit and were probably just worried about the safety of our souls after being out of the Deep South's Bible Belt for several weeks. (I kid).

I've never had a relationship with my pastor like our relationship with the Wingards. Matt and I truly cherish their friendship and we always have a great time whenever we're together.  Our church went through a really rough patch about the time Matt and I got married.  A year later, Lynne and Charlie were called to our congregation and have been an absolutely blessing to our entire church family.

My favorite part of their visit was our tour of James Monroe's home, just down the road from Monticello. James Monroe, our 5th President, is often overlooked.  He didn't draft the Declaration of Independence, or write the Constitution.  He didn't lead the army that saved  the American colonists from the tyrannical rule of King George (although he did fight under General George Washington in the War of Independence).  Instead, he was fired from several of his public appointments and publicly disgraced more than once.

Lynne and Charlie in front of Ash Lawn-Highland.

His early "success" as the American Minister to France was due largely to the social graces of his wife, Elizabeth.  She was endeared by the French people, who were willing to overlook Monroe's inept social skills. I say success rather lightly... the French did not endear James Monroe the way they did his wife, and he was sacked from his post as Minister to France by President Washington for inefficiency, disruptive maneuvers, and failure to safeguard the interests of his country.  Britain and France were at war at the time, and Monroe and the Jeffersonians favored revolutionary France, and Washington criticized him for his support of the French.

nerds.

As a diplomat to Great Britain under President Jefferson, Monroe was publicly humiliated again when Jefferson refused to even submit Monroe's negotiated treaty, the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty, to the Senate for consideration and ratification.

However, even with several public embarrassments, Monroe kept at it.  He served in several political offices, from Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State and Secretary of War to President James Madison, and also served two successful terms as President of the United States.  He's best known for the Monroe Doctrine, which stated that the US would not tolerate European attempts to colonized and otherwise interfere with states and independent countries of the Americas.

The original house is comprised of the back section of what stands today (the white part).

Monroe was the last president to fight in the War of Independence.  He studied law under Thomas Jefferson and considered both Jefferson and Madison friends.  Under President Jefferson, Monroe was one of the negotiators of the Louisiana Purchase.  As president, Monroe made cabinet appointments across party lines and from all over the nation, easing political tensions in what became known as the "Era of Good Feelings".  After retirement from political life, Monroe sold his family farm to the state to provide the land on which UVA was to be built, and moved into a plantation just down the road from Jefferson, at Highland (later renamed Ash Lawn-Highland).

Monroe died on the 4th of July, 55 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Our tour guide was absolutely fantastic.  Just hilarious and full of wonderful information.  I kept looking over after all of his dry jokes to see Charlie's reaction.  Before the tour started, Charlie asked him how he got into giving tours of Monroe's house.  Completely straight-faced, he replied with something like, "Well, I had my 100 hours of community service and then they just let me stay and promoted me to a guide after I was done."  We think he was kidding.  Our guide was Dennis Bigelow, in case you're planning a trip to Ash Lawn-Highland any time soon. (My parents had a different guide, who they loved as well, on their visit. )

Just a few hours before Lynne and Charlie left, Amy, Ryan, Staci, and David all arrived.  They left work a few hours early and drove the 9-10 hours through the middle of the night to get into town.  Since their visit was over New Year's, we were able to party downtown on New Year's Eve and then watch football in our sweat pants the next day.

But, we didn't stay on the couch their whole visit.

We headed back out to UVA so I could sharpen my skills as a tour guide one last time.



Every time they would try to wander off to look at something or appeared like they weren't giving me 110% of their attention, I told them to snap out of it and listen to ME.  Come on, people.  I had things to say! 

Matt was particularly interested in the Jefferson-designed serpentine walls that allow for the wall to be one brick thick without falling over.

After I felt like they'd had a thorough history lesson of the Academical Village, we set up the tripod and posed for photos.

Our meager attempts to jump at the same time were interrupted by a pig running across the lawn.

Yes, a pig.



Amy wanted to sit in Jeff's lap, but decided he was just too serious for that.  She hugged him instead.

He was not amused.

We were.

On the last day of their visit, we drove over to nearby Orange, VA to tour James Madison's house, Montpelier. 

Madison was our 4th President, author of several of the Federalist Papers, and the main author of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  His wife, Dolley, is credited for helping to save the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington as the British were storming DC during the war of 1812.

View from atop one of the porticoes of Montpelier.

After the presidency, the Madisons retired to Montpelier.  James suffered a stroke and debilitating health until his death in 1836, just days before the 4th of July.  When it became evident that his death was imminent, a doctor offered him a drug that might prolong his life (until July 4th, as many citizens were hoping he'd live until), but Madison allegedly replied that he came into this world naturally and would leave it in the same manner.

Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe were all key players on the national and state (Virginia) political scene.They all lived fairly close and were constantly corresponding with one another.   They were friends and shared much of the same political views, often seeking out the advice of the others.  They dedicated their lives to the "American experiment" and have left their mark on what is now realizable across the world, a free democracy of people.

Hoodlums behind Montpelier, undoubtedly up to no good.