Daniel had a week of vacation in June, so we packed up the whole family for a camping trip. We bookended the camping with visits to friends in Virginia (read: hotel rooms w/ no bugs) and our first stop was Charlottesville. I can't believe we've been only 4 hours away for the last 8 years and have never visited!! It was absolutely beautiful with tons of charm!
We stayed across the street from UVA and were about a block from the "Corner" and we took full advantage of the gorgeous campus for long walks and picnics. Here are some photos from one evening.
Sunset on one of the many expansive lawns
This building is part of the medical school
This was a charming little chapel on campus which was built by the people of Charlottesville sometime in the 1800s. It seems the townsfolk considered the University to be 'heathen' since it didn't have a church (not surprising given the Deist leanings of it's founder, Thomas Jefferson). The security guard who was standing nearby when I snapped this photo commented that Jefferson would probably turning over in his grave if he knew there was a religious building on his campus!
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Learned that President Monroe donated the land for the University. Fun fact: Both University of Virginia and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill claim to be the oldest public universities in the nation. We learned that UVA actually had it's charter first, but UNC opened it's doors to students first. I suppose it's somewhat of a tie, but we'll still side with the Tarheels :)
Family photo in front of the Rotunda
One of the colonnades off the Rotunda
We found a little hidden fountain in one of the courtyards, so the girls dipped their feet and tossed in coins
Rosie, of course, couldn't resist a swim
I can't remember what this building's purpose is now, but it has been there since the school was established in 1819
We kept seeing this "Z" painted in strange places all over campus, I finally googled it on my phone and found out that they are painted (mischievously, apparently) by a secret society which seems to be part service group, part fraternity. In any case, the society was founded in 1892.
One afternoon we visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate which is just outside of Charlottesville. It was so lovely and so much fun! I highly recommend it if you're in the area.
TJ himself.. The girls saw so many busts of Jefferson when we were there that later in the week when they saw a bust somewhere else, they both exclaimed, "There's Thomas Jefferson!"
There was the most wonderful miniature kids museum there that the girls could have seriously spent all day playing in! A lot of Jefferson's kooky inventions had been recreated for kids to try out. They also had a recreation of what slave quarters would have been like along with some period clothing to try on and tons of books to look at.
Here's Campbell playing a light game of chess
Some of the lovely water lilies that were growing in the ponds around the grounds
We Love History!
Took this picture because it was a painting of Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom our Raleigh is named :)
Some photos of us enjoying the amazing food scene in Charlottesville. In case you're planning a visit, our favorite spots included: Fry's Spring Station, Splendora's, Take it Away Sandwich Shop, Positively 4th St., and Bodo's Bagels
From Charlottesville, we headed to Swope, VA to visit Polyface Farms (a highlight of the trip for me!) More about that in the next post :)
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