Seeing more Presidents

This post will catch you up on what we did while we were out of touch this week. On May 28th we focused on President Madison and President Wilson.

We headed out early for Orange, Virginia. We had to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains again. We have done this nearly every day as we are camped in the Shenandoah Valley. We try to pick different routes each time so each drive has been quite scenic. This time we decided to climb to the crest and drive along the Blue Ridge Mountains on Skyline Drive. This parkway runs through Shenandoah National Park and connects directly with the Blue Ridge Parkway which we have driven in part down in Tennessee and North Carolina. The drive was just as pretty with lots of wildflowers and mountain streams. Unfortunately the sky was quite hazy which obscured some of the long range views.

At the foot of the Blue Ridge we drove into Orange, Virginia and Montpelier, the home of James and Dolly Madison. James Madison was our fourth president and "Father of the Constitution". Montpelier was home to the Madison family since 1723. James and Dolly Madison lived there until Madison's death in 1836. Their graves are in the family cemetery. The tall monument is James Madison and the little one is his wife.

Upon Madison's death Dolly sold the estate. After it changed hands a few times it was acquired by William and Annie DuPont. Their daughter, a horse lover, built 2 race courses and a steeplechase on the property. She also donated the property to the National Historic Trust with the intention that it be restored to the Madison era condition. Today that restoration is in full swing with completion set for 2008. In addition to the restoration, the property is also a Thoroughbred Horse Retirement Center and rehab facility for veteran racehorses. We saw some of the gorgeous horses in the large fields surrounding the home.
It might be difficult to see but there is scaffolding at the left edge of the home. Workers are there every day trying to complete the restoration. At this time, the home is not furnished but when finished should be quite a showplace.

On our way "home" we drove through the town of Staunton, Virginia--birthplace to Woodrow Wilson. Mr Wilson was our 28th President from 1913-1921. His Presidential library is on the premises . Unfortunately we arrived too late in the day to tour the library but this is his birthplace.