A Day in Monticello

Hi guys! I hope you had a fabulous weekend! I’m so far behind blogging about my travel adventures, I’m dying to share photos of our amazing summer vacation to the Outer Banks (OBX), North Carolina and a girlfriends’ weekend in Miami. All coming soon! In the meantime, I’ve had Monticello on my mind and wanted to blog about our visit there first.

In April, Kerry and I packed up the car and took Jackson and Catherine to Williamsburg, Virginia. We planned to spend about six or seven days on the road. We purposefully kept the schedule loose. It’s important to me that we strike a nice balance when we are on vacation. Typically, we spend half of the day taking in the sights and the other half relaxing at the hotel or resort. I learned that it is important to rest (literally) while you are on vacation or you come back exhausted.

Colonial Williamsburg was on our bucket list and it was a great experience! We had fun walking around and getting a real sense of Colonial life. We also planned a day at Busch Gardens Theme Park. As a first time visitor, I was really impressed. I was expecting a smallish park, but it is huge! The entire place had a similar vibe to Disney and roller coasters for the fearless.

Travel Tip: If you are planning to visit any Busch Gardens park, I want to give you one important tip. DO NOT buy the Quick Que upgrade. It says UNLIMITED on the pass, which I assumed meant you could skip the line for all the rides. Wrong, it is only good for 8 of the rides (the most intense roller coasters) and my kiddos were too young for them. It was a very expensive mistake.

On our way back home, Kerry suggested we stop at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Luckily, we had flexibility in our agenda for something totally spontaneous. We found a hotel in Charlottesville and spent the evening strolling around the University of Virginia’s downtown area. There were a ton of cute shops! The next morning we headed for Monticello. It was sublime. The link will give you a quick video tour and so much information about Thomas Jefferson and his infamous home. If you love history and beautiful gardens, it is totally worth a visit.

| timing is everything, I managed to snap this photo without any tourists in the picture |

We had such an amazing day just touring the house and the grounds. Surprisingly, it was an emotional day for me. I was in awe of the rich history and the contributions that Thomas Jefferson made to America. He requested funds from Congress and commissioned the Lewis and Clark expedition. And, I also learned that Thomas Jefferson brought back many ideas with him from his travels throughout Europe that influenced the architecture and design of Monticello. After we toured his home (no photos were allowed, but you can see a 360 degree view of each room by clicking here) we walked around the plantation. Our timing was perfect because so many flowers were in bloom!