They say Virginia is for Lovers and it truly is! Indeed, Virginia is also a great place for single’s too. Over the past few weeks, I have explored some of the extraordinary state that I have recently called home, living right outside of Washington, DC. Some of those places include Charlottesville, Virginia to visit Thomas Jefferson’s homestead of Monticello and Shenandoah National Park’s Skyline Drive. Since visiting some of beautiful Virginia, I have now wanted to explore more of it too!
Last week, my Papa and I took a tour of Thomas Jefferson’s home base of Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. The whole way there, Charlottesville and its surrounding areas are filled with breathtaking sceneries of the Virginia Wine Country and mountaintops. Charlottesville is located in the heart of Virginia’s Wine Country. It is also home to the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson, himself, and seen from the Monticello estate at its mountaintop. While at Monticello, we could see the Blue Ridge mountains and the Virginia Wine Country from up above – breathtaking views were seen all around, though, from the homestead and its grounds to the scenic views all around. The best and most inspiring part of visiting Monticello was our tour. Papa and I chose to do the $40/person 45 minute guided tour, and it was the way to go. Our tour guide taught us a lot about Jefferson’s home, which took 40 years to construct, and emphasized on the former President’s beliefs of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and how it pertains to everyone regardless of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, ability, and much more. All in all, visiting Monticello was a great and empowering experience.
As for the rest of Charlottesville, we pretty much just visited the local Cookout before getting lost driving downtown and then deciding to just head back home – HAH! While it was great to get Cookout again, I hope to tour a bit of the downtown Charlottesville again real soon, too. Besides Charlottesville, when it comes to other Virginia-based trips, Richmond, Norfolk, Blacksburg, Virginia Beach (although already visited), Sperryville, Staunton, James Madison’s Montpelier, Natural Bridge, the Northern Neck, and re-visiting Shenandoah National Park reign at the top of my bucket list. Virginia is such a vastly gorgeous state with SO much to see, and I am excited to explore it more!
XOXO – Katie <3