Monticello

Thomas Jefferson and Greerson

The Front of Monticello

The Solarium side of the house

The nickel view or back of the house

Backyard

The weights in the basement showing what day it is

The roof is the terrace and underneath are the stables and the carriage barn

This is the veranda just off of the dining room

Daryl, Christa and Greerson on the front porch of Monticello

Greeerson picking mini snowballs to throw

We travelled to Charlottesville to visit Monticello the home of President Thomas Jefferson. It was raining when we left and we got into snow before we reached Richmond. By the time we got to Charlottesville the snow was sticking to the ground. It was really pretty. We made a Starbucks run then Greerson wanted to try some spudnuts (potato doughnuts), then we went out to Monticello. There was a new visitors center that had just opened last November. It was really nice with a big gift shop and a great cafe. We rode the bus up to the house (last time the Shultz's were there they said they parked right next to the house.) We had to stand outside in the snow for about ten minutes waiting for our tour and Greerson had a blast taking snow from the hedge and throwing it at us. He was very excited to see snow! The house was awesome! Jefferson was a great inventor. He had a weather vane that showed the direction of the wind on the ceiling of the front porch. There also was a big clock in the entry hall that not only told time inside the house, but also told time on the front porch as well as telling the day of the week using cannonballs on a chain. Since we came on Friday the cannonballs were in the basement nearing Saturday. Apparently the room wasnt tall enough for all seven days of the week so he just cut a hole in the floor to make it work. His inventions were really cool, he invented a machine that would copy whatever he was writing so he always had a copy of his letters to file. We only saw the first floor of the house, but it was really interesting, he employed double paned windows on the north side of the house and used skylights in his bedroom and the dining room. The kitchen was underneath a terrace that ran on both sides of the backyard. The other side led to a stable for the horses and a place for the buggies. It was really cool because you wouldnt have to go out in the weather to get to the kitchen or the stable because they were accessible through covered enclosed walkways. I also was shocked to learn that the image on the nickel is actually the back of the house, not the front. We also went to President Monroe's house Ash-Lawn Highland, it was more of a typical farm house of the period and was not nearly as exciting as Monticello.

Colonial Williamsburg

Greerson and Christa at Seasons

We're not in Kansas anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The basketweaver

Greerson taking the mark of a felon

The Governor of Virginia arrives for his speech

This lady looked like she was wearing big sun dial on her head

The townspeople conferring before the Governor's speech

The maze in the gardens at the Governor's Palace

The ballroom gardens at the Governor's Palace

President Thomas Jefferson

The Governor's Palace

These gentlemen were preparing an arbor for the plants this summer

This musician quizzed Greerson on his piano practice habits. He also told him that he could tell him his last name if he lived in Williamsburg during the 1770s, because only two households had a pianoforte.

We got up early and went to Colonial Williamsburg. Greerson wanted a three corner hat so we found a store and outfitted him for the day. We were fortunate enough to hear Thomas Jefferson deliver a speech at the local theatre and later in the afternoon the Governor of Virginia delivered a speech concerning the Boston Tea Party and the repercussions on the Bostonians. The Capital building was really cool. Greerson was called up to demonstrate where the brand was placed on a convicted felon. We had Virginia Ham sandwiches for lunch. Boy were they salty!!! Dinner was great we went to a reastaurant called Seasons. Greerson gave it a four star rating. The only restaurant he has given a five star rating is Wendys! We also attended a trial at the court house. It was interesting that they had twelve justices versus jurors. We had a great day and are headed to Monticello tomorrow.

Blue and Gold Celebration

Part of the awards celebration was to create an eruption at the volcano table

The Food tables were really awesome!

Pack 377 celebrated the anniversay of Cub Scouting (Blue and Gold). The theme this year was a Hawaiian. Greerson received his Webelos badge, we don't have a picture because we were busy hosting the event. Several of Greerson's friends made the transition from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts that evening.

Webelos at Lake Brownwood

Members of the Lone Star Dutch Oven Society

Greerson is inspecting the coal bucket

Greerson prepares to work with the coals

The Webelos II all went to lake Brownwood for their last campout as Cub Scouts and the Lone Star Dutch Oven Society came out and did a demonstration. The food was incredible and the boys had a blast learning to cook in a dutch oven. Greerson was quite the chef that day! The nice part of the weekend was that we rented a lodge and didnt have to deal with the cold weather in a tent.

Greerson's Oil Derrick

Greerson had a project for school to build a model of an oil derrick. It was one of those projects that includes reading, math and writing! It also was a project that cost about $70 for supplies. Anyway he wanted to go to the ranch to do research and actually look at some oil derricks. We went down for the day and had a great time building his model in the barn. It was so nice to not have to worry about getting paint all over the place and we got to spend the day with Mimi and Grandpa Woody.