Monticello and more crooked roads

Up and out the door early. So what's up with this early stuff, I'm retired you know. Anyway it's been that way the entire trip. A quick breakfast and a quick bike ride to Monticello the home of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). What grand place it is. Not only did Jefferson draft the Declaration of Independence, he designed Moticello, inventor and an adapter of other inventions. The design, construcion and modifying of his home and out buildings and landscaping took over 40 years. Monique and I took a few years and we thought that was a long time. They say he spent the last 33 years of his life after the writing of the Decleration at his beloved Monticello where he died. He is still there in a private cemetery still owned by the family. The folks that work there are fantastic, not because they have to be but, just because they just that way. One nice lade I met working an information desk went over and beyond the call. I asked where a certain landmark was located near town. She excused herself, went off and returned later with a printed sheet of driving directions. Sorry I forgot her name. As we walked the grounds of Monticello we came across the slave quarters and met up with Leni Sorensen standing in the slave quarters kitchen by a pile of fresh veggies. As usual my smart mouth asked when lunch was ready? Her reply..."as soon as you get done weeding the garden you'll get lunch". There was no lunch from Leni. I now knew where I stood. We talked about the bike trip, were we were from, where she came from and what she was up to. Now Leni has enough credentials too be called a "Rocket Scientist of Human Life and History". Her bio lists things such as Folk Singer, Teacher of Cookery, Farmer in South Dakota, and working at Monticello interpting African American Life in Slavery and writer of Blogs. for more about Leni go to WWW.Indigohousehistory.com Thanks for a great time Leni. Back on the road heading North to Stephens City, Va. for a Italian dinner, cold beer followed by some blogging. The blogging goes OK but uploading photos from an Ipad to Picasa back to the blog continues to be a problem. I'll keep trying but photos might have to wait a bit. One last bit of news...Monique reports that we had to visitors to our Asheville house today. Momma Bear and her young one came by for a visit searching for food. Sure sorry I missed that. She did take a few photos.
I'll post some photos Monique sent me.