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| Monticello 2016 |
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| Monticello 2016 |
These two photos show former President Jefferson's home in Monticello, VA. The steps where I am standing lead to giant windows, which remind me of the "air conditioning" Jefferson invented. His invention are wooden blinds that cover windows from top to bottom. The slats are like ours today, and can be opened and closed. Few realize that directing and blocking sunlight and/or air flow from screens if windows are open, are a sort of air conditioning. The guide tells you it's Jefferson's version of A/C.
It's not a huge house, but bigger than the photos let on to be. Another interesting room besides the A/C area is the bedroom and passageway between. Some of the beds are built into the walls with curtains for privacy. There is a referencing tool in this room that holds six books at one time. Jefferson developed this idea to quickly find things referenced in other books. This type of technology led to the idea or creation of relational computer databases eventually. The entry area is also impressive with a collection of art and sculpture. There is a patio on the back of the house, and a walkway with live orange trees.
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| Monticello - Thomas Jefferson 2016 |
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| Norfolk Botanical Gardens 2016 |
Thomas Jefferson was about six-feet tall, judging by my photo. The grounds are beautiful and I have many more photos to share. I would go back, there is a lot to do and see here - especially if you garden.
The Norfolk Botanical Garden is great and the best one I've been to, until I saw UC Berkeley Botanical Garden in Berkeley, CA in 2019. More on that later. It would be interesting to see these plants, shrubs and flowers at various stages of their growth throughout the season. We almost missed the Butterfly House because the heat was getting to us. We found bottled water in time, which was enough to get us there. Bring water if you walk, especially in the middle of the day like us. Weather was iffy, but rain held off. It's very muggy. We are used to humidity, but not the heat. It was probably in the 90s.
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| Norfolk Botanical Gardens 2016 |
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| Norfolk Botanical Gardens 2016 |
These were some of the things we saw early on in our walk. We also took a bus tour. The bus is nice, with open sides to experience being there so much better!
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| Norfolk Botanical Gardens 2016 |
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| Norfolk Botanical Gardens 2016 |
This bridge links some hilly terrain they managed to make look perfect. The crane was doing its thing among the lily pads in this cooling pond. There were birds everywhere and pleasant to see.
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| Virginia Beach 2016 |
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| Jamestown (Old Settlement & Fort), VA 2016 |
We were at the beach for about an hour when our youngest daughter called and told us to stay were we were and not move because our oldest daughter's boyfriend would be calling to ask for her hand in marriage. I'll never forget that moment. It was perfect. But then we got chased away by a thunderstorm. Luckly, we noticed a mass exodus of people further up the beach and the black clouds behind us. I'll never forget this, either - hahaha. We made it to the car just as huge raindrops fell from the sky. I rained for hours, but was well needed. No chance of sunburn that day, which is a plus.
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