Day 34 - 7/24

We continued down the road to see James Madison's Montpelier. Even though this house isn't as complex as Jefferson's Monticello, it was still very beautiful. The group that owns the house now is still in the process of restoration.  Some of the rooms were less filled with furnishings than others but still showed how Madison would live his life. Even though Madison was known to be soft-spoken, at the dinner table he would love to engage in stimulating conversation. He even had his bedroom situated so that even if he was sick he could prop the door open to the dining room and converse with his guests. The entertaining room had many red decorations. Dolly Madison liked the color a lot and loved to have it in her home. Madison also liked to entertain his guests by showcasing fun objects. One of them was a machine where a crank would turn and it would create enough static electricity to cause someone's hair to stand up. He also had a display of fossils of animals that weren't native to Virginia. Many of the aspects of the house were designed by Jefferson and influenced by a neoclassical look.

The outside of Madison's house was nice as well. His outdoor temple was located directly above where he would store his ice and other products that needed to be chilled.  That made is nice to sit in during the summertime. Dolly's kitchen had a display of recipes they used for dinner parties and other meals. I can't imagine working in an extremely hot kitchen while it is in the 90's outside. They also had an archeology display where kids could dig up artifacts, wash them and then identify what they are. Lydia said she liked it because she, "found out that there are a lot of different items that you can find while digging." Rachel also had a fun time with this activity because she likes digging and playing in the dirt.

After seeing Madison's home, we went through Shenandoah National Park. This area is considered one of the most beautiful places in the United States. Right after we left Montpelier, rain began pouring. In fact, it fell so hard and continuously that Mom had to pull over and basically let the car get washed. We could barely see out the window. After traveling some through the National Forest area we came across some Boy Scouts who needed help. One of the scouts was developing hypothermia from being in the rain for too long. We took him and another boy in and helped warm them up. We dropped them off at a trailhead that led to the shelter they were hiking to. I'm grateful that we happened to be driving by  and have enough space to take both boys and their gear.  The drive which is usually a beautiful pleasant drive was a crazy one for us with mists and fog and rain coming and going the whole time.  We did, however, manage to appreciate some of the beauty in a few spots.