VA

November 4

Unfortunately the hazy weather muted the vibrant color that bordered us on each side as we traveled down Interstate 81. The Appalacian Mountains (Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah Mountains, Allegheny Mountains – they all run together and look like hills to west coasters) are at their peak color. Hopefully, we will get better views tomorrow. We debated taking the more scenic “Skyline Drive” but determined that the road was too curvy for the RV.

Arrival in Charlottesville, VA, was around 1 p.m. We walked the UVA campus to view the layout designed by Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson designed the Rotunda to be the center of a Academical Village which still exists today. It was built a few years after he died and included a huge common behind the Rotunda which was flanked by buildings in which students and faculty lived, sharing their academic time and talents. This Utopian arrangement is based on the Jeffersonian principle that learning is a lifelong and shared process and that interaction between faculty and students is vital to learning. Jefferson was right.

The top picture is the Rotunda, the second is the side of the common with student and faculty housing, and the third is the hallway outside the housing rooms. Note the firewood. Some are still heated with wood. Many students apply to live in these rooms so a faculty/student committee meet yearly to select the residents. All have huge gardens, all uniquely designed by Jefferson, out the back doors.