Monticello

Went to Thomas Jefferson's home today. For those of you dealing with home construction or renovation, take comfort in the knowledge that Jefferson took 40 years to complete Monticello because he kept changing his mind! Courtesy of friend Adam's Uncle Paul, we got access to the Dome Room (or the observatory) that only about 200 people a year get to see. The stair case is too narrow to accommodate a large volume of visitors each year, so it is restricted to special guests. And we got to be special today!

Another great part of the visit was the kids' area at the visitors center. They had replicas of all the things you couldn't touch, use or sit on in the real Monticello available for hands-on activity. We got to sit in the chairs, use the polygraph writing machine like the one Jefferson used to copy his many letters and even lie on a replica of his bed!



Skip and Maddie with our guide in the Dome Room



All of us in the Dome Room



At the side entrance of Monticello



Maddie hard at work as a blacksmith

Jefferson was a man of many talents, but we were particularly impressed with his "10 Rules" for life.


Thomas Jefferson's Ten Rules

1. Never put off tomorrow what you can do today.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have earned it.
4. Never buy what you don't want because it is cheap.
5. Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold.
6. We seldom repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. How much pain the evils have cost us that never happened.
9. Take things always by the smooth handle.
10. When angry, count ten before you speak, if very angry, count a hundred.