Montpelier & Birthday Wishes

At a "civilized hour" this Saturday, Gretchen and I headed north to celebrate my birthday at the Barboursville Vineyards Palladio Restaurant. The two course lunch with wine pairings was outstanding as always; unique menu items, deliciously prepared and presented with excellent wines. Thank you Gretchen, it was a fine treat! BTW, we learned a few years back on one of Gretchen's birthdays that the five course lunch with wine pairings was not a good idea around the noon hour. It's those pairings!

After lunch, we continued on to Montpelier since we had never been there. It is a beautiful spot on the edge of the Piedmont; James Madison's family home. It was interesting sitting in the room where Madison did his research, reading books in seven languages about world governments, that lead to the Virginia Plan and subsequently the Constitution. It was a novel idea. A well researched, contemplated treatise on governing adopted by all parties for the good of the nation. Today, there are surely well researched, contemplated ideas generated by intellectual folks like Madison, but the politics of partisan, lobby driven parties prevent most from being adopted for the good of the country. Let's hope that changes before we face economic turmoil like countries in Europe are facing today.

Looking west from the manor porch, is a scene from Virginia horse country with the Blue Ridge in the distance. The DuPont family who owned the estate for most of the twentieth century revamped the landscape including race courses and an English style garden. It is a great place for an afternoon stroll so Gretchen got her steps!

The sun is fading so we head south. A quick stop at Whole Foods in Charlottesville will be our only stop before home. It was a great day!

 

Posted with Blogsy