3rd Day

We were up and gone from the Natural Bridge Hotel by 8 am.  We ate breakfast at a Burger King and then on we went to the Cyrus McCormick Farm.

This was of interest to Sid and me because of the farming we have done in the past.

Cyrus McCormick invented the mechanical reaper in 1831, which harvested wheat five times faster with much less effort than a man with a scythe or sickle.  This revolutionized agriculture and led to greater mechanization and greatly increased productivity by American farmers.
The 634-acre farm, called Walnut Grove by the McCormick family, is now an agricultural research station operated by Virginia Tech.

The next stop was Thomas Jefferson Monticello.  Another hot day.  We rode the shuttle bus up to the house and had about 1 1/2 hours to site see before we could tour the house.  These are the gardens.  McKay wondered why there were so many different vegetables and so much of them, but it takes a lot to feed 200 slaves and the household.

This is a garden pavilion where Jefferson would go out and read in the winter time.  Below are the vineyards, berries and fruit trees.

Resting in the heat.  There wasn't much shade.

Jefferson had a unique flower garden. It was in the back and formed a circle with a huge lawn inside the circle. It is called the west lawn with the flower walk.

I didn't get to take a lot of pictures of the flowers.  I started to feel a little sick and had to find a restroom and then I just went and sat at the front of the house and waited for our tour group.

This was quite the tree.  The picture doesn't do justice to it.  We rode the shuttle back down the hill and went through some museums and then watched a film about Thomas Jefferson that was very good.

We were back in Waldorf by 7 pm and home at 7:30.  It was a very enjoyable week-end.