Can We Talk 2

Visiting My Region

         Most visitors to my area want to see Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. It's kind of on the pricey side and is a big, commercial style deal. When I was a younger adult, you could enter the driveway on the side of the highway where the house is. You'd drive uphill through the woods and park in a lot just below the house. Now you enter on the opposite side and ride a shuttle up to the house. It's a big money making operation now, but the fundamentals are the same. The house is preserved according to what they believe it was in his lifetime. (If you read about its history, you'll know the mansion fell into hard times and was used as a barn by one owner.) You'll see the genius of his creations and inventions, and learn of his agricultural skills.

         Just down the mountain, you'll find Michie Tavern, an authentic inn of the time period. It has a water wheel, and is placed on a dangerous curve in the mountain road. Just before the tavern, you find a steep road going up to a well-known operational orchard with lots to see and do. Have lunch at Michie Tavern, above the museum. It's new, but serves southern cooking, like Grandma used to make. They feature fried and baked chicken, barbecue, black-eye peas, stewed tomatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, cornbread, coleslaw, etc., from the buffet line. Apple or peach cobbler is extra, but very tasty. The wait staff dress colonial style, and your iced tea or soda is served in metal cups. Jefferson would get his ice from the Rivanna River below. (The slaves would get large chunks in the winter, haul it by mule up to his ice house and store it in the shaded building with a carved out floor. It would last until summer time and kept the butter and milk cold.)

         If you drive a little further down the winding road, the mountain levels off a bit, and you come to Ash Lawn, the home of another president. At this one, you'll learn more about excavation, and historic preservation. Live peacocks display their colors on the grounds.

         Only minutes away, our downtown end of Main Street was turned into an outdoor mall decades ago. I have memories of parking on Main Street in front of businesses, but that is only a memory now. Downtown parking is its biggest shortcoming. Once there, most people find it very charming. There is a pavilion at one end, where concerts are held in the open air. In the summer, we have Fridays after Five, for free, featuring live music. Many cafes are out in the open, some all year round. Many street vendors flaunt their wares. My favorite reason to still go there is The Paramount Theater. It closed for ten years, but was refurbished and opened ten years ago as a vehicle for many kinds of performances.

         The Paramount is still a grand, elegant movie theater, with Baroque styling and wall paper. The top floor, which once was offices, is now reserved for balls and banquets. Operas from the Met and broadcasts of live plays are shown there. Concerts are always sold out. Ronnie Milsap and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band are two acts coming soon. I have seen Bob Newhart, Kris Kristofferson, Gordon Lightfoot, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Michael McDonald there, not to mention swing bands and orchestras. It's fun to see a Christmas movie, available on TV now, on the big screen with a full audience that loves old movies like I do. Except for a manager and some grant writers, it is staffed by volunteers.

         There are many more attractions from which to choose. I obviously am proud of it.