Monticello Field Trip

My boy and husband recently visited Monticello with the 4th grade class field trip. It was a 3+ hour on the bus ride, for a 1 1/2- 2 hour tour in the rain. As much as i wanted to go, i was really glad that my husband volunteered. ;)

Monticello is a 5,000-acre plantation situated on a mountaintop outside Charlottesville, Virginia. It was the home of Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia.

It's really unfortunate that it rained the entire day, as the grounds of Monticello are absolutely beautiful. The actual tour of the inside of the house was only about 20-25 min. while the rest of the tour explored the grounds, basement, wine cellar, many exhibits and the gardens.

Photographs inside the main part of Monticello are not allowed, but they were able to take a few in the basement/cellar and service area of the house. My son was fasinated by the history of Monticello, and came home overflowing with information and details about the tour. They both very much enjoyed it.


The gardens were absolutely amazing. After seeing the pictures they took i kind of wished i had gone, although i really would have been miserable waking around and in the cold rain. The Monticello gardens grow many of the same heirloom varieties that were grown by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson grew 250 varieties of more than 70 different species of vegetables, precisely recording the details of their growth. You can even purchase the seeds harvested from the flowers and vegetables that are grown in the gardens. My husband brought home double columbine, 'Blue Prussian' peas and Purple Calabash Tomato seeds.

i'd really like to go back as a family, and visit during peak garden season. Although i do enjoy the History of the house, i'm most eager to wander around the vegetable and flower gardens :)

We've been working on making a list of our summer plans, which typically include a lot of day trips and weekend trips to explore local museums, zoos, national forests and Historical landmarks. Monticello is definitely on our list for this summer, it would make a great day trip and if we can find some other things to explore in the area we may turn it into an overnight.




"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden."-- Thomas Jefferson