Take Paws The official pet travel blog of GoPetFriendly.com

If I Had a Nickel for Every Time …

We’re in Virginia. Yesterday marked the day that the rain stopped and the clouds parted.

We took advantage of the sunshine and warmer temperatures by visiting Monticello, the “retirement home” of Thomas Jefferson. Monticello (Italian for “little mountain”) is the only private residence in the US that has been designated a World Heritage Site.

Jefferson’s plantation was constructed over 40 years and totaled some 5,000 acres. Among his many accomplishments, Jefferson was a student of architecture and designed every aspect of Monticello (Italian for “little mountain”). An image of the west view of the Monticello residence has been featured on the reverse of the nickel since 1938 (in 2004 and 2005, designs of the Westward Journey series were used).

Smile, Ty. We're gonna be on the nickel.

Guided tours offer insight into life as it was in Jefferson’s time. Well behaved, leashed pets are welcome on the grounds, but are not allowed in the buildings. Amy and I got to tour the home simply by staggering our ticket times. Tickets are $22 at the visitors’ center, where you can also view a short film about Jefferson’s life and lasting influence.

Thomas Jefferson

With Ty and Buster, we were able to see the dependencies (a fancy name for the buildings used for domestic work), the terraces and pavilions, the flower and vegetable gardens, and the south orchard. All-in-all, we spent about three hours at Monticello.

Update on the Winnebago

Our “water pump” problem turned out to be just a kinked hose. Kink gone, problem solved! Feedback on our first 500 miles: love the ride … seriously, the RV is really easy to drive. And the looks – are we getting looks! Apparently the wrap is a hit with drivers and pedestrians. Then there’s all the room. So much nicer to be traveling in the RV than our other car. Amy and I are more comfortable. Ty and Buster are more comfortable. Life is good!