Wednesday, August 24, 2022
We departed home today around 10 am and drove the 3.5-hour route to Charlottesville, VA, non-stop, eating sandwiches that Jane had prepared for lunch as we rolled along. The drive was pleasant taking us through serene Piedmont country with little traffic. In North Carolina, we traversed through the attractive small town of Oxford where a public school and streets were named after James Webb, the respected leader of NASA during the early and mid-1960s. NASA memorialized him by naming their recent powerful deep-space telescope in his honor. Webb was born in Tally Ho, a small hamlet in Granville County not far from Oxford. After arriving at the Charlottesville KOA Holiday, we set up the RV at Site 1 and rested awhile before engaging in a flurried air hockey match in the campground’s game room.
We then drove about 8 miles from the campground to the University of Virginia campus. We first stopped at the Information Center where we received a campus map and directions for the UVA Self-Guided Tour. We parked at the Central Grounds parking garage then walked across a brick plaza alongside the University Bookstore before entering Newcomb Hall, the student center with dining facilities. After exiting the student center we crossed a street to the West Range of student housing to visit Edgar Allan Poe’s room (#13). Poe was one of UVA’s most famous students although he only was enrolled there from February to December 1826. Through a glass door, we were allowed a view of Poe’s room featuring furnishings authentic to his times. We pressed a button and listened to an audio description of his time at UVA.
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| The Edgar Allen Poe Room at UVA, #13 West Range |
We proceeded from Poe’s room along serpentine walls with gardens on each side and into the Lawn. The long rectangular Lawn and its surrounding buildings were designed by Thomas Jefferson and are the heart of campus. Jefferson designed his Academical Village to house students and faculty as well as to provide edifices for academic pursuits. Old Cabell Hall anchors the south end of the lawn while the famous Rotunda (modeled after the Pantheon) anchors the north end. We were disappointed that the Rotunda was closed to public touring during our visit due to a private event.
We were visiting during the first week of fall semester classes so this 27,000-student campus was buzzing with student activity. Various music groups were practicing for a performance on a stage set up in front of the Rotunda. Outside of the Lawn, we also noted much ongoing construction and maintenance. We spent awhile perusing the Lawn via a brick sidewalk around its perimeter, then we walked around the exterior of the Rotunda.
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| Jefferson’s Serpentine Walls flanked by Gardens on both Sides |
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| Old Cabell Hall anchors the South End of the Lawn |
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| Rear View of Jefferson’s Rotunda |
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| Side View of the Rotunda |
From the Lawn we headed to University Corner, a commercial area adjacent to campus. We had dinner (crab cakes and salads) and beers at the Virginian Restaurant and then wound our way back through campus to the Central Ground parking garage and drove back to the campground for a restful evening.
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| We dined at the Virginian |
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| Sampling Beer at the Virginian |
Ramble on.
You bet. – Jane & John