Montpelier - James Madison's home

Montpelier (pronounced Mont- pea - yea  .... very french!) is the home of James Madison, the writer of the US Constitution. He was a short man. Married Dolley when he was about 41 years old.  The day we went to his plantation was Sep. 17, 2011 which was the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, so it was "Constitution Day".  They had the Marine Corps band playing, a bar-b-que set up on the lawn (food was yummy!), activities and games for the kids to experience from the era, there was a cooking demonstration so one could taste the food that would have been prepared back then. We tasted beet pancakes (tasted exactly like beets!) and lemonade.  Was totally fun. That evening was fireworks, but we were too tired to stay for that.

 This is the train station at Montpelier. If you look over the left door it says "Whites", above the right door it says "Colored".  I was so surprised to see it still that way. It is a museum - was locked when we arrived.

 This is what Mr. Madison's home looked like. It went through a variety of additions. Several generations of Madisons lived here. Thomass Jefferson lived nearby and was very good friends with Mr. Madison. Mr. Jefferson is the one who suggested he add the pillars and porch to his house and a variety of other additions inside.  It actually made it look more stately than it was originally.

 There was this couple dressed to act, speak, look, etc.. etc... like James & Dolley Madison. When they asked me my name I told them it was Nielson. He asked if I was related to the Nielson from Greece he knew. Someone Mr. Madison knew in the mid 1700s! I told him I was from Arizona. He said something like "oh, you mean that far away territory out west that hasn't been settled yet?" Too funny.

 These kids were fabulous! I spoke with three of the girls.  Their high school in Maryland has a club for the revolutionary time period. Each student finds a person they are most interested in and they study and learn about them and then become them. They make their own clothes. Part of the class is they learn dances, etiquette, etc... Then on special days, like Constitution Day, they drive themselves to it and participate as those characters.  They operated the games for the kids to play. One group had kids recruited into the army and were teaching them how to handle a musket (or whatever kind they used then) and march in unison. Was funny to watch.  One young man had 3 girls as his tag a longs. I think he enjoyed it immensely!  Was totally a fun day!

Here is one of the plaques in the visitor's center from Madison.  It is so true!