#396 Fabulous Fourth

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic..." On July 4, we watched and listened as 66 new US citizens declared their loyalty in a moving outdoor naturalization ceremony on Monticello’s west lawn. The flags were flying, the band was playing, and our librarian friends were everywhere! We came away full of American pride.

Yours in patriotic fury,
Mary

#259 A Monticello Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is the perfect time to visit Monticello.

Normal people are busy cooking or eating or watching football on Thanksgiving Day and don't even think of a trip up the little mountain to visit Jefferson's home. But if you sign up for the Johnston Visitor Plan, you're bound to get some creative thinking!

Besides, the cooking, eating, and football watching all come later!

Thanksgiving Day at Monticello meant a low number of visitors, a high number of temperature degrees, and a terrific holiday tour guide. Ah, the beauty of the JVP.

The University of Missouri grad among us (in the center of the photo) was surprised to learn Jefferson's original headstone sits on the MU campus. Jefferson's heirs presented the carved stone monument to the first university founded in the Louisiana Purchase.

Jefferson wanted three accomplishments noted on his tombstone:
1. Author of the Declaration of Independence
2. Author of the Virginia Religious Freedom statute
3. Father of the University of Virginia

Our three Thanksgiving Day accomplishments:
1. A little history lesson
2. A little football
3. A little food

Yours in thankfulness,
Mary

#244 KLP and UNESCO

Our friend Bridget came to visit us this weekend.

She flew from Omaha to Charlottesville - no easy task - to help us with our key lime pie research!

We altered the Johnston Visitor Plan and spent all our time close to home. (The JVP can be tailored to suit all visitor wishes. Come see!)

During our tour of the UVa grounds, I mentioned (bragged) that Monticello and the university are a UNESCO world heritage site. This, of course, leads to the question... how many world heritage sites are there anyway? And it leads to another important question... is anyone working on the list of KLP world culinary sites?

Since I still don't have an iPhone, we later researched these questions at home. Turns out, there are 20 world heritage sites in the US. Oh the places we need to go!

And amazingly enough, I am the only one working on the list of KLP world culinary sites. Oh the research we need to do!

Yours in appreciating those who take 3 flights to study key lime pie and to lengthen our places-to-go list,
Mary

#239 The Johnston Visitor Plan

It’s been a quiet week here in Lake Wobegon - oops, I mean Charlottesville.

But that’s probably just because we’re comparing it with last weekend when Joyce was in town.

Joyce came from Kansas City to spend the Labor Day weekend with us. We took the opportunity to show her around our new home and try out our new Johnston Visitor Plan.

So far, the JVP includes a handful of top-notch local attractions such as a UVa women’s volleyball game, a tour of Monticello, a UVa library and grounds tour, key lime pie at The Nook, a picnic on Skyline Drive, and a hike on the Appalachian Trail...

We all had a lot of fun and the JVP is set to move from beta to full production. To provide input on the JVP at any time, come see us.

Yours in appreciating the guinea pig,
Mary