Charlottesville

We took a few hours in Charlottesville to revisit a few places.

Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson

We visited here early in our journey but decided we wanted to visit again.  You can read about our earlier visit HERE.

It was very hot so we took the tram to the Jefferson family cemetery to pay our respects.  And then walked back UP the hill to the house.

Look who we met!

We'd heard that his talk about his life and decisions made was good so we went inside to hear what he had to say.  He took questions after he concluded his talk and each answer was from his point of view all those years ago.

The next stop was a new one for us.

It looks like a fun place to meet up with friends.

The wine wasn't great but hey, we had to buy some anyway.

The main reason we wanted to visit Charlottesville was to make a return visit to Trump Winery.  Our dear friend, Patryce, has been battling leukemia for several years and just days before our visit her situation took a serious turn for the worse.  If it's one thing she loves, it's sparkling wine!  And after our previous visit, we introduced her to Trump wine and she LOVED it.  Her birthday was about a month after our visit so we wanted to arrange to have some sent to her for her birthday.

What a patriotic way to enter the winery.

We've been to a lot of wineries and this might just be the most beautiful one we've ever visited.

We went into the tasting room and enjoyed some wine.

After a snack.....

.....we toasted Patryce and sent our prayers her way.

We learned that the Trump Cidery had recently opened down the street so we headed there.

The ciders are crafted with locally sourced apples and each batch reflects flavors of the region from crisp and tangy to rich and robust.

The flight was nice and we enjoyed talking with the 'bartender'.  They'd only been open about a month and he was excited to be in his new job.

Yes, we bought a bottle

The patio is beautiful and you can see for miles.

You can even see the winery in the distance.

Sadly, just four days later Patryce's battle ended.  Every time we drink sparkling wine we will make a toast to our friend of over 40 years.  RIP, Patryce.