Saturday 26th May 2007. Virginia and it's Blue Ridge Mountains.

In 1762 the Secret Treaty of Fontainebleau saw France cede the Louisiana territory to Spain in order to prevent it falling into British hands…the French continued to meddle in North American affairs and they became the first real ally of the new independent United States of America…naturally for their own political ends.

I begin my day with a stroll through downtown Orange and a visit to the Farmers Market before I go to view the Re-Visions exhibition of works by J.M. Henry and Farida Hughes at the Arts Center. Breakfast is at Not the Same Old Grind before Alice and I head out of town to visit what I find to be the most pleasing of presidential homes.

Ash Lawn-Highland was the home of president James Monroe; the man who held more major offices than any other American President. A total of 11 major offices of state ranging from Minister to France, Minister to Spain, Minister to the Court of St James, Secretary of State and Secretary of War, Governor of Virginia and fifth President of the United States of America.

As Jefferson’s special envoy it was Monroe who negotiated the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and today his Monroe Doctrine would serve the current administration well as a cornerstone of foreign policy.

In Monroe’s time the house was known as Highland and as a protege of Jefferson it was to be the older man who both chose the site for the house and who would have his gardeners from neighbouring Monticello begin the orchards.

The first guests that the Monroe’s entertained here were their friends James and Dolley Madison and I love the fact that although this was a wealthy home, having more than one room, it did not stretch to the grand scales of many Virginia planters but rather remained a “cabin castle”.

Many of us think of the Eisenhower presidency as being the birth of America’s love affair with the car…and that is true. However, it was the Monroe presidency that began the birth of the love affair with the open road when Highway 40 became the first federally funded interstate roadway.

After a pleasant early afternoon in the sun-drench grounds of the Monroe home we head out to explore a local feat of engineering.

The Shenandoah Skyline Drive that follows the backbone of the Blue Ridge for 105 miles was built at a cost of $50,000 per mile and it remains one of the greatest Depression era projects. The work was completed between 1933 and 1939 by the men of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) as one of the many projects aimed at bringing American out of its economic black hole.

We join the drive at Rockfish Gap and dine at Loft Mountain taking in scenic overlook after scenic overlook. This is not a drive to get you from A to B, but rather a time to stop and saver all the natural beauty that this world offers and that we are all too often too busy to enjoy.

So in the early evening Alice and I hike to see Dark Hollow Falls...And to crown our wonderful day we enjoy a fine meal at the Inn this evening with Nan and Rich.