Fat Canary

"Oh for a bowl of fat canary, rich Palermo, sparkling sherry..."

John Lyly

From an 18th century poem by Mr. Lyly...describing the joys of wine (Canary) brought to the colonies from the Canary Islands. Fat Canary is also the name of a very excellent restaurant here in Williamsburg where I dined night before last. Outstanding braised lamb shanks and Baked Alaska for dessert. I had a fine bottle of pinot noir from New Zealand - also an island although a fair piece from the Canaries... I shared the establishment with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who took over the back of the room along with several dining companions and his beady-eyed bodyguards.

It's been a couple of days since I last reported and they have been fun-filled. Day before yesterday I visited Montpelier, James Madison's plantation in the County of Orange. The mansion has been recently restored to its early 19th century appearance - workmen are still painting some of the interior and no antique furnishings will be added for several years to give the temperature and humidity inside the house time to stabilise.

The estate had been in the possession of the Du Pont family for almost 100 years and, not surprisingly, the Du Ponts had added 22 rooms to the original house. Fortunately the changes were truly just additions and the original home remained largely intact. The Du Ponts were SERIOUS horse people and a race track was esablished right in front of the mansion. The track remains active - this weekend 15,000 guests were anticipated for some sort of horse event - for the fox and hound set.

A lot of archeological excavations are continuing at Montpelier - looking for artifacts where the slave quarters and work buildings were once located. I would certainly recommend a visit to Montpelier in conjunction with a visit to Monticello.

After my Montepelier escapade I motored to Williamsburg which took about 2 1/2 hours in beautiful weather and fall foliage. Checked-in at my B&B, Magnolia Manor, and have been set-up in a fine suite with a large sitting room with TV, couch, and desk, and a large bedroom with a huge four-poster. Quite delightful.

Yesterday I had planned to visit Jamestown, Yorktown, and, time permitting, Norfolk. But I spent five hours at Jamestown and was too pooped to do anything else. So....I'm running behind schedule!

I have now recalibrated and determined that today is Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg day and that will have to suffice for this trip.

Tomorrow I will hit the road for South Carolina. It should be around an 8 1/2 hour drive; but the weather may not be great - rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast - so if I get tired or the weather is too inclement I will simply stop where I'm at and get a room.

It's clear as a bell this morning however. Things to do and roadside attractions to see so I better get moving...

Mr. Washington's home, Mt. Vernon

Re-created "slave quarters" at Mt. Vernon. Apparently they actually did have wooden chimneys - a construction technique which, I assume, had all too predictable results all too often.

Mr. Jefferson's home, Monticello.

Mr. Madison's home, Montpelier.

Re-creation of Jamestown as it would have been in 1612.

The site of the original Jamestown settlement; the fort was first constructed in 1607.