Travel Photo Contest

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Brad Christensen

We asked for them and we got them – all kinds of wanderlust-provoking photographs from all over the world.  For us at least, we’ve already achieved our objective… inspiring the desire to experience the world in all its grandeur.  Our Wanderlusters have returned us the favor and we’re excited to chart a path to these places and others.

One of our first posts on this blog included a quote from Cicero, “Who is he, to whom human affairs seem great, when one contemplates the Earth in all of its glory?” When we look over these photos, that’s precisely how we feel.

Now, it’s your turn to get involved.  Take a look at these pictures and click on your favorite and cast your vote by making a comment on that specific photo. You can vote for more than one if you’d like.   Again, the number of votes will factor in to our selection of the winner, but will not entirely decide the contest.

To recap, here are the details of this travel photo contest:

The Prize

The winner will receive a $100 American Express Giftcard, but everyone who enters will also get a prize.

Win Just by Entering

For those who’ve shared their photos, we’ll reward you with your choice of an iPhone Credit Card case (4 or 5) or a Universal Travel Adapter.

The Fine Print

Terms: You will retain all rights your photographs, but by submitting them to WorldWanderlusting, you grant us rights to your image on the internet in our blogging efforts and mission to inspire others to travel.  We will keep the files provided, and may or may not credit you when we display the photos.

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TBEX in Toronto

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Brad Christensen

We are attending the annual travel bloggers TBEX conference, which is hosted this year in the city of Toronto.

We are thrilled to be meeting up with people who have the most incredible stories – last year we were inspired by a couple who took their two 10-year-old children on a bike ride from Alaska to… get this… Argentina!   We met an expert on Mayan Culture, a mom of 4 planning a three-month road trip, and a couple that spent 3… freaking… years… in Asia.

This is a phenomenal opportunity for us to fill our canteens with countless ideas to fuel our future travel plans… as if we needed any help.

Needless to say, we are in heaven. We spend the bulk of our lives thinking about places we’d rather be, but there’s no place in the world we’d prefer to be at the moment.

Rather than try to encapsulate everything we do and articulate our niche, we figured we would post some links to our favorite and most successful posts.  Some of them may not be entirely timely, but hopefully you find something you enjoy.

Come wanderlust with us!

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Eight Great Uses for the Barclaycard Arrival

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Brad Christensen

The Barclaycard Arrival(TM) World MasterCard® offers extreme flexibility when redeeming for you 40,000 miles that you gain as a sign on bonus.  This card has really made a splash into the credit card market and is one that we would recommend for anyone.

Today’s topic is the best uses for the Barclaycard Arrival.  Last week I blogged about the Top 13 reasons to get the Barclaycard Arrival, and you might benefit from its wealth of knowledge.

Disclosure: Brad and I earn a commission when you use our links to sign up for the Barclaycard Arrival.  We would definitely appreciate your patronage.

1. Car Rental-  This was our strategy on our trip to Europe last year.  Renting a car there isn’t cheap, but it was for us. We would have been forced to pay $500, but instead we opted for $0.  This is an awesome way for you to lower the overall cost of your vacation.  You’ve already built up the points needed to book your flights, and your hotels are thanks to a freshly printed credit card, so why not drive for free?

2. Specific Flight-  Flying on points isn’t always flexible when it comes to picking dates.  Generally you’ve got to be willing to “go with the flow” and pick the days that work for the points.  The Barclaycard Arrival is a great way to pick the exact flight that you need.  Whether you’re flying home for your grandpa’s funeral, or you are headed to Vegas for a bachelor party, this is going to be your best bet.  It might not cover the entire flight, but subsidizing an expensive $600 down to $200 is music to my ears.

3. Cruise- Brad already told you that this is an excellent strategy in a recent post about Cruise Credit Cards.  It doesn’t matter whether your dream is to see glaciers in Alaska, soak up some rays in the Caribbean, or Explore the wonders of Europe this is your ticket.  Given that you’re headed with your spouse, this is a great way to save $800 on a romantic giveaway (assuming you both get the card and use our link ;)).  You’ve always dreamed about it, why are you still waiting?

4.  Allegiant Airlines-  This low cost, no frills, airline that charges for your seatbelt is great for people like me who live in outlying areas and want to head to popular destinations.  Their problem is that they don’t have an award program, much less a credit card that offers big points.  With the Barclaycard Arrival you can use the 40,000 bonus points on any airline, which includes Allegiant.  So next time you’re looking to try your luck in Vegas, visit your grandma in Phoenix, or see the stars in Hollywood, make sure your Arrival card takes you there.

5. Bed and Breakfasts (Booked with Online Agencies)- Here is another area where most of the credit cards offered by Marriott, Priority Club, Starwood Preferred Guest don’t work.  You need to make sure that these small quaint locations are part of your itineraries as you travel the world.  There is nothing like eating breakfast at the table with a family that knows the area.  You’ll understand the culture much better this way as you sit in their homes than you will at the major hotel chains.

6. Travel Agencies and Tour Operators- A great way to subsidize your vacation is to use this card when booking tours. Whether your passion is the Acropolis in Athens, or the Civil War sites in the South, you can count on saving $400 big ones by using this card when booking the trip.

7. All Inclusive Resorts- Tom Petty sang “It’s good to be king, just for a while.”  This is what it feels like when you’re spending time at an all-inclusive resort.  You can use the Vacationstogo.com website to book your next all inclusive resort experience.  So plan on ordering

8. Motels-  Many of these are going to be the kind where you don’t dare sleep in the sheets, but every once in a while you find a gem.  Make sure you stay away from the Howard Johnson Inn Express in Wilmington, NC.  Ugh.  There was a motel in Beaver, UT where I stayed once that was just as nice as a Fairfield Inn. When you find one of these and they fit the mold, you could stay there a couple of nights.  This could also be very useful during a roadtrip to locations like West Yellowstone, MT where you don’t find too many chain hotels.

What did I miss?  How do you plan on using your 40,000 points?  Thanks for worldwanderlusting with us!

See more about the Barclaycard Arrival(TM) World MasterCard® – Earn 2x on All Purchases.

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Travel Photo Contest: Where have you wandered?

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Brad Christensen

Henri Cartier-Bresson is widely considered the father of modern photojournalism.  If you read his brief biography on Wikipedia, you’ll learn that his philosophy on photography is that focused on capturing the precise moment in time that represents the experience. Obviously he came in a day and age long before DSLR Cameras could snap off five pictures in a second, yet even with the evolution of the technology of photography, the principle remains the same.  Rather than attempt to redefine it, we’ll turn to his words; “To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms that give that event its proper expression.”

Bresson photo

A photo by Henri Cartier Bresson – Armenia 1972

All of us have them – photos that somehow captured the moment in a way that approaches doing it justice.  While the bulk of them never fully recreate the experience, I have a few which bring me instantly back in time and space, almost even summoning smells and sensations which had long since slipped my mind.

One of mine is the header piece for this blog.  I took it on the second night of my trek up Mount Kilimanjaro. It had been a long, arduous day, and the sunset was two things to me: 1) It was a reward – nature’s recompense and a capitulation to my extreme efforts.  It gave me intense satisfaction, and 2) It was a threat – a reminder of how little I am, and how much more there is beyond me.  It was intimidating.  In the few brief moments that light, time, and nature collided to create it, I happened to be there – feasting on both emotions, and immortalizing it both digitally and in my mind. No matter how many times I look at it, I love it. I love the feeling it arouses.

Now… that’s precisely what we want for you.  We’ve shared with you our mission – we’re recruiting an army of wanderlusters – men and women young and old who’ll shrug off the impediments and embrace life and its gifts today, tomorrow, and forever. We’re tired of the naysayers. For us, travel is a passion and we can’t stand to hear people say they can’t afford it.  We’ve stumbled upon a legitimate means to see our wanderlust to wandering fruition, and we’re not content to keep it to ourselves.

 

Calafate Glacier

My brother, Tyler, at El Calafate in Argentina

Enter Our Travel Photo Contest

We’re hoping you’ll come along and that you’ll seize the opportunity to provoke the same in other people as well, and here’s a way to start: Send us your awe-inspiring travel photos to enter in our travel photo contest.  Tell us about your moment and make us feel it, too.  We’ll share it with our readers and together we’ll create an oxy-moronic pleasurable discontentment. Not only will you benefit from the euphoria of sharing, but you’ll also have a chance to win the grand prize in our contest – a $100 American Express giftcard.

How it Works

Email your photo to: worldwanderlusting@gmail.com along with your name and the location of the photo. If you have a brief story about getting the shot, please share it!

We’ll accept your photo entries until June 5th, and then we’ll pick the 12 best photos (only one per photographer).

We’ll post the photos on June 6th and send the link to each participant. Voting will go on for 14 days – until June 20th.  WorldWanderlusting visitors will vote for their favorite photo.  The number of votes will factor into the winning decision, but we (Brad and Sheldon) will also rank the photos on a “Does it make me crave the experience” scale.

On June 21st, we’ll announce the winner of the travel photo contest.

The Prize

The winner will receive a $100 American Express Giftcard, but everyone who enters will also get a prize.

Win Just by Entering

If you take the time to share your photos with us, we’ll reward you with your choice of an iPhone Credit Card case (4 or 5) or a Universal Travel Adapter.

The Fine Print

Terms: You will retain all rights your photographs, but by submitting them to WorldWanderlusting, you grant us rights to your image on the internet in our blogging efforts and mission to inspire others to travel.  We will keep the files provided, and may or may not credit you when we display the photos.

You know where to go with a doubt – make a comment below and we’ll hear you out.

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Reasons to Get the Barclaycard Arrival

Posted on May 24, 2013 by wpengine

The Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard – $89 Annual Fee Card is a “must-get” free travel credit card with the annual fee waived the first year. Disclosure: Brad and I do earn a commission when you apply for this card through our link.  It’s also the best version of the offer that’s out there.

Here are the top 10 reasons, plus 3 more, to ensure the Barclaycard Arrival is part of your next App-O-Rama, or at least one you get soon.

1. $400 for Free- Your mother always taught you that nothing in this world is free.  I’m here to tell you that she’s right.  You have to pay by way of a 2-10 point drop in your credit score that won’t last more than a couple of months for most people with excellent credit.  Seriously, this card offers you at least $400 in travel on any of these categories: Airlines, Travel Agencies & Tour Operators, Hotels, Motels & Resorts, Cruise Lines, Passenger Railways and Car Rental Agencies.

2. 2 Points per Dollar on All Expenses- Capital One acts like they’re the only ones who give this benefit.  Wrong.  The Barclaycard Arrival also offers a valuable 2 points per dollar on all expenses.  That way you can rack up 2% in travel reimbursement.

3. 10% of Your Miles Back in Your Pocket – When you redeem your points for the travel expense of your choice they automatically refund you 10% of the points used. So let’s say you booked a Cruise leaving San Juan, Puerto Rico to the Southern Caribbean and it was a $379 Cruise with taxes and all.  Upon redemption of the 37,500 miles from the Arrival card you’ll need, they’ll drop 3,750 back in your account.  This means that the $400 that they give you really equates to $440.  Gotta love getting more and more in a world where it feels like everyone is giving less and less.

4. No Foreign Transaction Fees – With an upcoming trip to Canada this is something that is fresh in my mind. Aye.  It is always nice to have a card in your arsenal that waives these buggers.  Although I’m embarrassed to admit it, last time I went to Canada I forgot one of these and had to pay 3% on top of everything as a result.

5.  Easy Spending Requirement– These days getting a card that has a $3000 spending requirement is getting tougher and tougher.  This one is really easy to meet.  Make sure that you’re spending all of your creditcardable (I made up this word) expenses.  If you need help, reference our post about how to meet a spending requirement.

6. Transunion Credit Pull–  Most of the credit cards issued by American Express, Citi,  and Chase are going to pull from either Experian or Equifax.  The whole idea behind using your credit cards to load up points and miles is that it affects your credit the least amount possible.  Time and time again we’ve told you to carefully monitor your credit and to diversify the pulls among all three bureaus.  Just FYI: you’ve got three credit scores that are from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.  One of the components of your credit score is credit inquiries.  When you apply for a credit card, and they pull your credit from Experian, the other two bureaus don’t show that as an inquiry.  Thus you spread the inquiries out and it helps you to keep your score high.

7. Barclaycard historically has allowed you to apply for more than one of their cards in a day.  – This is great when you’re planning a fatty App-O-Rama Churn like the one that I did in February that netted me 285,000 points and miles.  Whew!  Brad was successful in getting the Frontier Airlines card as well as the US Airways card, both of which are issued by Barclaycard.  This is great because sometimes they’ll combine both inquiries into one (Though there is no promise of this).

8. This is a Mastercard – You’ve already got about 10 Visa credit cards.  None of them work at Sam’s Club for some stupid reason.  Discover isn’t giving the most generous bonuses these days, so getting this card will allow you to make your Sam’s Club purchases and earn points and miles for them.

9. No Blackout Dates – The Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard – $89 Annual Fee Card is really good for flying or hotels when there are no other point redemption options.  Let’s say you want to leave on a Friday and come back on a Sunday for your next vacation because your boss is stingy with time off.  This card will be more valuable to that guy because his points actually help him book his vacations instead of sit in his account because of the lack of availability.

10.  You can use this card for a cruise –  I just was chatting with a friend who wants to cruise the Southern Caribbean this winter (who doesn’t?).  I told him that this card could be used for his cruise and he didn’t believe me.  It would be sweet to use this puppy for the cruise and use some miles for the flight, which would equate to a really amazing vacation in February when all your friends are broke because of Obamacare and you don’t have any money either, but at least this card paid for your cruise, right?

 11. Complimentary TripIt© Pro – They normally want you to cough up $49 per year for this service, but it comes with the Barclaycard Arrival.  They have some really cool features like: Alerts about your flights, tracking for all your points, flight refunds when they are available (psssshhhhh yeah right.  When monkeys fly out of my butt), and some car rental privileges as well.

12. Because you probably have already scored all of the Chase Cards – Because Barclaycard is really stepping up their game, all of the sudden the field is much bigger.  This is a way to expand your portfolio with points that are super useful in your Award Wallet.  Make sure they become a part of it.

13. Because you want to WorldWanderlust – Keeping this blog has been a lot of fun for Brad and me.  We have really enjoyed seeing others take on traveling as a passion, whereas otherwise it would be impossible for them.  Many friends have taken amazing vacations and you should too.  Don’t tell yourself that travel is out of your league.  You’ll never regret the experiences you have in this life.

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Credit Card Reconsideration

Posted on May 22, 2013 by wpengine

There is something about applying for a credit card that is a bit like asking a cute girl on a date.  You’ve got that moment of anxiety as you prepare yourself with the speech that you and your friends thought up.  You know she’s out of your league, but you go out on a limb to see if she’ll say yes.  You stumble through your speech and she immediately looks down.  You know its a bad sign, and she tells you that she isn’t sure what her schedule is like tonight.  She will have to get back with you.  This is bad.

English: First 4 digits of a credit card

English: First 4 digits of a credit card (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the credit card world most of this is the same.  You’ve got sweaty palms as you prepare yourself to ask for them to accept you.  The anxiety level is high as your mouse hovers over the “Apply Now” button.  Most of the time the lovely American Express (with nice curves) is going to tell you yes.  Every once in a while you might get a response like the girl mentioned above, and said that she’d get back with you. This could be bad.  You want to start resolving doubts and move the credit card application from pending to approved!

Don’t fret, because like the girl that you want to date, you should be able to convince her to join you on the date.  Nobody should give up on the first try.  Most of the time you’re going to be able to talk the credit card company into reconsidering their offer.

Here are a few reasons that they might not immediately approve you:

1. Your address doesn’t jive with their system.  This happened to me with Citibank when I recently applied for the AAdvantage card. Instead of using my home address I was able to give them my work address and they approved me right on the spot.

2. You’ve had too many recent inquiries.  This one can be a tough one.  Chase told me on my last application that they noticed a bit of activity, but you just need to use the sweet talking voice that you’d use with the girl who told you that she needed to look into her schedule.  

3. They want more information about your business. When I applied for the Chase Ink Bold card in November, Chase wanted to ask me some questions about what my business does, and how much I planned on spending on the card.

4. Verify Income.  Sometimes they need a verbal on how much your income really was.

5. You’ve already got other cards with them and they need to move around the credit limits. This is really common with Chase.  Sometimes they’ll ask you to cancel a credit card that you have with them as a prisoner exchange in order to approve you for a new one.  With the luck you’ve been having it’ll be one that you were just about to cancel anyway. 

6. They wanna know why you need a new card.  This is where you need to be prepared with a few great ideas.  Explain that you:

  • Need a Mastercard so you can shop at Sam’s Club
  • Need a card with a smartchip so you can travel to Europe
  • Need a business credit card
  • Are separating expenses between you and your wife (not separating the marriage)
  • Need a card without foreign transaction fees
  • Want a lower interest rate
  • etc.

So stop worrying and make the call.  It will bring down your blood pressure and up your level of excitement.  Knowing that you’ve got another 50,000 miles on their way will put a little feather in your cap.

The overall strategy with the rep needs to be the same as the girl mentioned above.  You have to keep your cool with him or her.  Brush off the fact that they’ve put you off the first time, don’t grab them by the throat.  Be kind, because they more than likely have some leeway based on the way that you treat them whether they approve or deny your application.

Credit Card Reconsideration-American Express 

  • 866-314-0237 – Reconsideration
  • 877-399-3083/866-379-3643 – New Accounts
  • 800-230-1284 – Credit Services
  • Twitter: @askamex

Credit Card Reconsideration-Bank of America

Credit Card Reconsideration-Barclaycard

  • 866-408-4064
  • Keep in mind that these guys close at 5:00PM Eastern time.  Make sure you call them early enough in the day to ensure you get to contact them.
  • Twitter: @BarclayCard

Credit Card Reconsideration-Capital One

  • 800-625-7866
  • Twitter: @AskCapitalOne

Credit Card Reconsideration-Chase

  • 888-245-0625 Personal
  • 800-453-9719 Business
  • Twitter: @ChaseSupport

Credit Card Reconsideration-Citibank

  • 800-695-5171/800-763-9795 – Credit Department
  • 866-606-2787 / 888-201-4523– Application Status
  • Twitter: @AskCiti

Credit Card Reconsideration-US Bank

  • 800-947-1444
  • 800-685-7680
  • Twitter: @AskUSBank

Disclosure: Thanks to our friend Daraius for finding these numbers.

Have you ever been given a pending notice?  If so, what for? We wanna hear!

 

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Posted in American Express, Bank of America, Barclaycard, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Credit Cards, How to Wanderlust, US Bank | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Travel to Thomas Jefferson Sites in Virginia

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Brad Christensen

“I have done for my country, and for all mankind, all that I could do, and now I resign my soul, without fear, to my God, my daughter, to my country.”

These, the penultimate words of Thomas Jefferson, followed only by an inquiry as to whether he had survived to see the 50th anniversary of his signing of the Declaration of Independence, are among many from his lips which pierce my friend and fellow WorldWanderluster deep to his core. He requested this post, a journey to Thomas Jefferson sites in Virginia.

English: Portrait of Thomas Jefferson, founder...

Portrait of Thomas Jefferson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jefferson was many things, but in summary, he was an Architect – a deviser and a creator. Architect of Freedom, Architect of Representative Democracy, Architect of Diplomacy, Architect of Westward Expansion, Architect of Higher Learning, and literal architect – having designed his Monticello home and several other buildings.

Sigh.  My friend will never know Thomas Jefferson the way he’d like to. He could read biographies to the end of his life and never know more than he’ll learn in minutes of retracing his steps, contemplating the Monticello countryside Jefferson loved more dearly than anywhere else. And so that’s precisely what I’ll help him do.

You know that we at WorldWanderlusting are passionate about many things – travel, history, adventure, culture, food, and relaxation – yet, what we’re truly passionate about… is passion. Our mission and our purpose in enlisting you in our army, is to motivate, inspire, provoke you to pursue your passion.  If for you that means spending all day in the sun on a beach in Cabo… so be it.  If it means traipsing through graveyards to find an epitaph that emboldens you… we’ll help you do it.  If it means carting your children to a remote village where they more fully understand their own blessings… let’s go.  We want you to discover your passions and arm you with the means to see them through.

Now, join me as I chart a path, a free way, to give one of our attentive followers a tour of Jefferson’s Virginia. If you’re hungry for more Jefferson details, you need to check out this very well-written biographical summary by Dennis Montgomery.

Earning the points to make this trip insanely cheap

My friend says his credit score is roughly 780, and his wife’s is 760 – both excellent scores.  They have no debt and stable employment.  His wife is a stay-at-home mother, who earns some income as a photographer on the side. Together their income is about 50k/year. They spend about $1200/month in creditcardable expenses – fuel, groceries, entertainment, medical, etc.  They have a mortgage that they won’t refinance and no plans to make debt applications for at least 2 years.

In order to take this trip, they need to save up $2900 or come up with enough points for 2 RT flights in the US and 8 nights in hotels, plus about $800 in food, transportation, and entertainment. They’re going to opt for the second option.

This month, he will apply for The Lufthansa Premier Miles & More World MasterCard® from Barclaycard.  He’ll have to pay the $79 up front annual fee, then he’ll need to spend $5000 within the first 3 months of having the card.  Even if he spends all of his $1200/mo on this card, he won’t get it done in time. Luckily (or unluckily) though, he still owes the hospital $2800 from the birth of their last child.  Once he gets the card, he’ll call the hospital and tell them he’d like to pay the bill in full if they can offer him a discount. Hopefully they’ll say they’ll discount it 20% and he’ll pay them $2240 on the card.  He’ll then pay off the $2240 immediately with money they have in savings to pay for the baby.  For the next three months, they’ll put all their normal, everyday charges on this card. When the statement gets emailed to him on the 15th of each month, he logs in to Barclaycard.com and pays it off in its entirety. After 2.5 months, he’s met the $5k spending requirement and his online login reports that he has more than 50k points.

He’s excited, but he’s not finished. He whistles his way home from work and pulls up WorldWanderlusting.com and promptly applies for the US Bank Club Carlson Premier Visa.  His Transunion credit score, which he tracks with CreditKarma.com, had dropped 5 points after he applied for the last card, but  even if it dropped 50 points, he’d still have excellent credit. But US Bank checks his score with Experian, so this credit inquiry will have a similarly small and short effect. When he gets his instant approval notice, he instantly gets 50k Club Carlson Gold points and goes to Amazon.com to order “American Sphinx,” a Jefferson biography, because he wants to start reading it before they go.

By now it’s August and just as he did with the Barclaycard card, he uses this Visa card for everyday expenses. He sets a reminder on his Google Calendar to cancel his card in April of 2014, and the Club Carlson card in July of 2014. He pays the card off immediately upon receiving notice of the statement, and monitors all his accounts on mint.com. After three more months, in November, he’s more than met the $2500 spending requirement to get the other 35k Club Carlson points, so he puts the card in his drawer and starts looking for the next offer to plan for a future vacation, but in the meantime, let’s do do some flight and hotel booking.

How to book the flights

As I mentioned, having met the spending requirements for The Lufthansa Premier Miles & More World MasterCard®, my friend will have 50k points with Lufthansa’s loyalty program.  I know the name “Lufthansa” may sound scary… yes, it does sound mighty German, but the interaction with the German airline is very limited.

My friend plans on going in March of next year, so he’ll need to search for availability of the flights on the respective websites for both US Airways and United Airlines (partners in the Star Alliance).   Once he the lowest tiers of points available for his dates and departure city into Richmond, then he’ll just call Lufthansa 1-800-645-3880 to book the flights.

He will have to pay a $2.50 fee for each segment of the flight, plus, as we mentioned the $79 annual fee on the card for the first year.  The net cost then, for two round-trip tickets that would otherwise cost about $500 each is under $100.

Where to Stay (for free)

They’ll be taking advantage of the amazing “last night free” Club Carlson benefit.  In addition to free upgrades thanks to his Gold Status, my friend and his wife will likely be upgraded every night.  Since these are Country Inn & Suites hotels, they’ll also enjoy a delicious breakfast spread, warm cookies and a welcome bag with some snacks.  Club Carlson knows how to create some fierce-ass loyalty.

As you know, we like to economize our points usage by staying in Category 2 hotels – which only run 15k points.  We couldn’t get all category 2 hotels, but we got enough stay eight nights and do it all using 83k of the total 85k bonus points they have.

Jefferson Tour Virginia

Jefferson Sites in VA Loop

Here are the places to stay:

English: Monticello from the west lawn.

Monticello from the west lawn. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What to visit:

  •  Charlottesville– Charlottesville was Jefferson’s hometown, a place to spend at least an entire day.  Jefferson’s home, Monticello, and the University of Virginia (founded by Jefferson) are also there.
  • Monticello– Jefferson spared no expense in building and furnishing his dream home… so much that it finally broke him. This will be the absolute of the entire trip.
  • English: The Natural Bridge, Virginia

    The Natural Bridge, Virginia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    UVA – The final dream and design of Jefferson – one of his most favored accomplishments.

  • Natural Bridge– This land was purchased by Jefferson, presumably as an investment.  It hosts a massive stone arch – a monument and forever a significant landmark in Virginia.
  • Poplar Forest – Jefferson’s second home reveals a more private version of himself.  He and Martha inherited the property from her family in 1773.  He always used it as a retreat, and it still has that kind of feel today.
  • Williamsburg– With few competitors, this may be the world’s finest living history museum. It gives the feeling of literally be transported back in time – to Jefferson’s time – in what was , once the capital of Virginia.
  • Virginia State Capitol- Also designed by Jefferson, the Capitol building in Richmond is another vestige of his architectural prowess.
An actor portrays Wikipedia:Thomas Jefferson g...

An actor portrays Thomas Jefferson giving a speech in the garden of the  Governor’s Palace at Colonial Williamsburg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Other non-Jefferson sites to check out:

  • Appomattox Courthouse- The site of the cessation of the civil war.
  • Stonewall Jackson’s home (in Lexington)
  • Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson graves
  • Virginia Beach
  • Newport News, VA
  • So, so so much more

No doubt this will be an incredible trip – an epic tour of Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia. If you’d like to do this same trip, there’s not much stopping you from doing the exact same thing.

Have another idea in mind?  Would you like us to work it out for you?  Where would you like to go?  What would you like to see?  Tell us in the comments and we’ll make a post especially for you.

Thanks so much for wanderlusting with us.  We appreciate and love our loyal fans.  If you haven’t already, please subscribe to our blog.  Please don’t hesitate to share and spread the word far and wide.

{Disclosure: As you know, Sheldon and I may receive a commission if you use our links to apply for some of the cards we’ve mentioned in this post.}

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