Monticello may be one of the most iconic buildings in the United States – it’s even on the back of a coin. Thomas Jefferson famously designed and built his home atop a hill in Virginia (Monticello means “little mountain” in Italian). Monticello is so famous and popular, it is debatable whether it should be labeled as a “Nerd...

Finishing our tour of Ash Lawn-Highland, home of President James Monroe, you can’t miss this 250-year-old tree known as the Monroe Oak. Seriously, it’s a really cool tree. You may need to see it in person to appreciate its size, with a 20-foot circumference! This tree even had its own blog on the Ash Lawn website.

Our first official stop was Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of our fifth president, James Monroe. Thomas Jefferson wanted the Monroes to live nearby, so he encouraged his friend to buy this property down the road from Monticello.

We had neither a GPS nor smart phone, so we were relying on printed Internet directions, which didn’t work so well. We had a tough time finding the memorial. I recall thinking, “Poor William Henry Harrison, if he had been in office longer, his memorial may have been better marked.”

For a president who only served a month in office and who died in 1841, William Henry Harrison is certainly hot these days. His name keeps coming up in things I see and read. Part of this interest probably comes from the publication of New York Times columnist Gail Collins’ new book on Harrison, who was 68-years-old when he was inaugurated (at a time when life expectancy was around age 40). Collins has written about Harrison in her column, making parallels between Harrison and the 2012 election. A co-worker recently stopped in my cube to ask if I had seen the recent article on our ninth president.

When I told my friends about starting a blog chronicling my “Nerd Trips” to sites associated with U.S. presidents, my college roommate Susan had an immediate and strong reaction, “That’s sexist!” Actually, I don’t think I can be held responsible for the fact that the United States has not had any female presidents. However, in celebration of Women’s History Month, I decided to tackle this topic: Are Nerd Trips sexist?

Happy Birthday to James Madison, born March 16, 1751 in Port Conway, Virginia. Here are some not-so-random facts about our fourth president.