We left Washington, D.C. on Monday, Sept. 14th, and headed down to Williamsburg, Virginia, to step back in time. Mom and Dad decided to skip this part of the journey with us and went to Virginia Beach instead to visit some old friends. Our plan was to stay one day at the old colonial part of Williamsburg and then see Jamestown and Yorktown the next day.
Williamsburg -- now this was a treat to the senses. You truly do feel like you're in a time warp when you get into town and so many are dressed in costume, carriages and horses clop along the streets and many of the shops produce wares by 18th century means. Many of the town's homes and businesses were there when George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson walked the streets as Virginia delegates. We thought it was definitely worth paying the fee to go into the authentic shops and be part of the Revolutionary-era drama that takes place in the streets. Especially when we got in for an extremely reduced rate as it was "homeschool week" -- another blessing we didn't know in advance. We enjoyed touring a silversmith's home and learning about their family life. They lost everything by adjoining themselves to the patriot cause and refusing to import goods from England. Mike and the boys especially enjoyed visiting with a gunsmith who made muskets by hand. You can buy one for a measly $15,000.
We decided to eat dinner at a pub there in town, Chowning Tavern. It was delightful! The food was very good and English in style. A magician and a musician (both very talented) entertained us as we ate. We were loathe to leave at the end of the night and I really wished we had another day here to get to tour more of the shops and talk with the people.
We stayed again in a Wal-Mart parking lot overnight and then headed first thing over to Jamestown. We didn’t pay to go into the re-created town but went instead to the actual site of the fort which is a national park. Seeing the area where the first permanent English settlement began was interesting. Not a lot at this location, but we watched a short video in the visitor center and then walked around for a while imagining the hardships and struggles and looking at John Smith and Pocahontas’ statues. There’s a cordoned-off section where they’re doing an archeological dig of the fort.
Next we headed to Yorktown. All three of these towns/sites are within a 10-mile radius so that was nice. Again at Yorktown we opted to go to the original site instead of the re-created “Yorktown Victory Center”. Walking and driving around the still-standing earthworks that the British and Colonial armies dug and touching the cannons left there made this last battle of the Revolutionary War seem very real. In the evening we left Virginia and headed up to Maryland where we met up with Mom & Dad again.
Williamsburg -- now this was a treat to the senses. You truly do feel like you're in a time warp when you get into town and so many are dressed in costume, carriages and horses clop along the streets and many of the shops produce wares by 18th century means. Many of the town's homes and businesses were there when George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson walked the streets as Virginia delegates. We thought it was definitely worth paying the fee to go into the authentic shops and be part of the Revolutionary-era drama that takes place in the streets. Especially when we got in for an extremely reduced rate as it was "homeschool week" -- another blessing we didn't know in advance. We enjoyed touring a silversmith's home and learning about their family life. They lost everything by adjoining themselves to the patriot cause and refusing to import goods from England. Mike and the boys especially enjoyed visiting with a gunsmith who made muskets by hand. You can buy one for a measly $15,000.
We decided to eat dinner at a pub there in town, Chowning Tavern. It was delightful! The food was very good and English in style. A magician and a musician (both very talented) entertained us as we ate. We were loathe to leave at the end of the night and I really wished we had another day here to get to tour more of the shops and talk with the people.
We stayed again in a Wal-Mart parking lot overnight and then headed first thing over to Jamestown. We didn’t pay to go into the re-created town but went instead to the actual site of the fort which is a national park. Seeing the area where the first permanent English settlement began was interesting. Not a lot at this location, but we watched a short video in the visitor center and then walked around for a while imagining the hardships and struggles and looking at John Smith and Pocahontas’ statues. There’s a cordoned-off section where they’re doing an archeological dig of the fort.
Next we headed to Yorktown. All three of these towns/sites are within a 10-mile radius so that was nice. Again at Yorktown we opted to go to the original site instead of the re-created “Yorktown Victory Center”. Walking and driving around the still-standing earthworks that the British and Colonial armies dug and touching the cannons left there made this last battle of the Revolutionary War seem very real. In the evening we left Virginia and headed up to Maryland where we met up with Mom & Dad again.
Making candles
Drying tabacco/ a friendly red ox
A flintlock rifle and the Revolutionary drama
Our dinner entertainer and a new form of grounding :)
Our dinner entertainer and a new form of grounding :)
Jamestown
Yorktown
I so want to do what you're doing! What amazing memories you're building into your lives. History will never be boring after this. We actually had ancestors at Jamestown and at the battle of Yorktown. I'll be happy to tell you where you can find our family tree online if you're interested.
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