Day 3: July 11 Jamestown, Virginia (about 95 degrees and very humid.)
In 1607, 13 years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, a group of 104 Englishmen made a 5 month voyage to the banks of the James River to form a settlement in Virginia.
The site where they landed is now called Historic Jamestowne and is still used as an archeological dig site.
There are some foundations of original buildings, part of the church where Pocahontas married John Rolfe is still standing, and there's a really cool museum with tons of artifacts found on site.
Down the road from the landing site is a glasshouse which sits near the ruins of the original glasshouse.
Glass making was one of the early attempts at manufacturing in America. It didn't produce the profits they hoped for, but this re-creation gives us a good glimpse into the process.
They sell what they produce here- even ship it home for you if you want.
A bit farther down the road is the Jamestown Settlement. This is a visitors center with a museum, cafe and gift shop.
Outside is a re-created Indian Village, replica ships , and fort.
This is where we started our day and spent the most time.
Day 4: July 12 Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. (Topped out at 100 degrees. Have I mentioned that it is humid?)
After the introductory movie at the Visitors Center (Story of a Patriot starring Jack Lord, 1957), we crossed a bridge into the farm at Colonial Williamsburg. We saw tobacco and corn growing, heard the stories of slaves on the farm, and looked at the animals.
Then we walked into town to tour the Governor's Palace.
Got some cold lemonade and proceeded to the main street of the town.
We saw Bruton Parish Church- many of our founding fathers attended there.
We visited the magazine where the guns and powder were kept,
got in trouble near the courthouse,
checked into many businesses along the way,
and stopped for a bite at Shield's Tavern before going to the Capitol Building- also known as the House of Burgesses.
After that tour, we saw the jail (spelled gaol in those days) and the apothocary shop.
We ended our time at Merchants Square where the Christmas Shop is always a big hit.
Day 5: July 13 Yorktown, Virginia. (Cooler than yesterday- only 96. But still humid...)
Yorktown is the site of the final major battle of the Revolutionary War. We spent time in the Victory Center museum, re-created camp site, colonial farm, the battlefield museum, and the actual battlefield itself.
There are lots of things for kids to participate in here- from dress-up to gun demonstrations.
They had fun running around the battlefield
and then we went to lunch and headed north to our next destination- the Washington DC area.
More later.
