Colonial Williamsburg-Day 6

On Friday we headed back to the Duke of Gloucester street to finish up the major sites that we hadn’t gotten to yet. Our first stop that day was the magazine.

Inside we learned that when Governor Dunmore had the British marines remove the gunpowder, he was actually removing British gunpowder that was probably pretty old. British barrels were marked with a red arrow.

Little Charlotte wanted to come upstairs this time rather than wait outside.

She came up and sat like such a big girl

From there we walked across the street to the Courthouse.

Outside the Courthouse there was another reenactment that we watched.

We still had a few trade shops we hadn’t visited. Our kids had never seen a blacksmith shop and were looking forward to that so we headed there next.

In addition to the blacksmith’s shop, we also saw a kitchen that would have been used to feed the tradesmen in the area. In the kitchen they were cooking a large pot of stew over the fire.

Outside, they were starting an oven. They would put the wood in the oven and let it burn then remove all the coals before baking the bread. The oven stayed hot enough to bake two batches of bread.

From there (and I don’t know why I didn’t take any pictures of this), we walked back to see Colonial Williamsburg archeologists working on a dig site. It was fascinating to talk with them and to learn about what they do. The man that we talked with said that, “you can’t stick your shovel in the ground here and not turn up something from the 18th century.” How cool is that?

We then headed over the Post Office, Printing Office, and Book Bindery. The bindery was closed, but we were able to peruse the Post Office where Rosemary got to try her hand at quill pen writing before heading down the Printing Office.

We were the only ones there and got a nice little tour. This also tied in with the Johnny Tremain story. Since we were the only ones there, the man there gave Rosemary and Ben small pieces of paper and taught them how to make paper boats. We then went out and floated them down the stream.

Watching the boats

We collected our boats then laid them out in the stroller to dry off.

From there we started to head back to the Palace Green so we could go through the Wythe House. We stopped to get some family photos on the green before we headed inside.

The best we got of the five of us.

And all seven of us.

During our tour of the Wythe House, Ben decided that he had had enough house tours. He whimpered throughout the house then asked at the end if we could be done going through houses where “people talk at us.” I assured him that he didn’t have to go through anymore. He had done quite well with the ones he’d been through in the earlier days.

From here, we grabbed some lunch. Again at The Cheese Shop. But this time we packed the kids’ lunches so it was a bit easier.

After lunch we made our way through more of the trade shops including the weaver, the wheelwright, and the cooper. Charlotte was asleep and spent the afternoon with my parents snoozing in the stroller.

Outside the cooper’s shop.

Ben and Rosemary were very intrigued with the barrel full of goldfish. They found out that the fish were there to help cut down on the mosquitoes.

We also stopped by the military encampment. There we watched a musket and artillery demonstration. The cannon was loud!

Watching all the steps necessary to fire a cannon.

We wrapped up our full day on the grounds behind the courthouse to see the troops and the fife and drum corps.

We headed back to the Visitor’s Center and did a little shopping. The kids picked out some souvenirs. Ben got a Revolutionary War army men set, Rosemary got another dress for Margaret, and Charlotte got a little soft doll named Sarah. Jonathan and I picked out our ornament.

On the way back to the condo, we stopped at Mykonos for some Greek food. After eating, it was dark and we were pretty wiped out. It was a very full day, but by then we had managed to see most of the sites in the area.

Colonial Williamsburg-Days 4 and 5

Day 4

On Wednesday, we headed over the historic area fairly early. We got off the bus at the Capitol and headed over to the Raleigh Bakery to get some hot chocolate and cookies. Jonathan, Rosemary, and I were planning on going to a dance lesson at the Raleigh Tavern that morning so after our snack, we headed there.

I have always thoroughly enjoyed the dance programs in Colonial Williamsburg. I went to one with my dad when I was 17 and Jonathan and I have gone to one as well. I was looking forward to taking Rosemary, but she seemed really overwhelmed by the lesson so we actually didn’t get to dance.

We did learn how to do our courtesies. Here’s Jonathan putting his best leg forward.

The ladies basically just do a plié.

From there we went through quite a few of the trade shops including the silversmith, wigmaker, and milliner.

Next, Rosemary, Ben, my mom and dad, and I went through the Capitol. The exterior was being renovated and was ensconced in scaffolding so I didn’t get any outside shots this trip.

In the Capitol.

Next, we visited the Public Gaol.

Here we learned that jail time was never a punishment for a particular crime. The gaol was used primarily to hold people until their trial.

We ate lunch once again at The Cheese Shop that day then headed back to the condo early. The younger kids napped (and so did I). After dinner that night, my dad and Jonathan took the older kids swimming while my mom, Charlotte, and I went out to the Williamsburg Pottery Outlet. We were disappointed in our shopping trip that night and ended up back at the condo before the guys came back from swimming.

Day 5

Thursday morning we went to breakfast at Mama Steve’s before heading to the outlet malls. The entire crew went, which makes for an interesting shopping day, but we found some good deals for Jonathan and the kids.

Once again we were back at the condo for naps and dinner. Following dinner, Jonathan and I got ready to head back to the historic area for a chamber concert at Bruton Parish Church.

We sat up in the back balcony for the concert. It was about an hour long and featured a harpsichord, organ, and flute.

After the concert, we walked down to The Trellis Restaurant for death by chocolate. We were the last people to be seated so the restaurant was practically empty. It was so decadent and absolutely delicious.

Colonial Williamsburg–Day 3

We were up and at ‘em early on Tuesday morning. We had a general idea of what we wanted to do that day so we headed to the Visitor’s Center, hopped a bus to the Palace, and began our day.

First, we toured the Governor’s Palace.

Outside the Palace before heading in for our tour. Rosemary frequently referred to the Palace as the Castle throughout the trip.

Inside the kids saw some of the rooms that they’d heard about in Felicity; like the weapon bedecked entry room and the long blue ballroom. For a guided tour, they did fairly well. Jonathan stayed out with Charlotte.

Once out in the gardens, Ben and Rosemary were ready for the maze in the hedges. They loved this part.

A quick hat switcheroo.

I ended up wearing the kids’ hats a time or two on the trip.

Charlotte and Jonathan met up with us in the gardens.

Happy to be out of the stroller and have free rein.

Moseying about before the rain. The rain didn’t last long nor was it heavy. It didn’t stop us from continuing to sightsee that day.

The back of the Palace.

After the Palace, Jonathan and I took the kids to the Gateway building for a Children’s Orientation Walk. They had a special kid’s map that they could get punched at various locations throughout the historic area. After receiving five punches, they would then get a special pin to wear. Rosemary and Ben got two punches just for going to the Gateway building and taking the tour. While waiting for the walk, Rosemary and Ben played some 18th century games. Ben did a Hotch Potch puzzle and Rosemary played Shut the Box, an easy dice game.

At the conclusion of the tour, it was about lunch time so we met my parents down at Chowning’s Tavern.

(I took this photo a few days later when the weather was much clearer).

We had to wait a bit for a table, so the kids enjoyed playing outside.

Sites that are open that day display a British flag outside. They’re really helpful since some of the buildings along Duke of Gloucester Street are private residences and not all of the historic sites are open everyday.

Walking with Grandma

Seated inside. My mom and Rosemary were having a very deep discussion.

Happy, sweet, Charlotte

My Brunswick stew.

Jonathan’s short rib sandwich

We walked by the stocks and pillory following lunch. Rosemary wanted her picture in the stocks. Ben did, too, but the seat was too far away for him to sit and get his legs through the holes.

In the pillory. (Warning, this was gross). We learned that sometimes the criminals, in addition to standing hunched over for two hours, would have their earlobes nailed to the board. Yikes.

From there, we toured the Geddy House, by far the best tour for us and our kids.

For one, we were the only ones on our tour. Also, the tour guide just put a bunch of the 18th century games on the floor for the kids to play with while she talked to us about the Geddy family and the house. She said that’s what it would have been like if we’d really been visiting as a family lived there. From there, we went into the shop and learned about half dollars and quarter dollars. We happened to mention Felicity at this point and our guide further explained how the house we were in would have been similar to Felicity’s as it was a middling class family’s house. Felicity had come up on our children’s tour as well and that guide gave us further insight after the books were mentioned. (I apologize for the references to these books, it was just really nice to have a way for our kids to actually understand and appreciate what they were experiencing).

Outside, we visited the gunsmith’s shop and the kids’ got the fifth punch on their maps, thus earning their special pin.

All three of the kids enjoyed seeing the horse drawn carriages as we walked through the town.

Running on the Palace Green.

There were a few things we wanted to do later in the afternoon so we visited some of the shops and trades while we waited.

Rosemary and Ben really enjoyed the Colonial Gardens. They were put to work watering the endive.

The gardener would fill up their can whenever it ran out.

They took the watering very seriously. On our way out, Rosemary and I got to try a pomegranate. Rosemary didn’t remember trying one before. It was really tart.

Soon we made our way down towards the Raleigh Tavern and the Capitol for the Revolutionary City Street Scenes. This was something that we didn’t remember seeing the last time we were there but it was really cool. The interpreters assembled to reenact various scenes relevant to what might have been going on in the city at the time preceding the Revolution. (Colonial Williamsburg alternates focusing on events leading up the Revolution and events occurring at the conclusion of the war each day).

In the above scene we watched Peyton Randolph receive news about Lexington and Concord (which made us think of Johnny Tremain) and talk with other townsfolk about the night the gunpowder was removed from the magazine (an event discussed in Felicity). Next there was a court of tar and feathers, which thankfully did not end up in anyone actually being tarred and feathered. What an awful practice!

Next we made our way down to the Capitol for a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Here you can see two of the interpreters. They wore microphones so anywhere you were you could hear them during the scenes.

Jonathan and the kids had great seats…until a large crowd came and stood in front of them. :-)

After the reading of the Declaration, a (very) small fife and drum group marched from the Capitol to the Palace.

Although small, it was still pretty cool. And while it sounds embarrassingly corny, it does make you quite proud to be an American.

From there we caught a bus back to the Visitor’s Center and headed to Friendly’s for dinner. Once back at the condo, we got the kids ready for bed. Rosemary and Ben each bought their first souvenir of the trip that day. Rosemary bought a soft doll named Margaret from the Marketplace vendors. Ben bought an airplane, an exceedingly relevant toy to Colonial Williamsburg. But he was very happy with his purchase.

It was a full and fun first day of sightseeing.