Guess I am not so good at adding captions so back to the old method of pictures with a list!
1. Dr. Kelso and his team in Historic Jamestowne
2. More Dr. Kelso at the Jamestowne dig
3. The palisade
4. At the dig
5. Washing and straining to find artifacts
6. Piece of sturgeon "bone"
7. Pocahantas and Gerry
8. The "Barracks"
9. Yorktown Memorial
10 Yorktown house
11. Mt. Vernon
12. The Mt. Vernon Slave quarters
13. Judi, Gerry and the Washingtons
For those of you who have wondered where we have been I will have to admit we have been driving around Colonial Williamsburg LOST!!!!! But I am getting ahead of myself.
On Monday we left Washington DC headed for Mt. Vernon and Richmond, Virginia. Almost didn't get out of town but the Toyota gods were with us and we finally found the right road and went the right direction on it and soon found ourselves at Mt Vrnon, the home of our first president. The mansion is rather unassuming but restored, decorated, and a great visit. The grounds are very nice and it was a pleasant time. Judi and Lee walked to the grave site but I opted to sit in the shade and enjoy the day.
While standing in line we got to talking to some people who lived inWilliamsburg so we decided to skip Richmond and drive a bit farther and be in a position for some serious sightseeing and that is what we did. Unfortunately I was so tired that night I stayed home from dinner and slept for 10 hours. Hmmmmm, perhaps I was a bit weary.
Anyway that put me in good form on Tuesday when we headed for Historic Jamestowne. After our experience at Plimoth Plantation and the costumed Pilgrims we opted to skip the reconstructed town and take in the archaeological dig to find the original settlement. Dr. William Kelso theorized about 15 years ago that the settlement of Jamestown and the fort was not eroded into the James River and started digging. He was right and new evidence is still turning up. The pictures are of the dig and Wow! the man himself shows up! It was like seeing a rock star. I didn't jump down in the pit or embarrass the other Gotta Go Girls but that was a thrill. Even though there are some inaccuracies I would recommend the movie, New World. It was filmed just down the river from Jamestowne and the scenery is beautiful. Maybe a little bending of the truth about Pocahantas and John Smith but basically it takes place at that site. They have built an "archaearium" to house all the artifacts they are finding. It was a thrill to be there and we didn't want to tear ourselves away. But we thought we would come back to the motel and do a little planning.
Well, we got on the Colonial Parkway thinking we were heading for our hotel when the next thing we know we are actually going the other way and we ended up in Yorktown where the Revolutionary War ended. This is where Cornwallis surrendered and really marked the beginning of the USA and we were there. Perhaps by accident, but we were there. And then we tried to get back to the hotel in earnest. Back on the Colonial Parkway going the right direction and we can't find the damnned hotel!!! Many stops, many wrong ways, no street signs, lame maps, and our spirit was finally broken. We dubbed ourselves the three stooges! Now that is pitiful! We have found our way all across the United States and here in the Historical Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown) it turns into the Bermuda Triangle and tries to gobble us up!!!!
Bruised but not defeated we headed out for dinner and got to the restaurant ok but the Colonial Parkway got us again! Took us well over an hour to find our way "home". It should have been a 5 minute drive! This morning we were not going to let that happen again. I drove to Colonial Williamsburg without a hitch. Figured I could do it coming back. WRONG!!!!! Finally when it got dark and the lights were bothering me Judi took over and it took us again well over an hour to get back. And though we tried to avoid it we ended up on the Colonial Parkway again! Heading out of town tomorrow and thinking of hiring an escort!
Today was spent at Colonial Williamsburg. We know this is an extremely popular venue and there were oodles of people there and many are repeat visitors but we were disappointed. Yesterday was such a high, but today was an expensive disappointment. The things we liked today were 1) a reading of the Declaration of Independence from the State House, 3) lunch at a tavern, and 3) the Rockefeller Folk Art museum. The museum was one of the best we have been in. And we walked until our feet almost fell off.
Should be in bed right now but did want to catch up a bit. Have had a few e-mails wondering what happened to us. We are a bit weary, needed some time to get our affairs in order, and of course there is being lost on the Colonial Parkway! Another thing about the CP. It is paved in a gravelly substance that sounds crunchy under the wheels of the car so everytime we would drive onto it the sound would remind us that we were probably lost again!
On to Monticello as well as President Monroe's home tomorrow. Nighty night from the GGG
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