Andrew and I have already been married 3 great years so we decided to celebrate our anniversary (a little early) over thanksgiving in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. We found a great deal called the Christmas Bounce Pass which included admission to the nearby Busch Gardens. It cost only 50 dollars (parking included) a person and allowed admission to both places f
or 3 full days. Incredible deal! So we had a wonderful celebration of Thanksgiving with Andrew’s family and then made the late night drive down to our Hampton Inn in Newport News. We arrived very sleepy eyed at 3 am. We were asleep in no time at all. The next morning we were up early and enjoyed the complimentary breakfast. We were on our way to Williamsburg by 1030. The line was surprisingly short when registering for our tickets. We made our way over the bridge and “back into the 18th century”. We made our first stop at a functioning plantation with beautiful vegetable gardens. The site of Williamsburg is set up like a huge town would have been 300 years ago. People were dressed up in colonial clothing walking the streets along with oxen and horse drawn carriages. The entrance to the site is the Governor’s palace (we would tour that tomorrow) and it was decorated for the holidays. We made our way down the cobble stone streets and looked for the flag in front of each little town house, which indicates that it’s open to the public. We stopped at the shoe maker first. The man was making shoes for the others workers within Williamsburg. He tanned the leather in water with bark and acorns and would let it dry for two years. Then the measurements were taken (boots were m
ost difficult for the foot to maneuver into it) and the leather would be stretched over the wooden blocks. Then the thicker sole of leather would be hammered to the bottom. It was quite a process. We then made our way down to the printing press room. The man was really into politics and reviewed where our country was at (politically) in the early to mid 1700s. The letter would be formed by a special metal and put into wooden frames which were then rubbed with ink. The piece of paper was pressed onto the inked letters with a huge handled machine. The man made a point that the newspapers were only made per subscription because it was too costly to make copies that hoped to be sold at a news stand. Across from the printing press there was a book binding reenactment. Books were printed and then the paper was folded and holes were punched about every inch and a half down the edges. A piece of thread was then pulled through the holes to officially bind it. The cover then was bound to the pages. Books today sometimes mimic the past with the four to five ridges on the binding. At this point we were both working up quite an appetite. Luckily, there were plenty of taverns in the area. We selected one with the shortest wait and were escorted to the second floor by the colonial hostess. We drank beer and wine from the area and had delicious dishes. I had an oyster sandwich dish and Andrew had a delicious burger. The rest of the afternoon we spent at the magazine, where hundreds of rifle, muskets, swords, and pistols were stored. Many of them were held by the soldiers fighting the revolutionary war. Incredible! We learned the difference between a musket and a rifle. A rifle shot one shot every minute that was very accurat
e and the musket was able to perform 4 shots a minute with no accuracy at all. It was cool to learn the difference in the two different guns. We then made our way to the gunsmith and saw the different tools and weapons crafted specifically for the revolutionary war. It was incredible of the tradesman really twisting the metal used to make the guns with nothing more than heat. We then saw a carpenter who made gorgeous artistically crafted pieces and then stopped by a barrel making display. It was incredible how tight the individual pieces fit together to make it water tight. From there we realized that the one thing we wanted to see before we retired to dinner and our hotel room was the first psychiatric hospital of this new world. It was moving to see how the mentally ill were treated before modern medicine. We saw the cells that the clients were kept in, the bloodletting medicinal tools, and all the restraints that would keep the patient still and from hurting themselves. The museum gallery ended with a sad letter addressed from a patient to her sister saying how she had wished to be visited more often because of how lonely it was there. The day at Williamsburg had come to an end and we had become tired from our late night and early morning. We decided to have dinner at a Thai restaurant right behind our hotel. Our meal was incredible and we had a great evening relaxing and hanging out in our hotel. The next morning we were able to enjoy the great breakf
ast served from the hotel restaurant and then made our way back to Williamsburg to finish up the sights. We saw the blacksmith and the wagon wheel carpenter. The tradesman described how the process incorporated the iron actually shrinking around the wooden pegs to make a tight fit. After exploring Williamsburg, we decided to check out nearby Jamestown and Yorktown. We made our way over to Jamestown and were awed to see where this great country began (this was the first permanent settlement in the new world). John Smith’s statue stood high as did a monument to Pocahontas (who did not marry or have a relationship with John Smith, they might not have even met). To see the actual foundations of the wells and church and homes inside the fort was just amazing. There was so much history and the scenes we were seeing really made it come alive. We had lunch at a little café near the Jamestown River and enjoyed some sandwiches. We then continued down the trail and came to the museum where artifacts of the original settlers were collected. There was silverware, pottery, inscriptions on slate stones, and weapons. We spent about 2 hours there just in awe over all of them. The tour ended for Jamestown and as we made our way back to the hotel we noticed a little shop set up that displayed glass blowing demonstrations. It was amazing to see the process of taking the mixture of liquid ash and forming it into beautifully crafted glassware. From Jamestown we had dinner at a sushi restaurant near hotel once again and it was delicious! We retired for the evening to our hotel. The next morning we awoke and checked out of our hotel by about 930. We made our way to Yorktown there the last battle was fought on Amer
ican soil before our country was declared independent from England. It was a beautiful day and the battlefield was set up with a road tour that you could take (about 1 ½ hour drive) with the museum at the beginning of it all. We spent time appreciating the artifacts and among them was an area that allowed you to actually stand under the tent that George Washington lived in. We then started out drive around the battle fields are saw all the different vantage point of the war. From historic Yorktown, we made our way to the town center of Yorktown where we enjoyed a mile walk and a lunch by the York River. It was beautiful! From York Town we had one more stop to make before our start home. It had become dark by this time and it was time to make our way to Busch Gardens for the finale of the trip. The lights were brilliant and the culture inviting. We enjoyed the 7 different countries and the traditions they practiced during Christmas time. We even got a chance to ride on a few rides! We had a great time and knew we had to get on the road since we had a 5 hour drive ahead of us. We stopped for pizza on the way home and were at our front door by midnight. We put this trip at the top of the vacations we have done so far. We love the vacations where you can enjoy and learn some history at the same time!
or 3 full days. Incredible deal! So we had a wonderful celebration of Thanksgiving with Andrew’s family and then made the late night drive down to our Hampton Inn in Newport News. We arrived very sleepy eyed at 3 am. We were asleep in no time at all. The next morning we were up early and enjoyed the complimentary breakfast. We were on our way to Williamsburg by 1030. The line was surprisingly short when registering for our tickets. We made our way over the bridge and “back into the 18th century”. We made our first stop at a functioning plantation with beautiful vegetable gardens. The site of Williamsburg is set up like a huge town would have been 300 years ago. People were dressed up in colonial clothing walking the streets along with oxen and horse drawn carriages. The entrance to the site is the Governor’s palace (we would tour that tomorrow) and it was decorated for the holidays. We made our way down the cobble stone streets and looked for the flag in front of each little town house, which indicates that it’s open to the public. We stopped at the shoe maker first. The man was making shoes for the others workers within Williamsburg. He tanned the leather in water with bark and acorns and would let it dry for two years. Then the measurements were taken (boots were m
ost difficult for the foot to maneuver into it) and the leather would be stretched over the wooden blocks. Then the thicker sole of leather would be hammered to the bottom. It was quite a process. We then made our way down to the printing press room. The man was really into politics and reviewed where our country was at (politically) in the early to mid 1700s. The letter would be formed by a special metal and put into wooden frames which were then rubbed with ink. The piece of paper was pressed onto the inked letters with a huge handled machine. The man made a point that the newspapers were only made per subscription because it was too costly to make copies that hoped to be sold at a news stand. Across from the printing press there was a book binding reenactment. Books were printed and then the paper was folded and holes were punched about every inch and a half down the edges. A piece of thread was then pulled through the holes to officially bind it. The cover then was bound to the pages. Books today sometimes mimic the past with the four to five ridges on the binding. At this point we were both working up quite an appetite. Luckily, there were plenty of taverns in the area. We selected one with the shortest wait and were escorted to the second floor by the colonial hostess. We drank beer and wine from the area and had delicious dishes. I had an oyster sandwich dish and Andrew had a delicious burger. The rest of the afternoon we spent at the magazine, where hundreds of rifle, muskets, swords, and pistols were stored. Many of them were held by the soldiers fighting the revolutionary war. Incredible! We learned the difference between a musket and a rifle. A rifle shot one shot every minute that was very accurat
e and the musket was able to perform 4 shots a minute with no accuracy at all. It was cool to learn the difference in the two different guns. We then made our way to the gunsmith and saw the different tools and weapons crafted specifically for the revolutionary war. It was incredible of the tradesman really twisting the metal used to make the guns with nothing more than heat. We then saw a carpenter who made gorgeous artistically crafted pieces and then stopped by a barrel making display. It was incredible how tight the individual pieces fit together to make it water tight. From there we realized that the one thing we wanted to see before we retired to dinner and our hotel room was the first psychiatric hospital of this new world. It was moving to see how the mentally ill were treated before modern medicine. We saw the cells that the clients were kept in, the bloodletting medicinal tools, and all the restraints that would keep the patient still and from hurting themselves. The museum gallery ended with a sad letter addressed from a patient to her sister saying how she had wished to be visited more often because of how lonely it was there. The day at Williamsburg had come to an end and we had become tired from our late night and early morning. We decided to have dinner at a Thai restaurant right behind our hotel. Our meal was incredible and we had a great evening relaxing and hanging out in our hotel. The next morning we were able to enjoy the great breakf
ast served from the hotel restaurant and then made our way back to Williamsburg to finish up the sights. We saw the blacksmith and the wagon wheel carpenter. The tradesman described how the process incorporated the iron actually shrinking around the wooden pegs to make a tight fit. After exploring Williamsburg, we decided to check out nearby Jamestown and Yorktown. We made our way over to Jamestown and were awed to see where this great country began (this was the first permanent settlement in the new world). John Smith’s statue stood high as did a monument to Pocahontas (who did not marry or have a relationship with John Smith, they might not have even met). To see the actual foundations of the wells and church and homes inside the fort was just amazing. There was so much history and the scenes we were seeing really made it come alive. We had lunch at a little café near the Jamestown River and enjoyed some sandwiches. We then continued down the trail and came to the museum where artifacts of the original settlers were collected. There was silverware, pottery, inscriptions on slate stones, and weapons. We spent about 2 hours there just in awe over all of them. The tour ended for Jamestown and as we made our way back to the hotel we noticed a little shop set up that displayed glass blowing demonstrations. It was amazing to see the process of taking the mixture of liquid ash and forming it into beautifully crafted glassware. From Jamestown we had dinner at a sushi restaurant near hotel once again and it was delicious! We retired for the evening to our hotel. The next morning we awoke and checked out of our hotel by about 930. We made our way to Yorktown there the last battle was fought on Amer
ican soil before our country was declared independent from England. It was a beautiful day and the battlefield was set up with a road tour that you could take (about 1 ½ hour drive) with the museum at the beginning of it all. We spent time appreciating the artifacts and among them was an area that allowed you to actually stand under the tent that George Washington lived in. We then started out drive around the battle fields are saw all the different vantage point of the war. From historic Yorktown, we made our way to the town center of Yorktown where we enjoyed a mile walk and a lunch by the York River. It was beautiful! From York Town we had one more stop to make before our start home. It had become dark by this time and it was time to make our way to Busch Gardens for the finale of the trip. The lights were brilliant and the culture inviting. We enjoyed the 7 different countries and the traditions they practiced during Christmas time. We even got a chance to ride on a few rides! We had a great time and knew we had to get on the road since we had a 5 hour drive ahead of us. We stopped for pizza on the way home and were at our front door by midnight. We put this trip at the top of the vacations we have done so far. We love the vacations where you can enjoy and learn some history at the same time!