Williamsburg, Virginia

In following up Roger's research of his family history we decided to take a trip to Jamestown and Williamsburg.  Due to logistics it made more sense to visit Williamsburg first - even though it comes second chronologically.  Here are the details from our trip.  

On Friday, June 15th we flew to Norfolk and then drove an hour or so to Williamsburg for a few days.  We stayed at the Williamsburg Lodge - which is one of the "official" Williamsburg hotels.  It is just a block from the historic part of town and a great selection for families - if anyone is thinking of heading this way soon.  We got in late so we didn't see much of the town on Friday, but Saturday morning we got up early and had breakfast in the hotel.  I knew from looking at the Williamsburg website that the options for vegetarian children would be very limited so we tried to get the girls to eat a big breakfast --but they were too excited.  So  we made this video to show them later - fully expecting that the pleas for snacks would begin within minutes of leaving the restaurant!

On Saturdays in Williamsburg the city depicts the period from1775-1776 - during the lead up to the Revolutionary War.  Residents are in conflict about whether to stay loyal to the British King or fight for independence.  Different days of the week depict different periods in town, so if we had been there on another day the flags in front of the shops may have been early American flags, rather than the British flags we saw.  

The first place we came to in Williamsburg was an outdoor market selling hats and bonnets.  Next was a  stand to sign up for a carriage ride.  Here are the girls sporting their new headwear as we trotted around town!

Roger rented "The Governor's Carriage" - of course.

We visited an old printing shop.  It was amazing to learn about how time-intensive it was to print just one page of news.

Erin loved seeing the baby lambs.

We stopped for lunch at Josiah Chowning's Tavern.

I thought it was amazing to think that we were walking on the same streets and, in some cases, in the same buildings, that our pre-Revolutionary ancestors walked on.  

We also visited the Governor's Palace.  I was astounded at how ornate it was.  The lobby was decorated with hundreds of guns and swords.  Our tour guide told us that this was typical of English castles the tradition was carried on to today.  Roger's 9 times great-uncle was the a governor of the Jamestown Company - and later the first Governor appointed by the King to rule Jamestown.  So he was a predecessor to the Governors who would have lived in this Palace.  

A fife and drum corp came marching down the Duke of Gloucester Street with the militia behind them.

The Capitol

Eventually the girls ran out of interest (and energy) so Roger took them back to the room while I took a few minutes to visit the Colonial Gardens.

On Saturday night we took the girls to hear stories in the coffee house backyard.

On Saturday night we had dinner at "Christiana Campbell's Tavern" - its an original old tavern where - supposedly - George Washington liked to eat when he was in town preparing for the Revolution.  This is "Christiana's daughter" who brought Erin up front to wish her a happy (early) birthday!

Here are the girls on the steps of the Tavern.