Our Honeymoon

Day 7 - Jamestown and Williamsburg

We had really been hoping to do Williamsburg justice with a nice long visit, but it just wasn't meant to be on the honeymoon. We were having too much fun with everything on the way, but our one regret about planning our honeymoon is mis-scheduling and shorting ourselves on time spent in Williamsburg. On the morning of our last full day we were struggling with desires to both go to Jamestown and enjoy Williamsburg, all the while being exhausted and getting a late start. We decided to drive to Jamestown and do a quick tour, and then spend the rest of the day in Williamsburg.

We hadn't realized that there are two Jamestowns: Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestown. When we encountered the road sign at the fork in the road a hasty decision was made to go to Historic Jamestown since we didn't know the difference. It was the right choice. Jamestown Settlement was jam packed with school groups when we drove by, and they were only just starting to arrive at Historic Jamestown while we were there. Historic Jamestown is the actual settlement location, with ongoing archaelogical excavation. Fort James has been partly reconstructed and a statue built of Captain James Smith looking out over the James River. I don't remember if Memorial Church was reconstructed or had been standing still and was just repaired.

As we walked around the Fort and the ruins of the settlement we got pictures of Maya with a reconstructed cannon, and Mike in front of the ruins of a tavern:

Walking back to the Visitor Center across the swamp bridge we noticed lots of turtles in the mud. It was kind of hard to tell but I think they may have been mud turtles like our late pet Simon. The sides of the bridge were lined with kids and adults exclaming about the hundreds of turtles that could be seen in the mud. Hopefully you can see the turtle on the log in the first picture below, and maybe pick out a few of the turtles in the mud in the second picture:

After leaving the settlement area, we went to see the glassblowers. I had hoped to buy the ornaments that I had seen at Mt. Vernon (but didn't buy) but they didn't have them at the Glasshouse. Mike did get himself a Jamestown decanter.

We went back to Colonial Williamsburg for lunch, getting food at The Cheese Shop on friends' recommendations (Wonderful Meal #11).

At this point we were pretty exhausted. We did walk around some through the streets, but we also did a lot of just sitting and enjoying the ambiance or listening to the craftspeople. Below are photos of Duke of Gloucester Street east of Palace Green (you can see the Magazine), west of Palace Green (you can see Brutton Parish Church), and Palace Green north to the Governors Palace:

One of the craftspeople that we watched was the Binder. Mike, as an author, was especially interested in the Printer/Binder area:

The blacksmith shop was also pretty cool since one of the blacksmiths was wearing a Black Watch kilt:

At the end of the day we watched the Revolutionary City performance. George Washington addressed the people of Williamsburg and the militia before marching to Yorktown (site of the decisive battle of the Revolution). The fife and drum band are pretty neat to watch.

We went back to the hotel to put our feet up and catch a nap before dinner. Dinner, on recommendation from friends, was at the King's Arms Tavern, and was certainly Wonderful Meal #12. It was really fun, and romantic, and a historical lesson as well. And we did eat the meal with our napkins properly tucked under our chins and spread out over our laps (unlike some people around us who were apparently too self-conscious).

We did have to miss dessert so that we could make it to the "Cry Witch" performance. For the record, I voted innocent and Mike voted guilty. She was found guilty by vote of six and thirty to five and twenty.

The ambiance of Colonial Williamsburg was a perfect way to wrap up our honeymoon, espcially since there were no school groups to mar the peace. We will definitely be back when we have our family.

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Photos taken by Mike (except a couple taken by Maya)