Williamsburg

Yesterday was a day at home for us to regroup.  Today; however, we are on the road by 10:00.   It paid off as we find the parking lot at the Williamsburg Visitor Center with no real traffic and no problem finding a close spot to park.  The Visitor Center is a large facility housing a large bookstore, a gift shop, restrooms, two theaters and numerous ticket counters to purchase tickets for various venues within Colonial Williamsburg.  A beautiful waterfall cascades between beds of Coleus next to the steps which leads to the front door of the Center.

Since we only have today to walk around and four hours is probably our limit in terms of time in the Park, we opted to watch a 36 minute film in one of the theaters, to take the shuttle to the Park and not take any lengthy tours but rather to walk around at our own pace.  This did mean we would not have access to some of the buildings such as the Capitol and the Governors Home, but there were many others we could see and enjoy without taking a tour.

The film we viewed, "Story of a Patriot" has been recolored, having come out around 1957 and starring Jack Lord (remember the original Hawaii Five-0) and telling the story of the events that led up to the American Revolution.  I'm sure we studied some of this way back when, but Ron and I both benefited  from this refresher to get into the right mindset as we walked around.

The shuttle dropped us near the Governor's Palace and we walked around  the streets taking in the colonial residences, public buildings, craft shops and peaceful gardens.   Historic Williamsburg covers several square blocks and  today includes eighty-eight original buildings that have survived from the period some privately owned and resided in. While this is a popular venue, it is so large that you do not feel like it is crowded.

Th Governor's Palace when completed in 1722 was considered the finest structure in British North America.   The Palace was the home of seven royal governors and the first two state governors.

Bruton Parish Episcopal Church

Courthouse of 1770

The Capitol here represents the first Capitol which was built in 1701 and was the site of many important political events.  

A house along the roadway

 Costumed interpreters, craftsmen, candle maker, militia men and coachmen are  found everywhere explaining what is happening in their location, explaining how items are made and helping you to understand the time period and events.

To top it off, horse drawn carriages, both open and closed, roll along the streets making it necessary to watch where you walk and step.

Throughout the historic area are various taverns to enjoy a snack or meal and various shops selling items related to the period from candles, dresses, hats, toy, beer, wine and food items such as muffin mixes and preserves.  There are also activities in various places to keep the children's interests.

After completing our walk around, we catch the shuttle back to the Visitor Center satisfied that we have seen what we wanted to see and relearned some of our American Revolution history lessons.