We are home from our 39th wedding anniversary celebratory weekend in Virginia. Not everyone’s idea of a romantic getaway I know, but we thoroughly enjoyed our four days in the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. We both love history and have nearly always spent our vacations either at or within easy reach of historical or cultural locations.
Colonial Williamsburg is awesome. The Visitor’s Center is extremely well run and informative. I suppose one can describe the historic area as a large open-air museum, but that’s not really the feeling you get when talking to the costumed guides (they really live the part, believe me). It has got to be the nearest thing to being transported back to the eighteenth century.
Colonial Williamsburg is awesome. The Visitor’s Center is extremely well run and informative. I suppose one can describe the historic area as a large open-air museum, but that’s not really the feeling you get when talking to the costumed guides (they really live the part, believe me). It has got to be the nearest thing to being transported back to the eighteenth century.
The "Governor's wife and daughter" talk to some visitors in WilliamsburgOur anniversary was celebrated on Sunday at Bruton Parish Church, which has served Christians from 1715 and still does. I suspect that no one could nod off during sermons through the centuries - the pews have perpendicular backs!
A musketeer gives a demonstration of his skill at Jamestown SettlementThe settlement at Jamestown is where it all began. The Visitor Center at the Settlement is impressive – a wonderfully designed building with great facilities. The galleries really give a good sense of the formation, struggles and (eventual) success of the settlement.
If Jamestown is where it began, then Yorktown, just 20-odd miles on the other side of the peninsular, is where British rule of the colonies was decided in the siege of Yorktown. It was a cold and windy afternoon that the Park Ranger took us on a tour of the battlefield. She told me that she would be “hard on the British”. Actually she was very fair and her narrative was very informative and entertaining. We took this with a smile – what else could we do, being surrounded by Americans?
An American howitzer and four mortars at Yorktown battlefield
If you get the chance and are interested in the history of this great nation, a visit to this area is highly recommended.
