Williamsburg, Virginia - October 10 - 12, 2015

Williamsburg, Virginia - October 10 - 12, 2015

October 10, 2015

Welcome to Virginia
 

 

We have another moving day today.  At least, we didn’t have to get going quite so early, since they did not want us to the park until after 1:30 p.m.   We figured that leaving by 10:00 a.m. would work well.  We only had 168 miles to go, and they said it would take about 3 ½ hours.  We thought that was an exaggeration but found that it actually took us nearly four hours, so we were in good shape. 


We got settled into a very nice 50 amp pull thru across from the pavilion.  We have been so lucky with having such good spots.  After getting everything set up, Bev spotted some dogs out in the park.  Of course, she had to go out and visit. 




Papillion dogs

We also were parked next to Pam & Robert Furr, who have three Papillion dogs.  One is a 3 month old puppy.  Also, they have a cat.  Of course, Bev had to go over and see the babies.   While she was out, she notices that a trailer had arrived with a load of animals.  Of course, she had to go over to check that out too.  In addition to a sheep, goat, pony and cow, there were bunnies, a piglet, turtle, and even a snake.  Yikes.

 




Bev got visiting with a young man that was holding the snake.  He had recently moved from Wisconsin, and was very excited about that.  After having a conversation, he showed Bev the scar where he had a heart replacement when he was seven months old.  After that he had a rejection that caused cancer.  His family moved to Wisconsin, where they have the best survival success rate.  The boy appeared to be about 10 years old, cancer free and even plays soccer.  No wonder he didn’t mind messing with a snake.  Wow.

It was time to go to the chili feed.  Of course, we were the last ones to arrive.  We got an ovation for finally arriving.  Bev was SO embarrassed, but it was all in good fun, and Stan was fine with it.  We had great chili, banana splits and a great time with everyone.  A great group of people.

 

October 11, 2015

Today is Grandson Cameron Stordahl’s 14^th Birthday. 

Stan & Bev started with a disagreement on the start time for the “ride share”.  It turns out we were both wrong.  Bev thought we were to leave at 9:00 a.m., Stan thought it was 9:30 a.m.  Well, as it turns out, we were supposed to line up at 8:45 a.m., leaving the park at 9:00 a.m.   So, of course, we were the last ones to leave the park.  I guess that we were lucky even to catch up with the group.  Oh my.

We are headed to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.  It is an amazing restoration of the old time Williamsburg. 

 

“Guests of Colonial Williamsburg’s Revolutionary City explore dozens of original buildings, homes, and shops reconstructed on 301 acres - most on their original foundations. Rare animal breeds, historic trades, and lovingly restored gardens add layers of authenticity to the Colonial Williamsburg experience.”

After a movie in the Visitors Center we took a shuttle to the Governor’s Mansion.  The tour guide was fabulous.  She told us about the hated Governor Dunmore.  His wife and children treated the residents well, but he was amazingly arrogant.  He finally ran away in the night taking his family and possessions. 

Firearms as decorations

Swords
 

 

“John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730 – 25 February 1809), generally known as Lord Dunmore, was a Scottish peer and colonial governor in the American colonies.  Murray was named governor of the Province of New York in 1770; he succeeded to the same position in the Colony of Virginia the following year, after the death of Norborne Berkeley, 4^th Barn Botetourt. As Virginia's governor, Dunmore directed a series of campaigns against the trans-Appalachian Indians, known as Lord Dunmore’s War. He is noted for issuing a 1775 document proclaiming martial law in Virginia in an attempt to turn back the rebel cause in Virginia. Dunmore fled to New York after the Burning of Norfolk in 1776, and later returned to Britain. He was Governor of the Bahama Islands, from 1787 to 1796. Dunmore was the last royal govern of Virginia.”

The mansion had an incredible number of fire arms as “art” in the mansion.  There were muskets and swords as DECORATIONS.  OMG 

 

From the Mansion, we continued on down toward the town of Williamsburg.  There was a George Washington Festival in Williamsburg, so we saw so many people in costume wandering around Williamsburg. 

There were many shops that sold various souvenir items.  Luckily, Bev resisted a “Tatting Kit” – he was SO surprised.  She thought about it multiple times. 

Williamsburg "Wig" Maker

 

One of the best “shops” of Williamsburg was the Barber and Peruke Maker.  Long story short – it was a wig maker.  The guide (shop keeper) was very informative.  Back in the day, when you wore a wig, you had your head shaved (and kept it that way).  You had a wig made out of human, horse, goat or llama hair.  The people of the day would pay an equivalent of what would purchase ½ acre of land or a team of oxen.  Oh my – amazing what a status symbol will drive people.

Some of the wigs styles available

We were all ready for lunch, and we were not disappointed.  We ate at the Kings Arms Tavern.  We were lead into the next building.  We had a delightful server.  She was in character.  We started with a wonderful salad, rolls, and had chicken potpie.  We were worried about the potpie, but it was wonderful.  This was all followed by ice cream.  It was a great meal.

From there we took the shuttle back to the Visitors Center and the RV for the night.  Yippee.

October 12, 2015

Today is an optional day.  Stan planned to have his option be to sleep in, have a couple of Bloody Mary’s and relax.  That works fine for Bev too.  She has a lot of picture and blog work to keep her busy.  She also wants to send out a few post cards to the Grandkids, etc.

We had thought about driving to the rest of the Historic Triangle (Jamestown & Yorktown, since we had been to Williamsburg), but instead, we decided to drive into Virginia Beach.  The Norfolk, Virginia Beach area is where daughter-in-law, Veronica was born.  After talking to Veronica, we decided to drive in to see if we could find where she spent her first few years.  Luckily, she remembered the address so we did a drive-by.  Unfortunately, the lady that lives there, was unloading her car, so we didn’t want to spend too much time taking pictures.  We did get a couple and sent one to Veronica.  The neighborhood is very well maintained.  

We had a nice drive and saw more of the beautiful country, then headed back to the RV for a quiet dinner and evening.