WILLIAMSBURG and JAMESTOWN, VA (OCT. 17, 2009)

Drizzle… Gray skies… Cold!
That about sums it up…
That’s what we woke up to…
Would like to use some expletives here, but children are present…
Suffice it to say, we’re not very impressed with Mother Nature here in Virginia…
Is it too much to ask for ONE nice day while we‘re here?
For crying out loud… I mean… We’re darn near on the beach… We’re visiting very important places in American history… Is one day of decent weather too much to ask for???
Well, there you are…
Question ignored!
Didn’t deter us, though…
We’re made of strong stuff…
Took off on the 100 mile trip (to and fro Colonial Williamsburg) around 8:30 this am…
Not bad traffic, but “Mr. Jack” wasn’t quick enough to get us onto the right freeway ramp, so we ended up driving North instead of South for a few miles, before correcting the matter with a U-ie…
Noticed that our gas gauge showed empty, but did a quick calculation, and figured that, even if we only got 5 miles per gallon, we had oodles of fuel to get us there and back…
What’s wrong with the world this morning?
Personally, I love great beginnings… Don‘t you?
We did make it to Colonial Williamsburg, and found a decent parking spot not too far from the Visitor’s Center…
Donned our rain jackets and moseyed on down to check in (we got our tickets on line last night)…
Took a shuttle down to the Governor’s Palace, then proceeded to spend the next umpteen hours strolling in and out of shops, buildings, and exhibits…
Colonial Williamsburg is quite large in area, but not so bad that you have to worry about not being able to walk it (unless you have a peg leg, or such handicap, of course), and it’s pretty interesting meeting and greeting the “employees” of the various establishments (who are all dressed in authentic clothing from the seventeen hundreds)…
Here’s an eye opener (which we discovered later):
If you’re cheap, you don’t have to pay the entry fee ($36 per person without discounts)…
You can walk the whole site, and see most everything without having to pay…
However, if that’s your choice, you will not be able to go into some of the more important buildings, and you won’t hear informative commentaries by people who (obviously) have spent time studying their subjects and the situations they‘re portraying…
However, I have to say, although I found some interpretations very well done, I also found others very tedious, and not worth listening to… Your choice!
Enough of that…
Except for dashing into a building here and there, we were out in the “elements” most of the time we were in C.W…
The “elements” were not good to us, and we were fairly miserable (spell: cold) while there…
Hence, we cut our stay short (after three hours)…
Went to the truck, where we warmed up, and where we had a wonderful “lunch,” consisting of all kinds of little goodies Luanne fixed for us this morning…
Is there a wonder why I love this woman?
We debated whether to head down to Jamestown (where everyone knows America “began”), or go back home…
We choose to drive down there, look the situation over, then decide whether to turn tale, or not…
Entering the parking area of the Visitor’s Center, we thought: This is way too commercialized…
There’s this huge brick structure, and as soon as you enter, you see roped-off “lanes” for the purchase of tickets… There’s a souvenir store (of course), a cafeteria, and a small theater (which shows a five minute looped infomercial), and that’s about it…
We were not impressed, and were about to leave, but then, Lu thought we should ask someone if there was anything else to see…
She went to the souvenir shop to find out, while I went to one of those sit-behind-the-counter-people, and the results were:
(Lu): No, sorry, there’s no such place…
(Me): Yes, take a right as soon as you get out of the parking lot, etc., etc., etc…
And, WOW!
We found what I dreamed of finding: The actual spot where Captain John Smith and “his” pioneers established what became America’s first permanent settlement…
It’s mind-boggling to think of what these people had to endure here over 400 years ago…
And it’s mind-boggling to think that if we hadn’t asked about this place, we would not have found it…
Makes you wonder why, doesn’t it?
Oh, well… Mine is not to wonder why….
We spent a cold, but very informative and interesting hour and a half going through the church, museum, ruins, and grounds, and (to us) it was more interesting than Colonial Williamsburg…
There you go… That’s our day in so many words…
Once again, it’s past 11 pm, and I’m ready for bed… Probably sleep in tomorrow?
Take care, have a great day, and, like always, keep an eye on us…
PICTURES: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/WILLIAMSBURG%20and%20JAMESTOWN%5EJ%20VA%20%5E5OCT.%2017%5EJ%202009%5E6?nl=1&uc=91&isFromRichUpload=1