The British are Coming! / Colonial Williamsburg

  Williamsburg, Virginia, United States
Friday, June 27, 2008

Capital under seige

After checking into the hotel, Mike and I headed to the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center.  We exchanged the MWR Freedom Pass voucher for the real thing including getting our picture taken for the photo ID.  Also we purchased tickets ($6 per person with 50% discount from the Freedom Pass) to a Fife and Drum concert for later this evening.  Since we arrived so late most of the trade shops were closing up for the evening.  You can tell because the proprietors were taking down the flag posted by the doors.

Walking from the Visitor Center to the Historic area, first you crossed the "Bridge of Time" where every meter or so on the bridge there were plaques for historical significant events counting backwards towards the 18th Century.  Our first stop was Great Hope Plantation.  Speaking with a worker...or as they prefer to be called historical interpretor...I found out that this land was originally overflow parking for the Visitor Center.  Several years ago, they decided to convert the land into a recreation of a 18th Century Virgina Plantation. 

Sleep house and well

Using the tools available at the time, the interpretors started constructing the site.  Currently they have built a sleep house, corn barn, water well and a barn for tobacco curing.  Growing in the fields are corn and tobacco and next to some of the buildings there are small vegetable/herb gardens.  The most interesting place was the sleep house, where you can see what the accommodations were in the 18th Century...some how the Governor's Inn does not seem so bad.  I tidbit of information given by the interpreter in the Sleep house was an explanation of the holes in the floor.  Slaves would use these holes to save personal items of family members who were sold to other plantations.

Arched bridge walkway

Pass the plantation, the trail led you

Windmill

under an arched bridge with a brook running along side the walkway.  Also on the trail, you can see a white windmill, based on the pamphlet it is still a work in progress and not open for exploration.  Finally, the trail ends at the Governor's Palace.  Unfortunately, we arrived too late for a tour.  Fortunately for us, this weekend the British invaded Williamsburg and has garrisoned on the town common, so although we were too late for most trade demonstrations there were still things to see in the town.  We missed the British raising the Union Jack on the Capitol, but there was other interesting sites in the British camp including a demonstration of how the firing line was conducted.  I saw a cannoneer constructing his tent with a little help.  Speaking with the interpretors, I found out they reenact the town occupation only once a year on the weekend before the 4th of July.  I spoke to a Major, who is normally an palaeontologist, and a Sergeant Major, who is Hollywood costume designer, who have been supporting this weekend for 33 years straight.  I also talked to some Hussein.  It was funny...I saw hidden in their tent a not so authentic case of Yuengling beer.  What a better way to pass the evening...yes these guys would camp out on the common for the entire weekend!

Rank and File

Walking along the main street, we heard a loud BOOM.  It was the cannon firing to let everyone know it was 6 pm.  Hopefully they did not let the Hussein fire the cannon...20th Century beer and 18th Century artillery do not mix well.