Day at Williamsburg

We finally made it to Williamsburg and spent the entire day in the Historic Area. By the time we got ready, it was nearly 10 AM when we left. The town is only 37 miles from here so it was a relatively short drive. Our strategy for the day was to begin at the Visitor Center:

and find out the best way for us to see as much as we could. We purchased a day pass for the shuttle and for the tours which came to only $68 for the both of us. This was similar to what we did in Savannah, GA and seemed like the best way to go.

One thing became evident as we arrived at the stop we wanted where there was a re-enactment of the King's Government Collapse (1765-1777) which was conducted in the street in front of the Raleigh Tavern. It lasted from 11 AM till noon, and the crowd was massive:

It was almost impossible to see the show, but we could hear everything and got the message. We were sure that this was the most popular attraction at this time of day and that the crowd would dissipate and spread evenly over the area following the show. Of course, schools are out now and the daily crowds will be larger than they were earlier in the Spring. The crowd did spread out for the rest of the day. Some took the horse and buggy ride to see the whole Historic Area:

but we walked, and were able to pick and choose where to spend time.
There were so many interesting buildings and tours, and we took pictures of all of them. There are too many pictures to show, but following is a good representation of what we saw.

Starting with the Cabinetmaker house:

where we saw lots of nice (antique) furniture being made the way it was in that era - using only hand tools:

After stopping for lunch, we went through the Governor's Palace which was one of the highlights of the day:

The tour was wonderful and we took lots of pictures, but this one of the foyer is especially interesting because of all the weaponry - rifles, pistols, swords -displayed on the walls:

The rear of the Palace was also beautiful:

Next, is the Randolph House which was one of the more interesting tours:

The story behind the house and the individual were interesting. Evidently, Peyton Randolph would probably have been elected our first president instead of George Washington if he hadn't passed away prior to the end of the Revolution. He was the most popular individual at that time.

The Historic Area was a terrific place to spend the day. The buildings along the streets were all restored to original appearance, and the walk through the area gave us a feeling of what it was truly like in those years:

Of course, the streets weren't paved then, but everything else looked realistic.

We drove around Williamsburg a little bit following our day in the Historic Area and left with a better appreciation of our Nation's history and of the area. It would be a very nice area to live, if one wanted to reside in Virginia.

The weather was great - except for the humidity - and we expect the same today. Our goal today is to do the Jamestown Settlement and, if we have time, Yorktown. Until tomorrow...