Who Knew We Were Virginians?

[dolphingirl47]

That college is gorgeous. I wish I had had such a pretty space to study in. The trees in all their bloom are beautiful.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

A very pretty penny indeed! We asked when we were there, too much for us. DH would get the squirrel to eat out of his hand, he drew quite a crowd watching him feeding squirrels.

Mom says one of her coworkers sends his son there and it's unreal the cost.

How neat, but I would be afraid the squirrel would bite me.

That college is gorgeous. I wish I had had such a pretty space to study in. The trees in all their bloom are beautiful.

Corinna

It is really pretty. And the flowers and trees made it look even better.

 

[jenseib]

We found a bench across the street and sat down since we still had a bit of time till our reservation time.

Claire and Poppa were goofing off.









As time got closer, we moved back across the street so we wouldn’t miss hearing our name.













We finally got called in and we were led into a little back room. It was only big enough for a table and chairs and us! I guess they knew we were the rowdy ones and put us in our own tiny area. And boy was it dark. No lights in use here, all candlelight.



We had these HUGE napkins at the table. They were like small table clothes, so of course I had to be goofy and put one on around my neck.



Our server then came in and told me I wasn’t wearing it quite right. Though the way he explained to wear it didn’t seem much different. He told us in the old days they didn’t bath or change clothes often, so when they came to eat, they would take the table cloth and tie it around their necks to keep clean. The table clothes were stacked in several layers, so after each guest, the tavern would take it off so a clean one would be ready for the next guest.

We then took a look at the menu and made our orders. I didn’t take much in the way of pictures again.

I did take a picture of the Tavern slaw, which was good.



And the basket of Tavern Rolls, and Sweet Potato Muffins, which were also pretty good.



I then put my camera away for the night.

We also were served Spoon Bread. This was like a corn bread, but VERY sweet and soft. It was very good, but I could only take a few bites because it was almost too sweet.
We had a visit from Christiana’s “daughter” while we waited. She asked us where we were from and of course we replied Ohio. She told us “Oh you mean you’re from Virginia! You silly fools don’t even know where you are from!” We had a good laugh about that. She was quite bold and feisty, as I assume a tavern owner and her daughter would probably be back in those days.

While waiting for the main course, we heard a flutist playing in the room next to us. He was playing songs and talking a bit about history, but we could barely hear him. We kind of complained to each other that being in this small room we didn’t get to be included in the extra fun.
The next thing we know, he walks into our little room and tells us we get our own private concert. How fun!!!!
He had several types of flutes and I do not know the names of most of them, though he did tell us at the time.
He asked us if we had any 1700’s song requests. We all looked blanked face. I tried to rack my brain and the only thing I could think of was Yankee Doodle, but I wasn’t even sure.

He started out by playing twinkle twinkle little star. Who knew that song was so old? He did play a few others and we recognized them all, though I no longer remember them. And then he went on to play Yankee Doodle! I knew it!
He told us that it was basically a rhyme the British had made up about the Americans. “Stuck a feather in his hat and called it Macaroni” was derogatory. Macaroni was a style back then. Basically a big fluffy wig and it was almost painful to wear. All the “important and stylish” people were wearing them. They were trying to say the Americans were so backwards that they put a feather in their hat to pretend they were in fashion wearing a wig too. A doodle, was basically a fool. So the American then put it to a tune and used the song to mock themselves. It was also very interesting and we had a good time.

Our main course came and we really enjoyed it. I got the feature of the day. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but it was some kind of white fish with a white sauce stew of vegetables over it. I think it had potatoes too. It was so good. I practically licked my plate clean.

I think Mom and Amanda had the Gloucester Chicken Dinner
The Captain’s Sherried Seafood Stew followed by southern-style fried Hen put forth with a rasher of salty Surry County Ham and Corn Pudding
Your choice of our Williamsburg ice Cream
They got 2 huge pieces of fried chicken with this and it was so much more than they could eat. They could’ve have shared this meal easily.

I think Dad got the Hickory-Grilled Beef Tenderloin
Choice cut Tenderloin served with Bacon-Molasses Butter and pan-seared Polenta.

I don’t remember any complaints from him at all either.

I think Claire got the kids steak.

Mom and Amanda’s meals came with ice-cream and Claire wanted some too, so I ordered her some as well. We should’ve just let her share as they each got a HUGE slab of ice-cream. She could only eat half, so I tried finished it off, but I was bursting at the seams ….. and about fainted when I saw the bill. It was $5.25 for that slab of ice-cream. I told her in the future she can’t order any unless someone is sharing with her.
This meal was fantastic, but again not cheap at all. I think for just Claire and me it was around $75.00. It was a fabulous meal and we had such a wonderful time there.

After we paid the bill we headed off to use the bathroom in the basement before setting off. There were a set of stairs going up near the bathroom, but we weren’t sure where they led, except that it appeared to be outside. We went back up the regular way and went outside to wait for dad, who had gotten lost. There he was. He used the steps and they brought him right up to the front porch.
The flutist and a guitar player, who had also been roaming the other side of the tavern, were outside now playing on the porch and talking too. It was just such a neat thing to see and a wonderful experience.

We rolled ourselves out to the car and headed back to the hotel once again for the night. I think this night I turned on the station about Williamsburg and tried to watch as much as I could before I fell asleep.
Tomorrow we were planning on the Jamestown Settlement and then from there, we would play it by ear. We weren’t sure how full of a day this would be there or how much they had to see. The Jamestown Settlement was created as part of the 350th anniversary celebration in 1957 as Jamestown Festival Park. From what I read, it was supposed to be temporary, but it was so popular it stayed open for people to visit.
This is different than historic Jamestown, which is where the actual historic and archaeological site where the first settlers landed and lived is, but I believe they are close by. I was told by a few people that that site would not be as interesting for Claire.

Another fabulous day was had and we all drifted off to dreamland.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love Claire's dress. Dinner sounds absolutely delicious and how neat that you got your own private concert.

Corinna

 

[mickeystoontown]

Loved the updates, Jen. There was one photo that stood out to me the most and it's not one of the beautiful surroundings. It was the one of your dad at lunch time. He had the biggest smile on his face. I loved that one. Not that I don't like the others but I think you know what I am trying to say.

 

[misstheworld]

I'm loving this TR!!! DH and I live about 25 minutes from Colonial Williamsburg and frequent that area often. It's neat to see it through someone else's eyes.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

The food there was so good, the taverns are all so expensive, but how many times does one eat in a place like that!?
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was written by Mozart. I was surprised by that when I learned he had written it. There are so many songs we know that go back that far.
It was so nice you had a good time, I love when people enjoy Williamsburg.

 

[jenseib]

I love Claire's dress. Dinner sounds absolutely delicious and how neat that you got your own private concert.

Corinna

thanks. that was her Easter dress too.

Loved the updates, Jen. There was one photo that stood out to me the most and it's not one of the beautiful surroundings. It was the one of your dad at lunch time. He had the biggest smile on his face. I loved that one. Not that I don't like the others but I think you know what I am trying to say.

Isn't it funny how a buy who never wanted to visit the area had so much fun!

I'm loving this TR!!! DH and I live about 25 minutes from Colonial Williamsburg and frequent that area often. It's neat to see it through someone else's eyes.

Thanks for reading along. It is such a beautiful are.

The food there was so good, the taverns are all so expensive, but how many times does one eat in a place like that!?
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was written by Mozart. I was surprised by that when I learned he had written it. There are so many songs we know that go back that far.
It was so nice you had a good time, I love when people enjoy Williamsburg.

It was really good food. And it was just great to experience it. We sure don't have anything like that here.

I did know now that Mozart wrote that. How interesting.

 

[JKSWonder]

Cannot believe I have missed this report so far! Going back to catch up.

We visited Virginia, though not Williamsburg, a few times over the years since Mikes sister lived in Fredericksburg, VA before moving to Florida. Really interesting stuff to see there.

 

[dizneeat]

I completely missed this one! Shame on me!

Now going back to read ALL about it.

 

[jenseib]

Cannot believe I have missed this report so far! Going back to catch up.

We visited Virginia, though not Williamsburg, a few times over the years since Mikes sister lived in Fredericksburg, VA before moving to Florida. Really interesting stuff to see there.

Thanks for joining in!

It really is a state full of history.

I completely missed this one! Shame on me!

Now going back to read ALL about it.

I thought you were here. LOL Oh well. Hopefully you can catch up fast. I need to update my links

 

[jenseib]

April 18, Day 6


We had a bit of a slower morning. Well each morning is slow with my family, but I allowed it today.
We got up and ready and ate a bite of breakfast and we all decided we wanted to eat at another tavern before we left for home. Tomorrow was Mom and Dad’s anniversary, so we gave them choices from menu options online and the decided King’s Arms Tavern was where we would go. We made the reservation and were all set for the next night.

Today was Jamestown! We loaded into the car, programed Siri and headed off.
I think we arrived around 10:30 AM.







Along the front they had each state on a plaque and the year is became a state with a little info. Later before we left I did look at it a bit more. Right now, the family was on a mission to get inside.





We got in line and Claire and I got our tickets. We debated if we just wanted to do Jamestown or the combo with the Yorktown Victory Center, which was nearby, but we didn’t know how long it would take to go through the Settlement, so we didn’t. I kind of wish we did now. We got a AAA discount and Mom was taking a bit longer to get her tickets. I guess they were giving her issues about Amanda getting her ticket under Moms AAA discount. Amanda has AAA as well, but she didn’t have her card with her. They did end up letting her have the discount though.



It was close to 11 now and we thought we would stop in the café and get a drink. Well we decided since it wasn’t busy yet to get some lunch and have that out of the way before we set forth. I don’t remember what we got, except I am sure Claire got either a hotdog or corn dog. I am thinking I got a hotdog or hamburger and chips or fries. It had very basic food court type food, but it was decent and filled us up.

We then set off.





We found where the intro movie was and got in line for the next seating. I was told before going that most places start out with a movie and it was true, but it did give some good info too.

We were let in and sat down. Amanda was having anxiety again about being trapped inside and not being able to leave so she left and waited for us outside the doors.

The movie told about Jamestown and also featured Pocahontas. Claire liked that. I think many people do not know her true story …..and the Disney one is not right…… But she did marry a white man and went to England and basically died after being exposed to the white man diseases. She is buried in England and they believe she died around the age of 22.

After the movie and another bathroom break we headed towards the gallery area, which had lots of interesting things…if you are an adult. If you are an 8 year old…you find it extremely boring and let your mother know so.

I ended up taking Claire outside since she was not making it very fun for me to be in there. In her defense, there was a lot of reading to do to understand what you were seeing and she is not a strong reader to begin with, and it probably didn’t sound like fun either.



This was some sort of monument, which a read about at the time, but now I can’t find info about it online.



We texted Mom and Amanda and they were still looking around the galleries, so we made the decision to move on by ourselves. Up next was the Powhatan village.





I think these guys are a little on the pale side for Indians.



We toured the homes. I am not sure of the official name of these…are they wigwams?











Of course we put Claire to work.

 

[dizneeat]

What a great update! I just love to see all the photos and ideas of places to visit you give me. If only I could get away from the Disney places.

Still have about 8 pages to catch up on, but I am working on it.

 

[scottny]

You should have told the shopkeeper the camera in your hand was more important than a book. LOL
Loving all the epics of the grounds.
The meal with no pics sounded good.
Jamestown also looks great.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I have seen Jamestown mentioned a number of times and for some reason I imagined it to be completely different. It does look very interesting though.

Corinna

 

[JKSWonder]

Allison just had to do a social studies project, creating a colonial primer meant to teach preschoolers. She needed a pic of Pocahontas, but could only find Disney versions. I insisted she had to use "real" Pocahontas, not "Disney" Pocahontas and made her keep searching on the internet until she found the real deal. She wasn't too pleased with me, but I told her it mattered because the Disney version was nothing like the real person.

 

[jenseib]

What a great update! I just love to see all the photos and ideas of places to visit you give me. If only I could get away from the Disney places.

Still have about 8 pages to catch up on, but I am working on it.

Thanks. It is really hard to get away from disney. Disney is like a drug and keeps making us come back.

You should have told the shopkeeper the camera in your hand was more important than a book. LOL
Loving all the epics of the grounds.
The meal with no pics sounded good.
Jamestown also looks great.

I should have.
It was such a neat area to explore and photograph.

I have seen Jamestown mentioned a number of times and for some reason I imagined it to be completely different. It does look very interesting though.

Corinna

It was different than I thought it would be too. It would be interesting to see the historical site someday.

Allison just had to do a social studies project, creating a colonial primer meant to teach preschoolers. She needed a pic of Pocahontas, but could only find Disney versions. I insisted she had to use "real" Pocahontas, not "Disney" Pocahontas and made her keep searching on the internet until she found the real deal. She wasn't too pleased with me, but I told her it mattered because the Disney version was nothing like the real person.

yeah, disney's version is so not even close to what happened. Pocahontis was actually kidnapped, but then became friends with the settlers. It is said she may have been married before that too.

 

[jenseib]

They had all sorts of demonstrations going on. I did have to laugh. I wonder how many pale redheaded Indians there were back then.



We did talk to her a bit. She was very nice. I asked something about what they did in the winter, since basically the homes were used for mostly sleeping and they did everything else outside. She told me it never got very cold, but I don’t really believe that. I would think it had to get uncomfortable at times. Heck in the week we were there, there were a few rather chilly times.

Hey a Cardinal!!!!





And some random chickens just walking around.





I loved the tools they had.



Another Cardinal.





Claire played with some of the hands on things.







We found a girl talking and listened in. I think she was gardening. Claire was positive she was supposed to be Pocahontas. Someone asked if they could take her picture, so I quickly took a few too.









Still no sign of the rest of the family, so we decided to head on our way without them.



We decided to make our way towards the fort.



The path to get there kind of circled around.





Of course Claire wanted to know what was taking me so long.





There was a garden out front.





And more roaming chickens.



We could see the boats from here too and Claire asked to go there, but I told her we would visit the fort first.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love the cardinal shots. They are such wonderful birds.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

I love the cardinal shots. They are such wonderful birds.

Corinna

Thanks. They seemed to be all over the place there.