Virginia

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From Marion I had a 400 mile trek up to Gloucester, Virginia. I had a full week ahead here too. A few years ago I had read James Michener’s book “Chesapeake” and wanted to go see Chesapeake Bay, in addition to visiting Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. What was I thinking? There is just too much to see and do. I don’t know much about the American Revolution; or the Civil War for that matter; a person could spend a week here just acquiring some of that knowledge. The scenery is something else. I ran out of time and will have to cross the Chesapeake Bay via the famous bridge/tunnel some other time.
There are two different entities in the Colonial Triangle area. The National Parks Service put emphasis on the historic buildings etc. They have exhibits at Yorktown and Jamestowne (with an ‘e’.) The State of Virginia have three exhibits, living history experience in both Williamsburg and Jamestown, and at Yorktown, a museum with movies showing the famous battle of Yorktown, and some of the Civil War conflicts etc. I took Ike with me to Yorktown and Williamsburg but wasn’t allowed to take him to Jamestowne because of the archeological dig that is on-going there.
I left Gloucester and drove west to Greenville, Virginia. Greenville is at the southern end of Shenandoah National Park. On my way there I stopped in at Monticello; which was the home of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the U.S. Photography inside the house wasn’t allowed but the tour was fascinating. Jefferson spent his retirement years completely remodeling the house that he had built in 1769 in the style of homes he had seen in France and Italy. Monticello actually means “little mountain” in Italian. He was a brilliant man who drafted the Declaration of Independence, wrote 19000 letters in his time, could read in seven languages, and tinkered with invention including a polygraph machine - which might account for all those letters. With the polygraph machine, he could write with a pen which was attached by a system of levers to another pen so that he was duplicating whatever he was writing. (I remember Jayne having a doll called “Katie Copycat” which operated on the same principal.)
On Monday morning the sky was clear blue so we went to see the Shenandoah Valley. I drove 55 miles up the Skyline Drive and pulled off at each viewpoint but unfortunately, my camera doesn’t capture the scenic beauty. One of the NP Rangers I met told me that spring is about 6 weeks behind in the area this year.
On Tuesday it rained, so I decided to go to visit Woodrow Wilson’s Birthplace and Presidential Library. Wilson was the son of a Presbyterian minister and was born in a very fancy home in Staunton, Virginia. Made me think of some of the vicarages in England that were so cold and drafty and not nearly so grand. Woodrow Wilson was president before the presidential libraries that are funded by the Federal Government were established so this is a private foundation, and as a result not as comprehensive or impressive.

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Photos

Gloucester
The park where I stayed was on the James River and was very nice

Yorktown
The National Park Service have done a wonderful job of reconstructing Yorktown. This bronze of George Washington and French General De Grasse who brought troops here to help the Americans defeat the British!

Redoubt
The Welch Fusiliers protected the extreme right of the. British defenses from this redoubt

Welch Fusiliers
I thought this was interesting.

Monument
This monument commemorates the victory by which the Independence of the United States was achieved.

Jamestowne
I really enjoyed my visit to Jamestowne. This monument honors the 107 English men and boys who landed here on May 13th/1607

Archeological Dig
Our guide for the tour of the original fort was one of the full time archeologists working on the site. Here he is showing us where the corner posts of a building were

First Landing
What struck me most was that these souls set out not knowing where they were going. They arrived in May--and the day I was there it was hot! They arrived during a drought and were met by hostile Indians!

Barracks
Those first settlers constructed a small fort in twenty days, the edge of which is visible in this photo of the barracks.

Early 1600 handmade bricks
One of the first orders of business for the first immigrants was to build a substantial church. The tower is all that remains of that early 1600 structure.

Crew
I found this map really interesting. The photo isn't very good but you can clearly see that men and boys from all over England were on the first voyage to establish a British foothold in the New World. Most of them were craftsmen, although there were some "gentlemen."

Pocanhontas
Helped those early settlers and persuaded the Powhatan Indians to befriend them. She eventually married John Rolfe who cultivated tobacco that would underpin the colony's economic future.

Captain John Smith
Under the command of Captain John Smith the three vessels carrying the 104 colonists arrived on the James River on May 13th, 1607 and established the colony of Virginia. By summer colonists are dying from disease and starvation.

First Seat of Government
There is just too much to see in one day in Colonial Williamsburg, which is run by the State of Virginia. The original site is set up as Colonial Williamsburg and is like stepping back into the 18th century. Eighty of the original buildings are open to tour.

Barber's Shop
I asked why the pole was blue and white. What I didnt' know was that barbers originally could perform dentistry and blood letting, so the red on the pole signified blood. George III ruled that barbers could no longer perform these services and the poles were changed to blue and white.

Costumed
There are costumed folks walking around. One thing that struck me was that the roads were wide and the homes well spread out. Unlike those in the city of Charleston.

Governer's Palace
The first established residence of seven royal govenors and the first two elected governors of the soverign state of Virginia. Today it is furnished as the home of Lord Dunmore, the last British governor of the colony at the time of the Revolution.

Me and Jeff
I was very impressed by Thomas Jefferson's house. Unfortunately, he died broke, and his family had to sell Monticello, most of the furnishings and a lot of the enslaved folk.

Greenhouse
The guide called this a greenhouse, but I think we would consider it a conservatory. Apparently, Jefferson was into planting exotic plants that he had seen overseas

Guestroom
The guestroom had a ceiling to floor sash window that could drop or rise to let the breezes through, or the whole window could push up to make a doorway. The Madison's stayed at Monticello often and would stay in this room

Patio
You could imagine the occupants sipping cocktails and enjoying the vista on the extra large patio