Blogs from Williamsburg, Virginia, United States, North America

Washington to Colonial Williamsburg. After our previous laundry mis-adventure, I was determined to get my laundry done so I could once again start wearing clean clothes. We found one, made the ultimate mistake of not asking how much and the bill came to USD$50!! We were not amused. I took the train out to the airport to pick up our rental car. Everything was going to plan right up until I had to drive back into Washington but the road I was on turned into a motorway and I didn’t know what exit to get off. To make matters worse, when I did get off, lots of the streets are one-way which isn’t helpful when you are driving in the opposite direction from where you want to go on the wrong side of the road (from ... read more

Monday, May 24, 2010 - Appomattox, Richmond Another grey morning but somehow emblematic of Appomattox - it was a grey, rainy day on which the famous surrender occurred. It is a small restored spot, out of the way, famous only for what ended there. We meet a couple of enthusiastic rangers who engage us in 15 minutes of Civil War minutiae, e.g. exactly which regiment was where, and it’s fascinating to watch grown men with such passions. You get a sense of the sadness and pathos of the ending to what both sides saw as a great, patriotic endeavor…and relief that the war was finally over. In Richmond, at the Museum of the Civil War (a true monstrosity of 1960’s brutalist architecture), it is amazing to see the carefully preserved artifacts…the coat Lee wore at Appomattox, ... read more

Alright now class, let's talk about the founding of Jamestown in 1607. Okay that's good enough. This and Williamsburg are worth a a visit if you like history and all but they are both a bit commercialized. There are a few original buildings but mostly they are reproductions and that is okay but I prefer to see and original if at all possible. One has to keep in mind that things weren't built to last back then and the occassional hurricane as well as other severe weather has taken it's toll. Here a few pictures of both locations and as you can see they do a good job of staying in the period with proper dress. Most of the guides there are very good. We both particulrly liked the guy in the slave shack He was ... read more