So, you want to know how today went. Confession time: I have sort of been dreading this day since before I married John. He has always talked about wanting to go to Colonial Williamsburg and today was the day. Most of the time, John and I have similar taste in activities, entertainment, etc. This whole flashback to the 18th century bores me to tears just thinking about it, but John was nearly giddy with excitement and I knew that I couldn’t spoil this for him or influence the kids’ experience, so I put on my shoes and off we went.
Now, yesterday, we knew we were VERY low on propane and we never managed to find a place to fill our tank. Luckily, the place we are staying sells propane and we figured that it would be expensive, but beggars can’t be choosers and the stupid-tax can’t be too high, since our tank only hold about 8.5 gallons. We had to pull up to the office to check in this morning anyway and opted to take the time to fill up this morning, in case we weren’t back in time this evening. Good thing we did, because it took 8.2 gallons. When John went in to see how bad the price tag was, he was elated to discover that it was $2.19/gal. That is like the best bargain price ever and to think that we got it when we were desperate and without options is amazing!
Then we set off for ‘that’ place. I told John that this was his thing and it was his job to figure out pricing and maps and make sure that he got to see everything he wanted to see. (The internet says you should plan at least 3 days here and I honestly can’t even imagine the horror, it was bad enough when I found out that they don’t actually close at 5 like the internet said!) John went up to talk to a very chatty, but nice lady at the ticket counter and I wrangled the kids. They talked for a VERY long time, but she gave John some great information and best of all, they got to chatting and she asked if he was military and he said that he was a vet, but hadn’t retired from the military and she told him that he was still eligible for the military discount which is 50% off! I can certainly pull together a “Hip, Hip, Huzzah” for that!
We then went and boarded a bus and opted to get off at the Governor’s Palace. We looked around outside and the kids were obsessed with the steps to nowhere. They had a staircase that would have been used to climb into a wagon or a carriage.
I should back up just a tiny bit right here. One of the things that has been really cool on this trip is how we have encountered things in multiple places. For example, we learned about the tea party stuff in Boston and that is where Benjamin Franklin was born. He is buried in Philadelphia and we saw his grave when we were there. We stopped at Plymouth rock in Massachusetts and there is supposed to be a replica of the Mayflower in Plymouth, but it was in Connecticut being restored and we saw the ship when we were in Connecticut. We visited the 9/11 memorial in NYC and then saw mangled pieces of the structure at the Smithsonian in DC. I could go on, but I won’t. And, while a 60 minute Boston Tea Party experience set back in the 1700s is interesting, spending a whole day or *gulp* multiple days thrown back 300 years is just not my cup of tea (pun intended). One last point here, at the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum (which my kids still keep talking about) we started in a room with the town meeting that was a recreation of the night of the tea party. They taught my kids about Huzzah! (which is a cheer and generally accompanied by thrusting your fist into the air) and Fie! (which is negative and accompanied by placing your thumb on your nose and wiggling your fingers in the air). And both kids, especially Levi, picked right up on that! Back to Williamsburg…
Before we walked out of this little courtyard at the Governor’s palace, there was a female employee, in period dress, sitting in the doorway. We all used the restroom and the boys got done first and were standing just outside this doorway talking to the lady. As Trista and I were walking toward them, Levi yelled “Fie!” along with the gesture to the lady. She was obviously tickled, but a little taken aback and said, “Did you just ‘Fie’ me?” Levi got embarrassed and hid himself squarely behind John’s legs, waited a few seconds and peeked around John’s legs and did it again! We all had a good laugh about it, I doubt that ever happened to her before and to be honest, I was trying to figure out if I should scold him or not, because I truly am not sure how offensive that is or what the modern equivalent would be!
From there we took the tour of the Governor’s Palace and were blown away at how lavish it was and how many weapons were on display! It was really something to see. Our tour guide was an older gentleman and he did an absolutely fantastic job of guiding the tour. He stayed in character while giving the tour and while I am sure he says the same things multiple times per day, it did not feel canned or corny in anyway! I really enjoyed this. (Don’t tell John!)
After this we were all hungry. We hadn’t packed a picnic today, because we opted not to take the time this morning and we were driving our RV, so we figured when we got hungry, we could just head out to the RV in the parking lot and fix lunch. We did not realize that from where we parked, we would be bused so far away. It would have taken way too much time to go back to the RV, so we set out to find food. I have always loved to eat out, but now that we have dietary restrictions (that are not negotiable), I really hate it. We have some places we know we can go and we know what we can order and that is ok. If I have had time to do some research ahead of time, it isn’t so bad, but situations where we are starving and there are limited options are not fun and this was one of those. I did a super quick Google search and it said most of the taverns would be able to accommodate our needs. We walked to the closest one and the choices did not look promising. I was hungry and a fourth of a head of ice berg lettuce and some pickles weren’t gonna do it. John said the other places were a lot further, but I was willing to go. We went to the next place and their menu indicated they would be able to make accommodations, “Ask your server”. We went in and were seated and right away our server says, “Our Made Dish of Beef is by far our most popular dish and the most authentic to the time.” John told him about our dietary issues and he told us that dish would definitely be ok for us and then mentioned a couple of other options. It sounded good and we both ordered it. When it finally arrived (after my kids had feasted on warm dinner rolls with butter, which was excruciating to watch) it was honestly one of the most delicious things that I have ever tasted. Trista ordered off of the kids menu and asked to taste a bit and said even she wished she had gotten it! THEN, because John had the Military mark on his entrance badge, the server made sure to tell us he had applied the military discount to our bill! It wasn’t 50%, but I’m certainly not complaining!
One other thing worth mentioning about this restaurant is that there were open dishes of salt and sugar. I know definitively what they were because of course my family sampled them. All I kept thinking about when looking at open containers of salt and sugar on every table was the horror stories you hear about the ball pits at Chuck E. Cheese and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Thank goodness that I did not require the use of salt or sugar! Here is a picture of my hooligan family at lunch. You can see the open containers.
As we were leaving lunch, Levi climbed up on a box and said, “Take my picture!”
“Levi, are you a statue?”
“NO! I am a ‘T’!”
After lunch, we spent the afternoon walking and looking at old boring stuff and walking some more.
The kids tried on old fashioned splints at the Apothecary.
We learned about weaving fabric.
We saw how bricks were made. Some kid threw a stick into the clay pit where they get the clay to make the bricks and the worker made him go fish it out! Twice this week, my personal experiences have been enhanced by the ignorance of others (see the coffee incident at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier)!
We went to the Silversmith, the Blacksmith, the shoe maker, the carpenter, the cabinet maker, the gunsmith and probably more. We got to pet the horses that were pulling carriages. We saw an oxen led cart going down the street.
The other cool thing we got to do, thanks to my handsome Veteran, was visit the Liberty Lounge. They have a place set up for military visitors (active, retired or prior service) and their guests. John wanted to check it out, so we went. We received a very warm greeting from the couple that was working there today. We signed into the guest book and were offered coffee, tea, hot chocolate or cold water. The lady shooed some people away from the table to make room for Trista and Levi to color! There were a couple of other military couples in there and the men stood around and talked about their service. We stayed long enough for Levi to color two pictures using only red and the lady hung them on the wall. When it was time to go, he left one picture and took the other one, which was funny because he colored a picture of a person working at a carpentry table and our very next stop was the carpentry area and a lady was sitting at a table identical to the one Levi colored. She noticed his drawing and used it to show him what she was doing!
At 5 o’clock, there was a Fife and Drum Corps that was scheduled to march around the Courthouse and I wanted to see it. It was an absolute assault to the senses and we didn’t stay long.*
We made our way back to the bus and back to our RV and we made friends with a family on the bus. Levi was especially smitten with their youngest daughter, who was so beautiful (all of their children were). When we got off the bus, Levi and this little girl set off together holding hands. It was the most precious thing I have seen and her sister and I each got pictures of them together. I did not ask her mother permission to post this precious pic, so I won’t post it, but we did give them a Carkeet Caravan card, so if you are reading this, may I please post the picture?
I have to say that today wasn’t entirely as awful as I expected, but I sure wasn’t racing up to the ticket counter to upgrade to a multi-day ticket! John enjoyed it and it was fun to see him really enjoying himself!
*From my days in concert and marching band, Q. How do you tune two piccolos?
A. Shoot one of them.
The same is true of Fifes.