Sunday, November 4, 2012

Historic Jamestown - Day 3

The morning was brisk!  It was a mere 44 degrees when we left the house after our toast and egg with coffee breakfast.......We got out earlier today as we had much to see....


We were running low on food stuff and also needed to get something for a toothache that seemed to be closing in on me!  I had never seen a Target store with a full grocery section....wow....cool beans....:-)



Now, you would think that as common as tea tree oil is, they would have had some at the store.  There was none to be found.....:-(.  But they did to my great surprise have "clove oil" which would help greatly with the pain.  It doesn't however do anything for bacteria which was my biggest concern.  But at least I wouldn't have to be in pain all day.  Then I saw the maximum strength orajel stuff that I had never used before.  I decided to leave the tiny bottle of clove oil home and take the tube or orajel with me........BIG MISTAKE!  I ached all day........



As we rode along we came across some historic places that were just too wordy for me to rewrite here, but it was a nice view anyway.....ha.



I have always loved the water, but I'm sure the misquitoes are merciless in the summer months....

I did manage to grab a shot of this.......just FYI......

that little speck over there is Christo taking a picture of me.........:-).  Gottcha!.....ha



Now, it was time to get back in the car and make our way to our next destination.....


If you took the time to look around, you would see everything from lovers holder hands to solitary souls fishing on the banks of the James River.....:-).


ahhhh love..........:-)


I didn't take the time to read this, but thought you might want to give it a whirl.... I tried to zoom in, but the closer I got, the more of it I lost around the edges.........sorry....:-(



Well, we still had not made it to Jamestown, so we had to skiddatel down the road....  I caught this pic "on the fly".......


as we approached Jamestown, we began to see small boats.......


And......large boats......


And here we are!  The visitor's center....




Where I was able to use this card for the first time AND get my friends in for free as well.....Yay!  It is a National Parks Pass which gets me and three other adults in for free at most national parks or at least in for a considerable discount.  Today, free was the order of the day.  I had only had this in my possession for less than a week.......:-).  Cool- eh?


We got our entry stickers and set out to see what Jamestown had to offer.  First order of business was to walk across this long bridge over to the town.........



I got caught up in the moment and realized that I was being left behind!  Hey!!!......ha


and there in the distance it flew.......The Union Jack (British flag).....


and then we saw this church that had been there for 400 years complete with a small cemetary.....



Another view of the James River.........


It is quite sobering to think that this is where it all began.....The United States Of America.  While we have made significant progress in area mountain of society, we still have a VERY long way to go.........



I don't much care for obelisk as I know the origin, but I did like this scene since most of it was hidden from view at this angle.........


When we entered the ancient gate of the grounds, there stood a bronze statue of Pocahantas...daughter of Chief Powhatan...



for some reason, several helicopters were flying over head.  I happen to catch this one before it dissappeared into the sky with the others.......


I turned my attention toward the cemetary where people had been layed to rest several hundred years ago....some of the graves had literally been pushed to pieces by the roots of a huge oak tree and had to be restored........


this is what is left of a wall that was excavated as part of the original building........



This is the wall of James Fort......some places on the wall had ditches dug on the other side.  I would imagine that if an enemy breached the wall, they would fall into it!  We still use that tactic today.....we call them trenches and fox holes.........


and this is the main entrance of the church which served as the site of the first continental congress took place......wow.....Congress has definately gotten too big!.....:-(


 This is the enterior.   As I walked through, I was struck by the dichotomy and the hypocracy of the settlers that took place a little over 100 years later. They were fleeing the rule of Britain while literally enslaving other nations and declaring them "real estate".......yep.  You heard me, folks.....":real estate".   All the while praying for God's blessings upon their efforts.......hummmm......


The Union Jack and a cannon that was position to defend James Fort.



These were the barracks that were restored to look like the original frame of the one that was excavated......


by now, my dogs were barking!  Meaning, my feet were hurting....haha.  I decided to take a break......



I absolutely love sitting by the water.........


I headed around to the other side of the church to do a little reading about the graves of the Blair family.... very interesting but too lengthy to write about here...ha.



I wish this picture had come out a bit better, but the sun was facing me and I couldn't get a clear shot.  But, where the crosses are is where bodies had been excavated.  I'm not sure of how the people died; war or desease........


This shot is just across the path from the other.......



after spending far too much time in this area, we decided to set out to find our friends who had long ago gone missing!  We ran into two wells along the way that of course were no longer in use.  this is one of them.


Well, it was time to start our trek back to the parking lot and go and find some dinner.  We skipped lunch so we were all getting pretty hungry by now.


Christo decided to take the road that went around the town site and we came across several of these strange, curvey bridge type thingees.......kinda bumpy though.  So, I was glad that I was NOT on Ms Vickey (my scooter).


and away we went.......



through the town of Berkley........


And back to Williamsburg to have dinner here........



The decor was nice and I was looking forward to a good steak dinner.........so was he! ha


ok, I think he's settling down now........:-).......


We ate our meals and headed back to the plantation..........



Where I settled in with a cup of decaf java and thought about the possibilty of some icecream that was calling my name in the kitchen......:-).



I bid you a good night!

7 comments:

Pastor Chris said...

Very nicely done Baby. Your take on the day shows me things I missed and adds to the experience to make it richer and fuller than it already is. A great post by a great lady...XXOO

Tripping Sister! said...

aaaawwwwww, thanks.......:-)

Unknown said...

I always enjoy these!! Thanks for sharing your adventures!!!

Anonymous said...

It's been years and years since I was in Williamsburg, and I don't know a thing about it, to be clear, but I had to smile when you commented on seeing where our country started. I know a few New Englanders who would argue that point. And what WE call the First Continental Congress happened in Philadelphia, lol. It was good to see pictures of the seafood buffet, which I still had snippets of memory from, and as always, I enjoyed your stories and pictures.
Deb

Tripping Sister! said...

Hey Deb,

You know being born and raised in Philadelphia, you would think I would have my facts straight...ha. Suffice it to say that my husband (Canadian) got me straightened out. The Jamestown settled was dispatched by Britain to establish a colony and to send their goods back to the Crown. After a few years, they asked Britian for what they felt was "their fare share" for all of the work they were doing and were denied. So,they revolted against England. Thus the Continental Congress was born.

Now, in Philadelphia in 1776 is when the United States of American was formed by way of the Constitution. I remember the huge citywide party that took place the year I graduated from high school which was 1976. What a crazy year that was!

Trobairitz said...

Very nice tour.

I've never been there so it is nice to follow along with you.

Tripping Sister! said...

Thanks, Trobairitz,

I had not been through as a tourist before either. So, it was quite interesting to see and experience.