Next on the list of not-to-be-missed local wonders: the Jamestown Settlement.
Jamestown was settled in 1607, but it wasn't easy. Famine, disease, and war with the local natives picked off the settlers by the dozens. Still they persevered.
Jamestown's is the best historical museum I've ever seen. Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures of the inside of the building so let me just summarize - truly awesome. Our ticket purchase allowed us to come back a second day and so we did.
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| Pocahantas was the favored daughter of the leader of the local natives. As tribe emissary she spent significant time with the Jamestown settlers, eventually marrying a young tobacco farmer. This alliance brought some peace to the settlement for a while. |
A team of glass-blowers work just steps from the site of the original kiln from 1607. Glass was the first manufactured product exported to England from the New World.
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| Glass is over 1000 degrees while it's being worked on. The team of two worked seamlessly together. |
We decided to take another crack at Williamsburg, we were hoping Sunday afternoon would be a better window to try a tavern dinner (after our last post family and friends insisted they were not to be missed); it worked out perfectly. There were a few families and some tourists, but not the crazy mobs we had endured before.
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| Sunday's pace was much calmer, with a few families playing on the lawn |
We arrived just in time for a shooting of the big cannon (the whole Earth rumbled) and a parade complete with drums, hoping to literally "drum up" some attention for the pending revolution.
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| Our tavern of choice for dinner |
Our dinner was simple period-appropriate tavern fare, complete with locally-made ale. The restaurant usually has a bard to sing and spread stories, but ours was out sick so we amused ourselves with the wooden board game on the table.
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| The Preservation Society is hard at work refurbishing this home from the 1600s |
I'm so glad we went back and tried again, our second visit to Williamsburg was relaxing and fun, definitely a better experience the second time around without the crowd.
The rural area around Jamestown and Williamsburg is laced with bicycle paths and historical markers. Beautiful. We will definitely be back, next time we'll plan to stay longer.
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| Bicycle path just outside the Jamestown Settlement |
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