May - Williamsburg

Jamestown Settlement

Here we are at our first stop, Jamestown Settlement. We loved this site for its hands-on nature. The kids had a great time watching the movie, then going aboard ships, into buildings in the fort and wigwams in the Powhatan Indian village, tying knots on fishing nets, touching all kinds of animal furs, grinding cornmeal, trying on armor, reclining on beds, washing clothes, lifting water buckets, and more. These good first impressions set the tone for a positive experience the rest of the trip, with the possible exception of the live gunfire demo.

We liked how this fountain represented the three ships. I'm glad the man who snapped this photo for us kept us small to fit the whole fountain in the frame because it is actually the end of our day, and we are tired, hot, sticky, sweaty, grimy, dusty, and dishevelled beyond description. We could not wait to check in at the resort and jump in the pool!

Like Almanzo carrying the maple syrup buckets during sugaring time.

Father working hard.

There's a man after my heart, doing the laundry.

Ready to protect his family from the dangers lurking all around the fort.

Pretending we're drifting downstream in our dugout canoe.

We were able to take tours of replicas of the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, the three square-rigged sailing vessels that brought the original colonists to Jamestown.

Grinding cornmeal at the Powhatan village.

***
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

We saw a duck family with a dozen children in the lake at the resort. That is one amazing mamma duck!

The boys did much better at miniature golf this year, although they were not too big on form and played ambidextrously as well (note the left handed putt). I guess I don't have any pictures from the pool, but they had a blast swimming. Joshua made a lot of progress conquering his fears and was floating with a noodle all by himself! David still vividly recalls his dunking in Williamsburg last year and was a bit more cautious than his big bro.

***

Colonial Williamsburg

David was infatuated with these pigs. He kept asking to see them, and we did in fact make a point to go back the next day so he could admire them some more.

Bad Mommy.

Outside the Armory.

One of the boys' favorite parts of the trip, the Fifes and Drums.

I have to add here that while last year Joshua enjoyed the horses, this year he most decidedly did not. He insisted on turning away or covering his eyes anytime any horses were in sight, which caused him to bump into quite a few things while walking. However, a highlight for David came when George Washington's white horse dumped a huge load of you-know-what right in front of us during the Revolutionary City show. Maybe it even outranks the Fifes and Drums?

Williamsburg charm.

Hauling a bucket of water up from the well.

Having lugged it through the garden and received help to dump it somewhere, now they are going back for more. We later saw one of these handmade buckets for sale for $175. Anyone want to buy a bucket? And then let your preschoolers play with it?

****

Yorktown Victory Center

This was another fun place for the boys with so many hands-on things they could do.

They had a room where kids could dress up in costumes (way too big for our boys but they still enjoyed it). We went there more to escape the cannon and musket demonstration, which they heard fired in Jamestown and decided was much too loud for their taste.

Love my young patriots!

Washing more clothes.

Armed and dangerous with his musket.

It seemed like we heard "there's something in my shoe!" a million times from both kids. Fortunately there was this handy Continental Army tent with a chest to sit on for easy removal of the offending objects.

All in all, we accomplished above and beyond what we expected in terms of sight seeing. In spite of the heat, the boys did a great job walking and being interested in the historic scenes around us. And it was so nice to be able to go back "home" and splash in the pool, eat popsicles, and rest in air-conditioned comfort. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Kinsinger, for a wonderful vacation!