July 30th through August 10th, 2024
We had two weeks in Williamsburg, Virginia already and we still had lots to see and do before we headed to our next location. We started our last week with a scenic drive to Onancock, Virginia to have dinner with Paula and Gayle next to the water on the Eastern Shore. The toll to get from our peninsula to theirs was $22 for the round trip, but it was very interesting and beautiful. We had to cross the entire Chesapeake Bay via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, 17.6 miles of continuous road without an intersection that went above the water in spots and below it in others. It was way too cool.
We went to a jewelry store for some repairs and cleaning, and since then we started talking more about our future together. We knew we were in it for the long haul, but we hadn't really decided to make it official. Seeing engagement rings started those conversations, and we decided we wanted to make honest women out of ourselves. We got engaged on August 1st!
Neither of us wanted a big wedding or reception. We'll get married at some point soon (no gifts, please, we have nowhere to put anything!). When we see our friends and family we will request a nice dinner out with them. Nice and easy.
We were close to Richmond where a lot of Civil War activities took place. First, we visited the Chimborazo Medical Museum, a part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park. It was a good way to learn about the battles for Richmond, but we learned a lot more about the way medical professionals and helping hands took care of the wounded. More than 75,000 soldiers were treated in that single location. It was an eye opener.
We visited the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site in town, for a nice change of pace. Most of the parks in the area were centered on either the Revolutionary or Civil War, but this park highlighted an important woman's life -- a woman we'd never heard of. She was a civil rights leader, bank president, and an influential person. We missed the tour of her house (and we didn't take any pictures), but we were able to watch a movie about her life. We really liked the experience.
We were staying in Williamsburg, right down the road from Colonial Williamsburg. A lot of important events happened in that area, so we had a lot of visits to make. It took a bit to figure out we were in the middle of it all, and it helps to understand how it's laid out.
Colonial National Historic Park is focused on the first settlements from Europe and some key battles. It has two, main locations. The York River on one side of the peninsula has the Yorktown Battlefield where General George Washington won the last battle of the Revolutionary War. The James River is on the other side of the relatively narrow peninsula where Historic Jamestowne is, where Captain John Smith and Pocahontas started one of the first colonies. Normally, the two sites are connected by a scenic, meandering Colonial Parkway. Unfortunately, part of it was closed for repairs so we only saw a bit of it.
We visited the Yorktown Battlefield first. The visitor center was nice, but the highlight was a long auto tour that went by all of the major battlefields and historical locations. It was informative, but it was also very pretty. The auto tours from the National Parks Service are always nice, with narration that begins when you get to a site. There were also a few accompanying photos in the app. It was very well done.
On another day, we visited Jamestowne. There was another nice drive there, a big loop around the small island where the town was located. Again, it was beautiful. We didn't have enough time to go to the town itself, but we heard it was a "touristy" place. But we did spend some time watching them blow examples of the glass pieces they sell at nearly every national park store. It was amazing to watch, and a very relaxing stop.
And there were definitely tourists in the area, us included. If you wanted ice cream, they had shops next to t-shirt shops and other gifts every few yards, it seemed. And the main draw was Colonial Williamsburg. Unlike most of the other places we visit, Colonial Williamsburg is not a national park. It's 301 acres without fences around them, so you can park in town and walk right in. You can explore it for free, and many locals were walking their dogs and enjoying the car-free area.
However, you can buy tickets to explore the buildings, homes, and spaces with privileged access. We bought a daily pass without any of the extras, and it was perfect. We went on a few tours, and they were led by guides in period clothing. They were very knowledgeable and entertaining. Margot got to pet one of the sheep, with animals that had bloodlines from back in colonial days. We also watched a musket shooting, went to a blacksmith, and saw how they used to make shoes and leather pants.
Even with all of those activities, we didn't stay very long. In the end, it wasn't as interesting to us as the national historic sites have been. No regrets -- but we were glad we didn't spend more on extra tickets to things.
We even had a couple more national parks to see on our last full day in Williamsburg. We drove a bit of a distance to see the George Washington Birthplace National Monument. It was on Pope's Creek, a wide, slow-moving river on the border with Maryland at the Potomoc River. We would have loved it just for the views and the quiet. Though none of the buildings there are original, we can now say we walked the lands that George walked when he was a kid. It was a lovely stop.
We were also able to visit the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, a sprawling, multi-location area where the bloodiest and most destructive battles were fought to bring an eventual end to the Civil War. We were struggling to remember where battles were fought and even which war they were fought in, but we tried to remember it all. We started at the Fredericksburg Battlefield and then we drove to many other battlefields in the area before heading home to pack up.
We tried to extend our stay in Williamsburg, but our wonderful campsite was already booked after we were scheduled to leave. We wouldn't mind coming back to visit, again -- we had a great time!
