Day 2: Colonial Times to Civil War Years...

The next day we were up early for a yummy breakfast at our B&B and ready to see some Colonial sights! This will be a VERY picture-heavy post as we saw lots and lots of things in this jam-packed day. We also squeezed in a carriage ride, our anniversary dinner and a night program. So, here we go!

First we made a stop at the coffee shop so I could get something they were famous for… a Chocolate Chai. OH MY it was good. Then a funny thing happened as we were leaving… I saw someone I knew – all the way in Virginia!! I was shocked to see a familiar face! Leigh and I worked at Samsung together many moons ago. Our tight group of friends from there hung out for a long time after we had all left that insane workplace. Since then, Leigh has moved to Richmond and is married to her longtime boyfriend! Richmond is still a couple of hours from Williamsburg, so it was a TOTAL fluke that they had come to the area for a weekend outing. It was so random and unexpected!!

 

So, after Leigh and I caught up for a few minutes, Brad and I ventured out. We toured the entire Colonial area. This included the Magazine, the Governor’s Palace, every store front, all the trades (Blacksmith, Carpenter, Silversmith, etc.), the Courthouse and the Jail.

Sweet, sleepy lamb.

Armory Shop

Watch out!

Beautiful gardens at the Governor's Palace

Gates of the Palace

Cook preparing dinner at the Palace.

I can still see you Brad!

Jail cell where members of Blackbeard's crew were held before they were hung.

After a bite to eat for lunch, we had a date planned… with a horse and carriage!! It is a short trip around the area but these tickets are tough to get and sell out every day. We had made sure to get our ticket first thing that morning and our designated time was 2PM. It was a nice break for our tired feet. 

After our ride, we saw more things and watched some of the daily re-enactment they put on. 

The Silversmith's Shop

Show me your guns!!

Storytelling in the Magazine Building

Goods at a store.

They made change in a very interesting way... by cutting up large coins!

Blacksmith Shop

The Red Coats coming to clear the streets.

Getting directions from one of the Locals.

I made Brad take this picture... I found it VERY funny that a realistic Colonial town has the newest light bulbs!

Carpenter's Shop

We were pooped, so we headed back to the B&B and took a nap. Then we headed out for a super fancy dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Even though our anniversary was actually the next day, our plans for that day were more of the “scream your head off on a roller coaster type”. So, we “observed” the occasion while in Williamsburg at an awesome restaurant called Berret’s.

Horrible picture - but it is the only one of our dinner.

After having a yummy dinner and topping it off with a Pumpkin Crème Brulee, we jumped on the bus back to the Colonial area. We don’t have any pictures of what we did next, but trust me that it was AWESOME!

Our night program was a Walking Tour called “Women of the Civil War”. I have never done anything like this and I LOVED how they did it. With a tour guide, our group walked through the Colonial area with a lantern. As we walked she told us about Williamsburg during the Civil War (up until then, all of our focus had been on Colonial times and the Revolutionary War). The town was located right along the Union/Confederate line so it saw a lot of action. She talked specifically about the role of women. Along the way we met with 4 women (in character) that told us about their lives. The first was a Confederate sympathizer whose husband had gone off to fight against the Union. She talked about how much the town had changed and those “dreadful” Union soldiers taking the town. The next woman was a former slave who had worked to buy her freedom and now worked as a Baker. She and her husband fed the Union soldiers pie and were known to be friendly towards them. What the soldiers didn’t know was they were reporting anything they heard back to the Confederacy! The next woman we met was the director of all the Nurses in Williamsburg. Since they were so close to the front lines, all the large buildings in town became makeshift hospitals. Both sides of the war were ill-prepared for the type of wounds and the high count of casualties. The final woman was a Union sympathizer whose son was fighting in the war. She talked about being at home, trying to keep things running while ALL of the able-bodied men were gone.

The walking tour was SO COOL!!! What a fantastic way to enjoy the night air, see the town in a different way and learn stuff! I absolutely loved this and it was a great way to end our visit to Williamsburg. If you are ever in the area, I can’t recommend the Colonial Williamsburg experience enough. And while you are at it- stay at the Fife and Drum Inn. It is owned by a gracious couple and they are so knowledgeable about the area.

After our tour, we turned in for the night. We had an early wake-up call and a full day of adventure ahead of us!!