Category: Virginia

But even bigger business was tobacco. John Rolfe was the originator in the new strain of tobacco that helped our first permanent English settlement become a success oh so long ago.

Candle making was big business.

It was really neat to see how they preserved and prepared all of their foods.

Ryder wasn’t quite tall enough, I guess he gets to slide for another year ha 🙂

The kiddos were so surprised to hear that this would actually be their job!

Olivia couldn’t believe this was for real babies 🙂

Old farmhouse dinner table.

Old farmhouse replica.

This woman was so unbelievably good with the kids. She took the time to go through every detail of the British Musket with as as well as cannon ball talk. The kids not only watched her fire the musket but held the weapon as well as a couple of different cannon balls. So amazing. We also saw the firing of the cannon. Which hubby helped move it into firing range. So cool.

The far white tents are the 6 man tents. The closer white tent is for an officer. Trust me, there is not nearly enough room for 6 men in there. But Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben who wrote the Revolutionary War Drill Manual felt that keeping the men in close quarters built camaraderie.

Camp kitchen of old. You would have 6 men to a tent and of the 6 each would take turns in the kitchen.

A laundry station that would have been occupied by women and children traveling with the troops. And yes that wooden tent is their living area. And you think laundry is tough now 🙂

Ryder in Cornwallis’s tent going over some maps before the siege 🙂

Olivia in the replica tent of General Cornwallis. Getting ready to eat some navy beans, park and hard bread…yum!

Hubby sharing some words of wisdom with President Washington 🙂

The kids and dad with Mr. George Washington 🙂

The kids and dad with Mr. George Washington 🙂

These baskets were used to build the earthworks in the battlefield. Cornwallis and his men worked day and night for several weeks preparing for the siege that was yet to come.

Redoubt #9 was captured in a matter of 30 minutes. Redoubt #10 nearby was captured in about 10 minutes armed with bayonets. Pretty impressive.

A view from the battlefield.

It was pretty chilly out. At least for us San Diegans. We all had multiple layers of clothes on. But it made for a fun time. At every stop the rangers would talk about how awful it was to have fought in the heat, I suppose it made us thankful we were visiting in winter 🙂

Where the long war came to an end. There are so many interesting facts about this battle. Once again we had a magnificent tour guide who had a lot to say. It is of her opinion that without the Naval battle that occurred in the York River to secure the area we would all be speaking a bit differently today. It’s amazing how many things lined up for this patriot victory. Strategy, risk and of all things weather all came together. Here is a picture of one of the few original structures left standing in the town. Because this was a heavy artillery battle much of the town was destroyed.

Doesn’t life on the road for Jambs look rough? haha good thing he can fit in those cat naps 🙂

More light show 🙂

After a great day in Historic Jamestowne we headed over to a drive through light show. Pretty awesome! We’ve never done anything like it before 🙂 The kids thought it was really cool.

Statue of Captain John Smith

Me and the babies 🙂

A beautiful Virginia sunset.

Ryder and Pocahontas. Research indicates that Indian tribes were prevalent here as early as 2000 years ago. As time has passed the island has experienced significant erosion making it into a marsh land. Apparently the land was much more inhabitable years prior.

Olivia and Pocahontas. Again with our interpretation of history…Disney and some history books tell us that Pocahontas and John Smith were an item but in actuality she married John Rolfe.

The church as it is today. They no longer hold services but they do offer wedding services here. Very simple inside and again it sits in exactly the same site as the original brick church. You can even see the original cobblestone and brick foundation inside.

This brick tower is part of the original church in Jamestowne Fort. It was built in 1619 to replace their first church built of wood planks. It is three stories high and the walls are 3 feet thick.

Replica of the barracks in the fort. Archaeologists are currently working on multiple sites in the fort. The ranger explained that all the structures are in the exact location of the original buildings. As well as the palisades. It was an incredible feeling to be standing in the very same spot where some of the most amazing historic events took place.

Model of the original Jamestowne colony. We had the most amazing tour guide at this location. He was so enthusiastic and you could tell he totally loved his job. He gave us more info in our hour with him than I have learned in my weeks of research. He brought up a very good point about the “first colonists” who we typically know as the pilgrims. He asked why in our history books the pilgrims get so much credit for being the first settlers in America. The reason is simple but I had never really thought about until now. The Virginia Company set up the expedition for the Jamestowne settlers purely for profit. They hoped for the almighty dollar. Where as the Pilgrims were in search of religious freedom, and as we learned, there certainly was not any religious freedom in the Jamestowne colony. Once Lord De La Warr took over, most crimes, especially religious crimes were punishable by death. In any case I suppose we chose the fanciful story of freedom over the truth. I personally would just like the facts but as we have all come to learn history is one great, and often times, a fictional story.

Replica of a colonial home. There was one place there was a fire burning all day everyday in colonial townes and that was the Guard House. At any given moment they needed to be able to light a match so they always kept these areas warm and dry.

Dad even had flowers on his hat 🙂

Such a fun time 🙂

Ready for battle. We saw a couple of great demonstrations of musket shooting and even got to see one fired. There was a whole lot of work that went into reloading that gun. It’s amazing!

The colonies first cash crop…Tobacco.

Ye’ Olde Black Smith. So basically everything for the last 3 days has been Ye’ Olde.Thanks for this hubby! And now even the kids have succumb to this catchy phrase. Today we saw the Ye’ Olde water fountain, the Ye’ Olde trashcan and the Ye’ Olde sidewalk. Just to name a few…of the oh so many haha 🙂

I was trying to explain to Olivia just how much work we would have to do back then. But the fun of grinding corn was just too exciting. One thing I thought was interesting was that in the Yehakins (the sleeping area) they had a fire burning all day everyday 365 days a year. Now in the winter you can understand the need but in the summer it makes less sense until you find out that having a fire burning in the miserable Virginia heat actually makes the weather more tolerable because it dries out the air. The side effect of the fire is being able to dry meats and keep rodents away. But the primary reason is to rid the air of humidity. Crazy!

A Powhatan pestle used to grind corn. The kids thought these were pretty cool. It was really neat to see the different technologies amongst the Powhatan tribe, the English and the Angolans. I think the Powhatan’s had the best tool for the job even though these used stone instead of iron. The size and shape of their tools seemed a much better fit to get the job done. Another great tool from the Powhatan tribe…The very first crock pot. They made these uniquely shaped pots almost a cone shape and would bury part of it in the hot coals of the fire. The women would throw in what was available and heat it throughout the day, very set it and forget style. That way whenever you were hungry you could just stop by and take a scoop. Brilliant! Although this didn’t mean the Indian Woman could just lounge around all day, she had a whole lot of work to do ha!

A bunk from the Susan Constant. This ship held nearly 70 men, not nearly enough bunks to accommodate all the passengers.

The kids and dad aboard the Susan Constant replica. One of the 3 ships that carried the colonists to the new colony. While these boats weren’t exactly small in size it was hard to imagine their journey across the Atlantic. Especially considering the colonists were not allowed on deck. They made the trek below deck with stacks and stacks of cargo.

Ever heard the phrase…”Mad as a hatter” Well now I know why…When we were in the Indian Village our tour guide explained to us that the Indians would trade beaver hides to the English. The English would make beautiful hats out of these beaver skins. Apparently the beaver fur is very fine so the hats would be made in close quarters. Back then the process required the use of mercury. After breathing in the mercury day after day the hat makers would start acting a little funny. Hence…Mad as a hatter 🙂

We had a great time in Jamestowne yesterday. So much history and my favorite kind too. History debunked. There is so much history that has been interpreted just to make a pretty story. So when we go to these historical sights I love to hear all about how my text books had it wrong!

I can’t wait to see what Colonial Williamsburg has to offer. I’ve done the research, mapped it out and made the spreadsheets. Come Tuesday we will put all moms hard work to the test. I hope it’s great!!!

We’ve enjoyed our downtime here in Virgina. We haven’t been out too much, just a little shopping for the kids. We have been resting up for our Christmas Extravaganza. We pulled into our Christmas RV park yesterday complete with indoor hot tub and pool, playground, mini-golf and game room. We played at the pool yesterday, so fun to just play and be silly with the kids. We went out today and wrapped up all of our Christmas errands so come Monday we will be ready for all the festivities that await 🙂

The kiddos wanted to see Santa today so we came across the Yankee Candle Holiday Village. It’s a bit difficult at times fumbling around towns trying to find your way. Fun, frustrating and sometimes gas guzzling hahaha I’ve learned that we tend to take our familiar surroundings for granted. Little things like finding a Santa proved to be a bit more of a challenge than I had planned but it was well worth the effort.