Our long day’s journey into the past… Part two (so tired and only our first stop)

Tired of walking? Complainers are punished.

After enjoying ginger cake for a light lunch on the street, we ended our walking tour of Colonial Williamsburg with a stop at the Capitol Building.  I am so glad we started at the Palace and ended at the Capitol because, here, it is June of 1776 and the colony of Virginia has just declared itself independent from Britain and written its own Bill of Rights from which Thomas Jefferson would take many ideas from while writing the Declaration of Independence. For this reason, if you are doing Williamsburg in one day, start at the Palace in 1775 and end at the Capitol in 1776.

Emma in the House of Burgesses

Our tour guide in the capitol was totally into her role as well.   She told of being allowed to watch the many debates in the former House of Burgesses and gave details of how Patrick Henry had rallied the colonists into patriots.  He had ordered the Royal Governor’s office to be left as is so we could see how quickly he had departed, but he had plans to sell all of the items to raise money to support the new Continental Army. 

Don’t I sound like I was really there?  That’s how they make you feel in Williamsburg and it is the beauty of it all.  When Rector W.A.R. Goodwin imagined and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. funded the restoration, they created the largest living museum in the world.  They wanted Americans to step back in time and remember the life as our founding fathers knew it.  Thankfully, the actors, historians and many other workers dedicate their work to this preservation so we can travel back in time and drag our kids with us.

Game Pie at King's Arms

We dined at another historic tavern on our last night, Christiana Campbell’s tavern.  Offering a more seafood based menu, this tavern also had actors and musicians traveling around the tables engaging each in conversation and song.  Personally, I liked the food better at the King’s Arms, but I enjoyed the food at Christiana’s, too.

Anabel and I enjoyed the King's Arms Tavern the best.

Finally, we ended our evening with a tavern ghost tour- not as scary or even slightly chilling as the ghost tour in Savannah, but fun just the same.  While we enjoyed walking the old town streets at night, Tour Guide Lindsay (a history student working on her doctorate at nearby William and Mary) spun tales about the many ghosts that roam the taverns and shops of Williamsburg.  We recommend this tour for good old family fun; no worries about nightmares.  After this day, we were too tired to dream, anyway.