Another day in 1776
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Jul 7, 2008
We got to spend another interesting day in Colonial Williamsburg on the 5th of July. It was definitely less crowded than the 4th.The day started with a glimpse into how the wealthiest of the wealthy lived in the Governor's Palace. It seems so strange to have a "palace" in a small town like Williamsburg, but there it was. I have to say it was a beautiful building. The original burned down, but the reconstruction is almost identical and is nearly a 100 years old in and of itself. So interesting! We took lots of pictures and wandered the English garden. Reminded us a lot of Hampton Court in England.
After the Palace we headed to the town square where the re-enactments were happening. It was very interesting to see and hear how things were in 1775 and 76 just before the Revolution. Michael was finding it all a bit tedious though and was ready for lunch. We had lunch in another old tavern, but to pay $9.50 for a turkey sandwich was a bit much!!
Lunch was the last stop for Bryce and Michael as they decided they wanted to return to 2008 and go back to our hotel. Mom, Dad, Laura and I stayed and continued to enjoy the history and and surrounds of Williamsburg.
We visited the brickyard (watched them make real bricks), the cabinet makers (the building crosses a ravine with a stream - so pretty), the Peyton Randolph house (he was the Speaker of the House of Burgesses and should have signed the Declaration, but fell ill), Wyeth House and sundry other old buildings.
The Randolphy house was particuarly interesting as it was an actual tour and each person in the group was representing a member of the household. The majority were slaves. We had an African American man as our guide and he shared a lot about slavery and how things worked in Revolutionary times. Did you know that Massachusetts was the first colony to legalize slavery? Ironic.
Anyway, it was a great day. Bryce picked us up just as the rain began to fall and we had a fun dinner at Chilis. It was our last meal with Mom and Dad before we all headed out the next day. The kids went to bed and Mom and I stayed up and chatted. It will be awhile before we get to do that again. edit
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