Day 6-8 - Williamsburg, York Town, Jamestown, Virginia
Williamsburg is very popular with tourists and we had initially had problems finding anything. I was determined not to resort to a standard motel in such a lovely old town - we were not disappointed with our choice - Alice Person House.
The house was beautifully furnished with English antiques – note the mail box in front of the house. We were the only guests staying in the house. As our hostess, Jean, had been planning a trip to England we had already exchanged several emails so it felt like staying with a friend. Our vast bedroom had a huge four-poster bed which almost needed steps to climb onto it. From the open window we could almost touch the blossom on the tree outside - perfect.
Before unpacking we decided to walk into the old part of Williamsburg which was just as Jean had described – a five minute walk. Very English in style, particularly the old clapboard houses with cottage gardens which reminded me of villages from my childhood. With so many people walking around in costume we really felt as if we had stepped back in time especially as we were lucky enough to see a marching band of redcoats.
It was such a beautiful evening we bought a picnic from a delicatessen and sat on the green watching all the characters passing.
Day 7
We drove to nearby York Town, the site of the final defeat of the British, but the battlefields were not nearly as atmospheric as those at Gettysburg. York Town is a small town of colonial style houses but far less commercialised than Williamsburg. By late morning the temperatures had risen to 23°C –having gone from below freezing in 24 hours we were grateful that we had allowed for this in our packing.
In the afternoon we returned to Williamsburg which was less crowded than the day before. A ticket had to be purchased to gain access to the houses although not all were open – houses that are open have the old British flag outside. Access to the grounds are free and we found plenty to see on such a lovely day, people working in cottage gardens, a small holding with new lambs, trades people working at their crafts etc.
In the evening we followed the advice of a friend and ate at the Trellis restaurant. It was one of the best meals we have ever had. Their deadly desserts would satisfy any chocoholic. We returned ‘home’ groaning vowing we would never eat again.
Day 8
Although we said we would not want to eat breakfast, the smell of Virginian ham cooking was too much. We said our goodbyes to Jean and drove to Jamestown settlement where the English first landed in America in 1607.
This is the place where Pocahontas supposedly saved the life of Captain John Smith. A lot of the excavations had been damaged in 2003 by the hurricane but it is still possible to see outlines of buildings. Archaeologists at this site have been discovering small bits and pieces of objects lost or discarded by the early settlers, probably sometime between 1607 and 1612.
As we left to drive south we went to visit one of the oldest plantation houses in the area, Shirley Plantation, which had been built around 1700.
It was a beautiful house but I had been thinking of something like Tara from Gone with the Wind! It was a working cotton plantation and as we left the ground we saw our first cotton fields - I could not resist stopping by one of the fields to ‘pick cotton’.
Having spent longer in the Williamsburg area than we had intended, we drove out of Virginia and through most of North Carolina. There was not a great deal to see from the road although we got occasional glimpses of Wisteria growing wild and gardens full of Azaleas.
We stopped overnight at Lumberton a
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it feels as if I am there just reading your report, Oh how I wish [msnwink][msncry]
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