And now we’re on day two! First up: FREE fancy breakfast! The
deal I got on the hotel included two food vouchers, so that took care of both
Alexis and me both days. We are lucky ladies!
Fuel intake: check!
Comfy shoes and tank tops (it was HOT!): check!
Water: check!
Off we went! We wanted to go to the Governor’s Palace first,
but there seemed to be a crowd gathering, so we decided to forgo it for a
little bit. So we stumbled into the gunsmith’s shop. He let us hold a rifle and
other pieces of metal he’d fashioned, such a buckles, shoe horns, etc. He said
there is a 7-year wait for a gun made in Colonial Williamsburg—wow! He also
explained a phrase we use every day in America, but I had no idea it had
anything to do with Colonial times. People would often trade animal skins and
other things for expensive items, such as guns. Usually, a doe or buckskin
would be worth a good deal, and of course hunters are the ones who need rifles.
Ever told someone “that costs 16 BUCKS,” or “give me some DOE” or something
similar? That’s where those phrases come from! Many people think money, when
referenced as “doe,” is spelled “dough,” and maybe it is from another
reference, but the colonists referred to money as “doe” and “bucks” to
reference how many hides were needed to pay for things like rifles.
Next up: the courthouse—mostly because we wanted to try out
the pillory and the stocks! We got some really fun pictures of us, so please
enjoy them! =) The court house is one of the only buildings in Colonial Williamsburg
that has not bee completely rebuilt, so that was pretty amazing to see, since
it was built in 1770. The docent in the courthouse was a lot of fun, and very
good about explaining things on a comprehendible but not condescending level
(some others had trouble with that last part). He also talked about “passing
the bar”, the types of trials they would see there, and the people who would
hold the job in court, which was actually very interesting!
Not voting was a misdemeanor, so you would be put on trial,
fined, or jailed for not voting—it was each free man’s duty! Also interesting
is that the jobs in the court were not paid, and they were held by the
upper-class gentry folks. Even though they were unpaid positions, it would have
been an unbearable shame to the family if the husband, brother or father
refused to serve in the court. After all, they didn’t have any other jobs (all
their money was family money), so why would they need to refuse serving?
While there, we also found out that when a man wore his hat
cocked to one side, that meant he was in the military. It’s all about the
details. =)
Next up was the magazine, which is the building that houses
gunpowder, firearms, and other military supplies—everything but perishable food
and medicine. The guys working there were very good at staying in character but
explaining things in a way that people now can understand. I asked if people
actually used swords much in combat during the Revolution, and he said they
were used only by the cavalry, and even then they were “hackers” to get brush
and tree limbs out of the way, not in combat. It wasn’t even practical for
swords to be sharp!
The colony of VA owned the gunpowder and weapons in the
magazine, but the Governor apparently stole all the gunpowder at one point, and
that was an important tipping point in the people of Williamsburg deciding to
side with the rebels instead of England. The docent here also explained that we
were all English subjects and should remain loyal to the Crown; if he caught anyone
speaking otherwise, he would have to report them for speaking treason! The
colonists initially rebelled against policy, and they were not looking to
secede from the Crown. We got our fill of combat and military talk, and off we
went to the print shop! Someone was in the post office teaching people how to
write with a quill pen, but it was so crowded Alexis and I moved on. I’ll try
to do that next time. Downstairs was the printing office, and that was cool to
see! The docent explained the process (long, difficult, repetitive process) of
printing and showed us how it’s done. He was printing up copies of the Virginia
Gazette to be sold as souvenirs in the gift shops. We also learned about Isaiah
Thomas, who was the first printer in the Colonies to print the Bible in
English, which was illegal even up into the late 1700s!
Next up, shoes! Anyone who knows me knows I’d rather be
barefoot any day of the week, but it’s interesting to see the guy working and
actually making the shoes. He explained that people actually bought more shoes
than I realized—8-10 pair per year for a man, 11-12 pair per year for women.
People also desperately needed overshoes, also called a
galosh, which is where we get galoshes! They needed them more than
we do today because, of course, roads were not paved, and horses pretty much
did whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted, if you know what I mean. =) So
anyway, the cobbler was really nice and answered people’s questions without
seeming to get irritated.
And finally we came to… the Governor’s Palace! Honestly, we
were most curious and impressed with the kitchen outside! It’s really
interesting to see people cooking over open flames and in true Dutch ovens the
proper way, and seeing that it really works—it’s funny how people think doing
it that way (without electricity and “exact” temperatures) is so backward, when
in reality it was faster, and in a lot of ways our docent said it was better.
The house tour was a good one. Our guide spoke as if it was
really June of 1775, and the Governor Dunmore and his family had just fled the
city the night before, so we were in his house without his knowledge. =) The
front hall was the most impressive by far. All the walls were decorated with
swords and guns! Please see the pictures. =)
We got to go into the ballroom, which was quite lovely with
bright green walls and gold paint trim work. Out back there was a bush maze, so
that was fun, too! I’d never done one before, and it was more difficult than I
thought it would be!
Time for a snack! And off we went to the Raleigh Tavern
Bakery. The Tavern isn’t one you can go to for lunch or dinner (it’s a class
and entertainment venue), but there’s a bakery in the back, so we each got a
pretzel roll and split a gingerbread cookie—just enough to get us through to
supper! They also had specialty drinks there, all in glass bottles, cookies,
Sally Lunn bread, muffins, candy, coffee, and other little memorabilia as well.
Cute place and quite conveniently located! After our small refueling, it was
time to go back to the hotel and get dressed for dinner!
And dinner at Christiana Campbell’s was fabulous! The food
wasn’t our favorite (that honor goes to Chowning’s!), but the atmosphere was
wonderful, and our waiter was awesome! He was excited that we were asking him
questions, and he thought it was great that we were there doing research for
Gadsby’s! Campbell’s is supposed to be the highest-end Tavern in Williamsburg,
specializing in seafood. The crab cake was really good, but honestly, the rest
was just mediocre. Their spoon bread was really something special, too. That’s
a very Colonial side dish that’s exactly the texture and consistency I love!
Again, there was a performer going around explaining Colonial instruments and
playing traditional songs of the time period. This guy played the
“hurdy-gurdy,” which is a cross between a violin and a bagpipe. Sounds funny,
but that was all the charm of it! =)
And after dinner, we’d planned to attend an organ concert at
the church! It was very nice classical organ music, very calming, and lovely in
a dimly-lit building. We felt so refined! =)
BEDTIME! We were beyond pooped at this point! The next day
was basically a finish-up day. We went to the Public Hospital Museum (first
mental hospital in the country), which was sad, but interesting, and then made
our way over to the Arts museum. They had exhibits on several aspects of
Colonial life and culture. Our favorites were the exhibits on money—AMAZING what
an evolution money has undergone over a few hundred years, and even a few
decades!—and the map exhibit. I really love old maps! It’s so interesting to
see how off or how accurate the cartographers were way back then without the
benefit of satellites and other ways of mapping out land masses. And usually
the artwork is pretty, too!
Lunch was Shield’s Tavern, which also reeked with amazing
atmosphere! =) We got to eat down in the basement, where Mr. Shield’s “special
guests” get to dine. The food was ok, but the atmosphere was the best part! The
manager came by our table, dressed as Mr. Shield, of course, and checked on how
our experience was coming along. They really do the whole Colonial thing well
over there! =)
Pictures? See DAY TWO! More pictures? See DAY THREE!
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