We’ve had an active two days experiencing history in the “historic triangle” around Colonial Williamsburg. I would honestly recommend that families spend a full three to four days here. We really only had one full day, so our activities were quite limited, but we could have spent much longer!
On Friday, we made our way from Wilmington to Williamsburg in about seven hours, with a few stops. We spent much of the drive reading about and discussing the thirteen colonies. Specifically, we spent time talking about Jamestown, since we’d have the chance to visit that historic site the next day.
We were all hungry and tired when we pulled into camp around 6:30 in the evening. The Williamsburg KOA Campground is extremely well developed, but still very scenic. Our site was a small, wooded, back-in site at the very rear of the campground. We’ve been in homes and hotels for the past two weeks, so Jon and I were a bit rusty with our set up. We pushed aside our hunger and braved the cold wind to get set up. Once the pop up was up and warming, we set out to find dinner. We were in the mood for Mexican food and, fortunately, we found a place, with great Google reviews, a few miles from our campground.
Taqueria Maria Bonita was such a fabulous stop. We got there at 8:30, about 30 minutes from closing, but they were cheerful and welcoming. The girls just ordered quesadillas, while Jon and I both got pork dishes. Jon liked his first taste of a Burrito Pibil, and I LOVED the carnitas plate (always my go-to).
After our delicious dinner, we headed back to camp to prepare for the next day. We were planning to meet our homeschooling friends from Ojai in the morning to begin our week together. They were staying at a B&B nearby and would be traveling with us to DC on Sunday for our five nights in a shared Airbnb.
Saturday morning, we met up with our friends at the Historic Jamestowne Visitor Center. The girls are close in age to Mic and Daisy, so they were very excited! We spent the morning with them exploring the site of that first successful British colony where, even now, archaeologists continue to discover artifacts. We watched the orientation video, toured the visitor center museum, and explored the grounds. We got to watch a blacksmith in period costume pound out an iron nail in about 25 seconds, right in front of us as he explained the process!
After Jamestown, our friends went to Yorktown to see the battlefield where the Revolutionary War was won. Our family headed over to Historic Williamsburg where we roamed the old town streets learning about the area and observing the people in period costume. We did not get to go in any of the shops or historic sites because we did not want to pay the full price of a ticket so late in the day. They are a little pricey. As a note to future visitors of the area, determining the cost of different activities is a bit of a challenge and there are a variety of discount tickets, combo tickets, and sample tickets available online for the more expensive sites. Additionally, there are many special events such as ghost tours and unique activities that are available in Williamsburg for separate fees. I’m sure these many experiences are worth the ticket prices, but it’s hard to tell what is necessary when there are so many options for experiencing the history of the area!
There is Historic Jamestowne (a national historic site), Jamestown Settlement (a state-run site for reenactment and recreations), the Yorktown battlefield (a national historic site), the Yorktown Victory Center (a replica of the encampment with re-enactments), and Colonial Williamsburg (a full town with costumed interpreters recreating colonial life). Each site has a different fee associated. Colonial Williamsburg is a public town, so there is no fee to walk around and eat or shop in public areas, but you do need a ticket to go into the historical sites and shops. With one day and a National Park Annual Pass, we paid a small fee for Historic Jamestowne (which also covers a visit to the Yorktown battlefield) and walked around Williamsburg for free.
After leaving the colonial town, we stopped for groceries and got back to camp pretty early. Jon and Daisy built up an awesome campfire while Mic and I worked on getting the pop up warmed up. We all ate dinner around the fire and spent time enjoying the fire, the bright moon, and the forest around us.
This morning, after showers, the girls played at the camp playground while Jon and I dealt with the challenge of packing and organizing us for the next few days. After a couple hours, with everything organized for our trip to DC, we were off!
We stopped in Richmond to meet up with our friends in order to attend the last Liberty or Death reenactment of the season at the historic St. John’s Church. This is the site of the original Virginia Convention where delegates, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry, ultimately decided to arm and organize themselves in preparation for possible war with England. I tried to hide it, but I was actually moved to tears by Patrick Henry’s stirring speech, during which he proclaims, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
Now, we’re almost to our apartment in DC. We’re ready to settle in and experience our nation’s capitol!
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