You see, in Yorktown (on the York River) there are two museum complexes, both dealing with the conclusive battle of the Revolutionary War in 1781. They are on opposite sides of town. Then, over on the James River, 23 miles west, there are two museum complexes for Jamestown, where John Smith and the band of 104 men and boys landed in 1607. In the middle is Williamsburg. Shuttle buses connect all three, plus there are local shuttles in each of them. Yesterday and today we went to the three locations and mixed and matched the five attractions until we couldn't remember what was what and where we'd learned what. But we did learn LOTS! We truly loved it all, despite the heat.
Last Tuesday morning, Janet and I drove the rental car to the same Norfolk Naval History Museum where George and I had toured a month earlier. I was so impressed with the USS Wisconsin tour, we wanted to do it again. We got there too late for the guided tour below decks, but still were able to take the self-guided tour above decks. Hugely impressive!
We also saw some of the Naval Museum before heading back near the airport to lunch with Richard and Debbie Rechechar, friends of Janet's who moved to the Norfolk area from Ohio two years ago. After the Italian restaurant, we visited on the boat for a couple hours of catching up and smiling.
Next morning I went for a bike ride and came across this street, where I figured I should take a break, huh? hahaha It was near a huge naval base, so I can guess how this street got its name. It felt good to ride outside again, the first time since George and I rode on May 5. I've tried to stay in a little bit of shape on the trainer back home in Ohio, but it's just not the same.
We then fired up Breaking Away and departed, hoping all the boat's systems would function normally after a month off. They did. It was one of those lazy days of auto pilot on a vast Chesapeake Bay, as we headed 30 miles north and west to the mouth of the York River. We enjoyed calm water, and we both took naps with Otto at the helm. Interestingly, nearing the York River mouth, a Mainship 40 exactly like mine crossed in front of me. As with all passing boaters, we waved, but that was that.
The only anchorage for Yorktown is in Sarah Creek, north across the wide river. We found a perfect spot, with rural scenery in every direction, big estates, bird sanctuaries in the tall trees, and a far-off view of the tall bridge crossing the York.
We quickly launched the dinghy and sped across to the town docks, and then caught the 1st of our 16 shuttle rides to the Yorktown Victory Center. After a short visit, we took the shuttle across town to watch the Fife and Drum Corp perform in front of the Yorktown Victory Monument.
Before the corps arrived, we got this photo of Janet and me in front of the monument, finished in 1884. Many of the inscriptions properly memorialized the critical role the French Navy played in assuring an American victory at Yorktown.
Then the Yorktown Fife and Drum Corps marched up the street and to the monument, playing all the way. They were all young men and women, aged 10 to 17. They spoke about the roles that the fifers and drummers played during the Revolutionary War, such as communicating orders to the troops who would not be able to hear verbal commands.
We enjoyed their music and explanations of their costumes and instruments.
After this at about 6 pm, we returned to Breaking Away, which was 91 degrees inside and unbearable in the sun. First solution: slushies we had made and put in the freezer the previous evening. We sat outside in the shade and had a happy hour. But I needed to get the A/C started, which meant going into the bilge and bleeding the water pump since it had not worked when we checked earlier. I finally did get the A/C going, and WOW it felt SOOOO good. Running the A/C at anchor means running the generator, so it was churning away for about an hour to cool us enough to be able to have dinner and survive until the sun went down. Watched our old HBO series we're hooked on, Six Feet Under.
This picture is back at the Yorktown Victory Center the next morning. We needed to finish going though all the exhibits about the Revolutionary War, what led to it, and how the new country managed immediately after it. They also had an outdoor exhibit about how small tobacco farms operated, and this turkey was raising Cain among the tourists crowded around a reproduction of a tool shed. Janet and I sure felt sorry for the players in their period clothes, which piled on layer after layer on a 104-degree day.
Since the shuttles were air conditioned, we couldn't wait to travel over to Jamestown, which meant first stopping in Williamsburg. Well, since we were SOOOO close, Janet wanted to take "just a short walk" to a bakery in the old historic square where a few years earlier on a vacation she had bought "the best" gingerbread cookies she'd ever tasted. Just a short diversion...except it was 104 degrees, and it was about a mile. But boy were those cookies worth it when we finally got there (well, at least the ice cold ginger ale was). hahaha
We did get to walk through the historical parts of Williamsburg and see many cool old sites, and got this picture in front of the King's Arms Tavern from 1772. But since discretion is the better part of valor, we quickly found air conditioned shuttle #6 to take us back to where we could take shuttle #7 on to the original destination, Historic Jamestown.
But when we got there, we realized the shuttle schedule was forcing us to leave within 35 minutes in order to get back to Yorktown. So two more shuttles got us to the Yorktown Battlefield. We had only enough time before it closed to watch the movie and tour the museum, more respite from the heat.
When we returned to the boat, it was 100 degrees inside. Whoa! The generator, then the A/C, fired up right away, and we cooled off with another frozen slushy (at least the freezer had been working right). We left the generator and A/C on for about three hours, which was the longest it has run for my entire boating trip. Desperate times call for desperate measures!! lol
This picture is from this morning after we took three more shuttle rides to again reach the Historic Jamestown, where we had only begun yesterday afternoon. Today it was mostly walking outside around the original site of the settlement. This church was built in 1907 over the site of the 1608 church, inside the walls of the original 1607 fort.
This is a statue of Pocahontas, whose friendship led to warm relations between the new settlers and the Powhatan Indians, which in turn meant the colonists were able to survive. Later she married colonist John Rolfe, but died after traveling to England.
What was really cool was that archeologists were actively digging at numerous sites all over the area. They still make important finds, such as the very first and second churches that historians thought were lost forever. We talked to one digger, and learned what they're doing.
After strolling all over the grounds of the original Jamestown and visiting a museum with numerous artifacts from the digs, we shuttled a couple miles to the next attraction, Jamestown Settlement. This a more polished museum and living-history of the settlers' lives from 1607 to 1699, when Virginia moved the capital to Williamsburg, and Jamestown declined into non-existence as a city.
The costumed actors again had to bear the stifling heat, but for this photo-op, even I donned a breast plate worn by the soldiers. There was much to see and learn about how they lived and survived their harsh conditions.
Here are the reproductions of the three small ships the original 104 men and boys (no women) sailed in 1607. One-third of the settlers died the first year.
The Powatan Native American tribe played a vital role for the settlers, since they would have perished if left to their own devices. So, the living-history museum devoted a section to the lives of the Indians. This picture is in one of their weaved-fiber huts, with furs drying.
After Yorktown Settlement, we took two more shuttles back to the Yorktown Battlefield and did a tour with a ranger who gave a most excellent tour of the battle and all its strategies and outcomes. Janet and I spoke to him afterwards and learned he's a history major and loves his job. He told us some other little-known stories about the fickle nature of warfare and how easily outcomes can change based on a day's weather.
We hopped in the dinghy and sped back to the boat to beat the approaching thunderstorms. We enjoyed a cooler evening with lots of rain. Tomorrow we head north to the Rappahannock river and the historic town of Irvington! We are having such a great time!
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