Day to Day: Williamsburg, VA

It’s American history year in our homeschool, and Williamsburg was the perfect destination for a fall break trip! What fun we had while we learned so much!

Day One

We left on a Saturday morning, and drove straight to Richmond, Virginia to visit our beloved Breedloves. It had been two years since our last visit – the longest we’ve ever gone in our friendship. Of course, everybody picked up right where they had left off. They hosted us for dinner and showed us their new home.

After dinner and s’mores, we drove on to Williamsburg to check into our hotel. It wasn’t easy to leave, but we knew we’d be seeing one another again in 3 days!

Day Two

Colonial Williamsburg!

The Capitol Building

We ended up with a personal tour due to low crowds. That happened a lot this trip!

Lunch in the only open tavern! We were told by many people that eating in a tavern was a must-do.
Once again, we had the place to ourselves!

Due to Covid, all of the tradespeople had moved outdoors (with the exception of the blacksmith for obvious reasons) into a large courtyard at the armory. The children could move freely between the cobbler, kitchen, wheelwright, blacksmith, etc.. Miles was especially interested in the blacksmith and wheelwright while Ryan hung out with the cooks at the outdoor oven. We spent well over an hour in this one area!

Silversmith

Blacksmith

The tradespeople answered as many questions as you wanted to ask while they worked. They were so patient! We never once felt rushed or sensed any annoyance as we no doubt asked questions they have heard thousands of times before.

As we wandered down the main street after leaving the armory, we met our first historical figure! The kids were so excited, having heard from many people to keep a close eye out. Washington was so generous with his time, and really made a strong impression on the kids. They continue to talk about him almost daily!

Abby meeting Colonel George Washington (“young Washington” at 27 years old!).

A much needed late afternoon stroller nap!

Adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg was a large outdoor eating area called Merchant’s Square. We ate dinner here three nights in a row. The weather was beautiful, and it was nice to be able to shed our coronavirus concerns for a bit.

To wrap up our day, we had signed up for an evening Ghost Walk Junior Tour. It was promised that the stories would be appropriate for children of all ages. And they were!

Fed and waiting for our ghost walk to begin!

Our guide was a dramatic, engaging, and humorous storyteller. A win!

Day Three

More Colonial Williamsburg!

Governor’s Palace

The grounds of the Governor’s Palace included a maze.

Meeting Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

We were in the brickyard when we heard the distant clip-clop of an approaching horse. Ryan, Miles, and Abby raced in the direction from which the sound had come. They were not disappointed. It honestly looked like a scene straight out of a Colonial Williamsburg TV commercial! The brick maker said (without malice), “Those guys get all the attention!” They did return afterward and happily finish the lesson in brickmaking.

In addition to the brickyard, we visited the lumberyard, several homes, the county courthouse, met more historical figures, listened to a speech by Patrick Henry, and revisited all of the tradesmen at the armory. Another fantastic day!

This served as the county courthouse until 1932.

Loyalist John Randolph with his cousin Mary

Day Four

One of my goals for this trip was for the kids to see the James River and get a feel for the geography that led to the success of Virginian plantations and the colony as a whole. So we drove 45 minutes to Berkeley Plantation.

A huge corn maze - not historical but a whole lot of fun

There was more history here than I realized – sight of the actual first Thanksgiving, home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence, coveted by Benedict Arnold (and therefore protected from being burned in retaliation for that signature), home to two presidents (the Harrisons), visited by at least ten presidents, occupied during the Civil War….I could go on! We also learned that George Washington danced all night during a visit to Berkeley and had a reputation as the best dancer in the colonies.

We returned to Colonial Williamsburg for a final afternoon of exploring the art museum and revisiting our favorite spots. The kids loved checking in daily with the tradespeople to see how they were coming on their individual projects and were genuinely sad to say goodbye.

The tradespeople rotated days quite a bit due to Covid, and
Ryan was thrilled that the weavers were there on our last day!

Last stop at the wheelwright for Miles

Our feet hurt!

On our final walk down the main street, we met Dr. John Galt. He was phenomenal! We had him all to ourselves for a long time, and he was so attentive and kind to each child. In fact, his kindness was so extraordinary that when we finally had to leave so others could have meet him, Caleb called out, “I love you!” That pretty much brought Dr. Galt to his knees!

What an ending to our time at Colonial Williamsburg!

Day Five

This was a whirlwind of a day! The Breedloves drove over from Richmond to visit Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown with us. I am so glad we squeezed both sights in, but we will definitely need to return one day with more time to explore.