Day 3 - Jamestown and Yorktown

Now is the seed-time of continental union, faith and honor.  The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak;  The wound will enlarge with the tree, and posterity read it in full grown characters. 
-  Thomas Paine, Common Sense 

We had a great time today learning about Jamestown, the first successful settlement in America and Yorktown, the final battle of the Revolutionary War.  Before I begin explaining what we did today, I must confess to you that I'm new to blogging (this is my first blog) and apologize for the inconsistent text format as well as positioning of the pictures.  I got an email from my wife today, asking me if I proof read the blog.  She asked it diplomatically when posing the question to me, but her real questions (when you read between the lines) are:  Why do you misspell so many words?  Your diction is terrible and your grammar is atrocious , have you ever take an English class?

The answer to these questions are:  I misspell many words because I have never been able to spell very well and I can't "figure out" the spell check on the blog toolbar.  Yes, I did take English class, but was never very good at it and my mind thinks only slightly faster than I can type.  On the flip side however, I have made 67 free throws in a row!  That being said, let's move forward to Jamestown.

Jamestown

Here is a scale model of the Jamestown fort that the settlers constructed sometime after their arrival in 1607.



The famous Indian girl, Pocahontas (1596-1617), saved John Smith from certain death and was the favorite daughter of Chief Powhatan.  Adele and Esther are older than Pocahontas was when she got married to John Rolfe in the Jamestown church at the age of 12 years old.



John Smith statue in the center of Jamestown.

The oldest standing building in America is within the perimeter of Jamestown.

This is the excavation site where archaeologists may have discovered the original
foundation posts of the Jamestown Church.

Life in Jamestown was brutal because they were unprepared for the riggers of work and the harsh environment of the New World.  They wanted to go home.  Our young men are pointing to the James River, in hopes of seeing
a British ship to take them away.

After leaving the Jamestown fort, we walked to see the other exhibits:

An Indian hut by Jamestown.  They built wood framed huts and
kepted a smoldering fire in the center of the hut to dry the fish and meat that were stored
on the top portion of the hut.

Tyler learned how to scrape hair off a deer hind with an oyster shell. This is how they made leather.

We learned how to make fire by rubbing a stick on a piece of wood.  I was shocked!
It really worked.

We walked to the waters edge to tour the Susan Constant, God Speed and Discovery; the three
ships the Jamestown settlers used to cross the ocean.

Going onto the Susan Constant, the largest of the three ships.

Cory is in the aft, lower deck.

Michelle and Hannah walking through the midships lower deck.

The settlers had to learn many things, one of them was how to build a canoe for travel.
They had to burn the inside of a cypress tree and carve it out using oyster shells.

We then entered a two thirds scale replica of Jamestown.

This is how the settler would protect the fort.  They, at least, had
modern weapons.

The church at Jamestown would look like this.  They were required to attend the Sunday worship meetings and if they
missed three times, the punishment was dead!  We were all in attendance.

A lunch break of sub sandwiches outside the Jamestown Visitors Center.

Yorktown

This is where a middle class farmer would live.

The farmers house would be one room and contain a bedroom, table, chairs
and fireplace.  No kitchen.

We experienced a cooking demonstration outside.  She was making cheese, but at this
very moment it was more like cottage cheese.

This is inside the cook house where vegetables, fruits and meats
are being hung and dried. 

Time to go to war and win our Independence!  This is the revolutionary
soldiers encampment.

There would be six soldiers to a tent. 

This is medical equipment to treat the sick and wounded.  It looked like something you would
see in Braveheart.

Nick and Cory are consulting with a revolutionary soldier



Part of the Yorktown battlefield.  The British held the ground behind Kayla and her mom.



With the York river flowing behind this site, Nathan and I are standing on the point of land that was the left flank of the British army.  The Revolutionary Army, "...with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets, scaled the parapets and gallantly captured Redoubt No. 10 which formed the estreme left outlying the defense of British and so hastened the surrender of Yorktown..."  By flanking the British, cutting off their retreat and capturing this point of land, the British commander, General Cornwallis was forced to surrender, the Revolutionary War was won and a nation was born.

Group picture on the battlefield.  We won!

After dinner we traveled back to Williamburg to be taught the art of marching and formation and preparing for war.  Eyes forward and mouth closed.  You better know your left side from your right side! 

 I've run out of pictures so it must be time to close.  Until tomorrow - good night.
(PS - I didn't proof read this)

Day 2 - Williamsburg

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. 

 -  George Washington, Farewell Address

WOW!   There is no way I can begin to explain all the things we saw and did today in Colonial Williamsburg.  I did learn, however, that we sometimes use the word “Wow” incorrectly by implying that it means, “awesome,” “terrible,” “cool,” or “shocked” depending on the connotation of the expression.  Actually “Wow” is an Algonquin Indian word meaning: “Wonderful.”  Therefore, by using the word “Wow” I am accurately expressing all that we learned today and, at the same time, I’m speaking the Algonquin language.  Pretty neat.

Since I don't know how to put pictures side-by-side in this format, I will have to stack them.  Sorry for making you scroll so far down the page. 

We started the day by having a continental breakfast in the hotel and Ms Calvert and her mother where kind enough to pose for this picture. 



This is the map at the visitors center and shows all the buildings of Williamsburg, it is made of metal.



A form of baseball was first played in the 18th century, long before the MBL was established.  Here, Rebecca Parr stomps on the catapult (which is called The Trap Box) and launches the baseball into the air.  She swings a bat that looks like a cricket stick and hits the ball into the outfield.  If an outfielder catches the ball on the fly, the batter is out.  If the batter hits a grounder, the outfielder can pick up the ball and roll it back to the catapult and if the ball makes contact with the catapult, the batter is out.  If the ball misses, the batter gets one point.

This is the grand ballroom of the Governor's Palace.  It is long and narrow to accommodate the dancing method of the day.  You can see we were divided into a row of ladies and a row of gentlemen.  We learned by to bow and curtsy, so gentlemen - point your toe and show your calf !

Before video games, TV and movies, some of the wealthy Williamsburg residents played this game behind the Governor's Palace.  See who can get through the garden maze the fastest.

Walking down Duke of Gloucester Street which FDR called the "most historic avenue in all America" with the Capitol building in the background.  This is where it all began, the first colony to speak for American independence - you can feel the spirit of Independence and Liberty flowing down the street.

Once in a while, a horse and carriage will walk down the street. 

We had a traditional colonial lunch at King's Arm Tavern.  This is the ladies table where they were served a salad with roll, chicken pot pie and home-made vanilla ice cream.  It was "Wow!"

After lunch, we must have done something terrible, because our tour guide, Menzie Overton, threw us in the town jail!

The jail room is a cell that can hold about 20 prisoners.  If this was your first offense, you were branded with a hot iron in the hand or on the cheek.  The letter "T" for thief and the letter "M" for manslaughter.  Therefore, if you were accused of the same crime for a second offense - you were hung.  No "3 Strikes"  law in Williamsburg!

Nick is sitting on the "Throne" in the jail cell.  They call the toilet a throne because the King, when he died, was sitting on the toilet and, as we all know, the King always sits on this "Throne."  Hope he finished his paperwork.



Group picture in front of the Capitol Building, also called the House of Burgess. 
This building housed the oldest American elected representative assembly.  In this building Patrick Henry delivered his "Caesar-Brutus" speech against the Stamp Act on May 29, 1765.  President Ronald Reagan, during his 1985 vistit to Williamburg said, "...through long hours of great debate in the capitol behind me, the people of the colony evolved irresistibly from British subjects to American patriots."



Inside the Capital Building there are three main rooms, The House of Burgess (this room), the Joint Conference Room and the General Court Room.  The chair in the middle of the House of Burgess room is the Speakers Chair and is only reserved for high ranking elected officials and royalty.  President Ronald Reagan, conducted the Ninth Annual International Summit of Industrial Nations here in May, 1983.  President Reagan sat in the Speakers chair.



In the General Court Room, the prosecutor (Mr. Overton) has charged Mrs. Brewer with a crime and the defense attorney (Mr. Parvex) is defending her.  The 12 individuals to the right of the prosecutor are the jurors.  Mr. Overton had Mrs. Brewer put her right hand on the bible and raise her left arm to a square, showing her palm.  He then check to see if she was branded with a "T" or a "M" - if she was, it was short trial and she goes straight to the gallows!  I saw Mrs. Brewer on the bus later in the day, she must have been acquitted.



In the cabinet making shop, Amanda was privileged to play a replica of a 18th century harps-a-cord. 



All the young men are in line for a wig fitting.  They had to select the type of  hair they wanted in the wig, namely, horse hair, goat hair, yak hair or human hair.  Some of these wigs would cost about a year's worth of wages.  White human hair was the most expensive because the hair would come from young girls, ages 13 to 17 years old.  How many white haired young ladies are there?  To be fitted for the wig, the gentlemen would shave their heads.  At this point we thanked the wig maker for her time and made a quick exit for the door!

When we toured Williamsburg, we were divided into two groups.  This is picture of our group with our guide, Menzie Overton.

Watch out guys, the General is coming.

It started to rain, just as we were finishing for the afternoon and heading to the bus.

After dinner, we were invited to the Capital Building for an evening of colonial dancing inside the Burgess Room.  The colonial dancers showed our group how to do many popular 18th century dances.  Because the room was lit only by candlelight, we were not permitted to take pictures inside.  However, in the hallway after the event, Michelle was able to posed with her handsome dance partner.

Day 1 - Travel

Great deeds are not done by strength or speed or physique:  they are the products of thought, and character, and judgment.  And far from diminishing, such qualities actually increase with age.  – Cicero

Everyone was on time and we left at 3:00am from Cornerstone, lead by our fearless leaders Ms Calvert and Mrs. Brewer. 

Austin Stack came well prepared for the early morning departure with two bottles of 5 Hour Energy Drink – it gives him a total of 10 hours of hype!

Most of the our group departed on a United Flight, but there were 10 of use that boarded a Southwest Airlines flight – luckily one of our tour guides, Mr. Lee, who met us at LAX had a “goody” bag filled with snacks for the long flight to Virginia.

Did you know that Virginia is technically not a state? It is a commonwealth, along with Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Kentucky. 

We met everyone at the Norfolk airport.  The Parvex family had a mini family reunion at the baggage claim.  Nick’s sister, Sarah, who lives in the area met them at the airport.  Later, Nick's other sister Christina met up with the group for dinner at the Golden Corral.  Welcome to our group.

We boarded another bus in Norfolk to the Quality Inn Hotel where we posed for another picture.

Before dinner, however, we took a quick walk through the streets of Williamsburg to orientate ourselves for the tour tomorrow.  Do you notice what looks like white gravel on the walkway?  It is crushed oyster shells.  Oysters were so plentiful in this area that the settlers not only ate them, but used them for dinner plates, hand shovels and paved their walkways with them.

Crunch Time!

Hope all of you are doing well and getting ready for the trip.  I have the best wife in the world, she is folding my clothes, packing for Nathan and me and she has informed me what socks to wears with various pants and shirts.  She is Awesome.  

I word to the wise – Be Flexible.  Some of us are traveling with Southwest Airlines in their fully inspected Boeing 737 plane.  It should be the safest plane in the fleet because of all the scrutiny it has been through in the last few days.  Also, I wonder if the Federal Government will shut down on Friday and I'm curious to see how it will affect us.  If the government shuts down, does that mean my taxes aren't due on April 15th? 

We may have to take a walking tour through Washington DC and have Ms Calvert teach us about the history of DC from the street corners.  Be Flexible.

Hope we don't see this!

4 Days to Go!

Here is the itinerary for the Historic Study Tour.  Remember to bring nice clothes for the “fancier” days and don’t forget the Gettysburg Address, Pencil/Pen and Notebook, Spending Money and Bible.  Good luck in packing everything you need!