Our last day in Colonial Williamsburg could not have been more beautiful! We began at the "small plantation" and observed what daily life might have been like for the more average landowner.
I was excited to find a kitchen with plenty going on! This kitchen was a separate building a good distance from the house -- very common back then.
The kids got to take this bowl of scraps down to feed the pigs. They were utilizing vegetables from their own garden out back.
In the field, cotton was beginning to ripen.
After the small plantation we went to the governor's palace. The governor would have been appointed by the king in England and sent to Virginia to live. To make up for that "hardship" his life in Williamsburg had to be pretty nice.
It did look like stepping inside an English manor house:
There were fancy bedrooms:
And a ballroom:
And look at the green in this room!
The governor's palace also had a functioning kitchen as one of the outbuildings. These cooks made some very fancy dishes. I wanted a piece of the fruit cake in the bottom left of the picture. It looked SO good. Rachel wanted one too. Since then she and I have made two that we are feeding in preparation for Christmas.
Down the street from the palace is the George Wythe house. Previously, I knew nothing of Mr. Wythe. However, he was a very prominent man in his time: the first law professor in America, a judge, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and widely loved and respected in his time. I am currently reading a book about his murder which I will review when I'm finished.
The Wythe house was staged to show what it would have looked like when George Washington took over the house to make it his headquarters just before the siege at Yorktown. Incidentally, it is probable that the Wythes removed to the Powhatan estate during this time which is where our condo was located (remember that beautiful mansion house on the property? That was Wythe's in-law's house.)
I loved this scene with the papers, pens, and candles:
The rooms were set up like dormitories for the soldiers with Washington.
Note the boots, hat, wool blanket....
Back on the Duke of Gloucester street (DoG for short :). You can see how lovely the day was.
The wigmaker was fascinating! The whole idea of everyone wearing wigs is interesting to consider. But, it sounds like wigs went out of fashion after the war because no one wanted to imitate England anymore.
I couldn't resist another stop at the coffee house for some more of their hot chocolate.
It's as thick as melting a bar of chocolate -- apparently, that is what they do. But they add spices like cinnamon and cloves.
This time at the coffee house we heard from a woman who told about life as a free black woman in Colonial Williamsburg.
Laura enjoyed her chocolate too.
Another view out on the street:
Here is the cobbler's shop:
Look at all those shoes!! Imagine having shoes handmade for you!
Our tour of the Randolph House got interrupted because we had to rush off to meet some of the kids. But, I did have time to enjoy the incredible gray paint in the house and to know that someday I need a room in that color. Unfortunately, the camera didn't capture it very well.
A view of Bruton Parish church:
Near the gardens there was a shop selling wreaths. They were beautiful!
And the gardens were beautifully kept!
We found the basketmaker and learned about this important skill which many families had.
The weaving house was gorgeous with all the light streaming through the window onto the dyed wool.
The day ended with a parading of the troops in front of the courthouse.
It's amazing how technology has advanced in the last 240 years but its too bad that we still have the need for wars.
The next day we had lovely weather for the drive home and the rolling hills/mountains of Virginia and West Virginia were just gorgeous!
We are very thankful for the chance we had to go to Virginia's Historic Triangle and to see all that we did! We definitely recommend it to others!
3 comments:
You and Michael are so cute, Heather!
I like the look of the fruitcake, too!
The beds look hard. Do you think they are?
I love all the big wooden bowls used for food prep. Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip with us!
Fun post ! I went there as a child with our 8th grade class. Enjoyed seeing all the places you visited.
I went there as a child many years ago and remember a bakery that had the most delicious molasses cookies. Did you see a bakery there? Did you get any souvenirs other than the fabric? I'd love to go back there again.
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