History in Virginia!!

All over Virginia

Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Shenandoah National Park

May 4-11

We have had a week full of history in Virginia.  We camped at a great place called Chippokes State Park, outside of Williamsburg.  It had the oldest working farm in the United States.  We were able to tour this great mansion that had been left as it was in the early 1920's.  It was so fun to go on a run through the farmlands...those are the times I wish I was a farmer!!  The Virginia rolling hills are covered with green grasses and beautiful farm houses...so stunning!!

It was a short ferry ride over the James River to go to Jamestown.  This was the 1st English settlement in the United States.  It was extremely tough living conditions in those early years...and most people that were sent by the Virginia Company died within the first 2 weeks of living there.  There was no access to clean water and disease was rampant.  The first picture shows the church that they have restored on the original fort grounds.

The view from the ferry of the Jamestown settlement.  They have done extensive archaeological digging at Jamestown to figure out how the people lived during those early years.

From Jamestown we headed down Colonial Drive to Yorktown, the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.  We just LOVE the National Park Service and their great informational videos, visitor centers and ranger guided tours.  This was from the battlefield at Yorktown.

Behind the boys you can see what they called a "redoubt."  It was a fortification used by the British to defend the fort.  It was one of the last areas that was conquered by George Washington's army.  The battlefield had many "earthworks" which looked like hills to us.  The constructed them by filling huge woven baskets with dirt and then stacking them on top of each other, filling in the surrounding area with fill dirt and then planting sod on the top.  This provided a natural bunker to hide behind.  The Continental Army had to dig their own trenches after hiking over 400 miles from Georgia.  They say that the Army of both American and French troops stretched for over 30 miles as they hoped to surprise the British at Yorktown.  Thankfully, their surprise attack was successful and we became a free nation!!

We also spent an afternoon in historic Williamsburg.  It had some cute old houses and we walked around the village.  But I have to say that the highlight for the boys was finding the William and Mary bookstore and reading the afternoon away!!

Our last stop was about 200 miles North in Virginia to Shenandoah National Park.  We stayed at Shenandoah River State Park...which was beautiful.  We spent a whole day hiking and exploring the park.  It has breathtaking views along the Skyline drive of both the farm valley below and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

We did a long hike to Big Falls.  This was our best attempt at a self timer family portrait.  I was so proud of the boys...as it was very humid and pretty hot.

The second hike was to Stony Man Peak...the 2nd highest mountain in the park.  It gave almost 360 degree breathtaking views!  It was a little hazy, as they were doing a prescribed burn in the area.

Here are the goofballs...barely hanging on for dear life.(haha)

Guess where we are heading tomorrow...one of my favorite cities on earth...WASHINGTON D.C.!  I spent a semester my Junior year of high school as a page for Tom Foley.  It was a life changing experience and I cannot wait to show the boys around.  I am sure they will tire of sentences that start with, "When I was a page..." We will be there for 10 days...so it will be a little bit before I update the blog again.    Happy Mother's Day to all those special moms out there...especially MINE!!  I love you Mom...wish you were here with us to celebrate!