SHOOT CASEY JONES

JUNE 3-4, 2012     Farewell to DC and on to Colonial Williamsburg down in Virginia.  First, a little housekeeping and an ironed blouse.  Gotta be neat, even on the road.  We also had a leisurely Sunday breakfast of blue cheese omelets and a big fruit salad. Not getting such an early start, we paid for it by hitting traffic on the way out of DC. 

Several hours later we got to our campground for the next few days, the Anvil Park near Williamsburg.  It is nicely landscaped, and is an older, family-owned park with, ah, quaint facilities.  The waterwheel was a nice touch. 

We got settled into a spot in the back row by the trees and bushes you see on the right side.  Settled, that is, until all hell broke loose.  A tremendous roar accompanied by Thor’s hammer beating an anvil tattoo.  What lurked behind those trees and bushes was a railroad line.  The noise was stupendous as befits a site where the back of our rig was only 16 feet from the track.  Back to the office I went and gave the ultimatum:  we move or we go.  Management was eager to please, and switched us to the front row (of three), which abutted the road into town.  This put us about 100 feet from the tracks, but made all the difference.  I took a shot from our new site of a passing train, which is but a blur in the pic.

I don’t know how many trains there were during the day, as we were out from early morning until dinner time, but at night there were at least six.  Surprisingly, once we had this little buffer, it was a manageable background growl.  Even light sleeper me could get through the night.

I initially wasn’t all that keen on going to Colonial Williamsburg, but it was something Loni really wanted to do.  I have this thing about costumed “period” staff.  They give me the creeps and I usually find them hokey or obnoxious, or both, and I loathe being drawn into conversation in periodspeak.  Glad to say I was proven wrong.  Williamsburg was a highlight of our trip.  We spent four days in the area, two and a half at Williamsburg and one at Jamestown.  I think two is the absolute minimum to spend at WB.  There is a LOT to see.  I think one hour would be enough at Jamestown, but more on that later.  You definitely want to buy a multi-day, combo pass to the two rather than individual day passes.

The place is huge, covering over 300 acres, 500 buildings, and 35 exhibition sites. 

The buildings date from 1699 to 1780, and include original, restored, and re-created structures.  Way too many to cover thoroughly, so we’ll just hit those that were highlights for us.  The whole place, of course, is one big, authentic theme park, with obligatory horse carriages.

  The preservation was the brainchild of local Parish rector W.A.R. Goodwin who, in the 1920’s, convinced John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to finance the return of Williamsburg to its 18th century aspect.  Rockefeller, through dummy entities, began buying up properties in the area.  At the time, there were some 70-odd colonial era buildings remaining in the town, surrounded by untouched farm and woodlands.  [You will note I’ve finally figured out how to wrap text around pictures!] 

Efforts already had been made to restore the Bruton Parish Church, and had begun on the George Wythe house when Rockefeller made his first visit.  Wythe was the first professor of law in America, the teacher of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Chief Justice John Marshall, and Henry Clay. The Wythe House had also been turned over to George Washington as his headquarters during the Yorktown Campaign, and there is every probability that the Battle of Yorktown was planned by Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, the Comte de Rochambeau, and General Thomas Nelson in the parlor. George Wythe was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  The place reeks of history.  Rockefeller became very interested in the project, and it exploded from there.  He even bought a residence on the property, Bassett Hall, and his wife, Abby, lived there while pursuing her passion for folk art by establishing a folk art museum, the first in the U.S.  We really liked the folk art museum.

We also liked Basset Hall which, being a little out of the way, tucked into a far corner, isn’t as heavily trafficked as the central area.  The 18th century frame house is decorated just as it was in the 1930’s when the Rockefellers lived there.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed, but it was worth the visit to see how the unimaginably rich lived when “dressing down.”

Every day there are events – historical portrayals, tours, exhibitions, parades, etc. – that change daily, so you really need to be there more than one day to get a good taste.  Actors in period costume will casually mingle with you on the street, others give more elaborate speeches recounting some historical event.  I stayed my distance from the minglers and avoided their period-speak conversation.

The brick building above is a reconstruction of the Capitol.  The scene is “Lady Washington Visits The Capitol” during the war, receiving honors in her husband’s name for his service to the country.  The Capitol was a neat building, with exquisite brickwork and, of course, plenty of history.

It was also the site of the single best docent tour and lecture I’ve ever taken, anywhere in the world.  These tours rotate among various docents, so we just got lucky.  He was knowledgeable, personable, and unflappably “in character” in a way that even I could get into.  Somewhere on some scrap of paper is his name, alas lost to me now.  I am amazed that these folks can keep up such a high level of enthusiasm day after day.  If you spot him, latch on!

Since the place is so spread out, you do a lot of walking around the streets, watching random events like the musket firing, and just goofing around.

There’s no lack of taverns and restaurants and specialty shops to quench your thirst, appetite, and wallet.  However, some of them are “stages,” and thus free, like the hot chocolate shop.  Yum.  The docent here was downright creepy, but we liked the chocolate.

That was enough for one day.  We were pooped, and the skies were getting dark.  It takes a while to get back to the parking area, as it is located remote from the historical area over by the visitor center.  They have trams that run constantly to take you to and fro, but we decided to hoof it back on the pathways.  As it turned out, we should have taken the faster tram.  On the way back to the park on the scoot, we got hit by a gullywasher of a cloudburst and got soaked head to toe.  Fortunately, we were wearing stuff we could just hang in the bathroom to let dry.  Dinner in the rig, and lulled to sleep by the ghosts of Casey Jones.