We bought a 7 day pass to get into the three areas and we felt it was well worth it. We could have spent another day if we had the time.
Both Jamestown and Yorktown had recreated areas which were interesting but our favorite parts were the actual locations. All of the sites had great museums and visitor centers as well as extremely knowledgeable and friendly guides/staff. I don't want to bore any of you with the details (especially if you've visited these areas before) but I will share the things we enjoyed most at each site:
Colonial Williamsburg
We went to see George Wythe's home and were not disappointed. It was extremely well preserved and so I got to walk and put my hand places that I know both George Wythe and Thomas Jefferson had - how cool is that?!
The other thing we really enjoyed were the dramatizations they did. At first I worried that it would be boring and cheesy - I was pleasantly surprised. They do various dramatizations throughout the day and
then for about 2 hours they have things pretty non-stop right in downtown Williamsburg. Our favorite reinactment was when the traitor Benedict Arnold came riding into town after the British captured Williamsburg and gave us (the townspeople) the "terms". He did a masterful job with his part and we were impressed with some ad-libbing he did as well. You could just feel how betrayed everyone in the town would feel to have Arnold of all people capture their city. They planted townsfolk in costume to help keep the fervor alive and help you understand the feelings of the community. The day before they reinacted the forming of the militia at the beginning of the war. They grabbed tourists to play the parts and Daniel wanted to join in as they marched through town to the fife and drum.Jamestown
The thing we enjoyed most at Jamestown was the archaeological dig area and the museum that houses everything they have found so far. The stuff they've been able to discover through forensics about the bodies of the dead is phenomenal. We learned interesting things at the recreation area but you can't beat actually being there! The grounds surrounding the archaeological area were beautiful and as it neared dusk there were tons of deer out as well as other animals. Stephen went crazy chasing all the squirrels.
Yorktown
The Battlefield sounds like it would be kind of boring, but it was really exciting. We had a little guided tour of some of the battlefield and then we did the rest in our car. This siege at Yorktown was not only decisive - it was the last major battle of the war. Washington made the decision to take Yorktown while in Williamsburg (they reenacted that as well) and one of my favorite soldiers of the Revolutionary War, Major-General Lafayette (of France) was instrumental in taking Yorktown with very little blood.
We also enjoyed touring the original Yorktown Main Street and Waterfront area. The best thing was seeing Governor Nelson's home. Governor Nelson was in charge of the Militia and was part of the siege. He noticed that his men were taking care not to fire the canon anywhere near his home. Knowing that the British were using his home he asked his men what they were doing. They said they didn't want to fire anywhere near his home. He asked them to but they hesitated. So he got out in front of the canon and commanded that his men fire on his house. They did and there are canon balls still stuck in the walls of the home. We don't know if they blew out windows but Dan was thinking that although they fired on Nelson's house it seemed they tried not to use very much gunpowder so the balls didn't go so far as to blow huge holes in the walls ;) The second picture shows another canon ball between the two windows on the third floor.
So now that we have this triangle finished - we're off to Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home) and if we have time we'll see Montpelier (James Madison's home). I'm so excited! I have wanted to visit Monticello for years and years!
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