Colonial Williamsburg

Monday morning we spent about three hours in Colonial Williamsburg. During this time we participated in the reenactment of the "storming of the palace" (over stolen gunpowder), toured the Wythe House (which included opportunities for the kids to do things like walk on stilts, paint, and play with other colonial toys), visit the basketmaker, and watch a sheep being sheared. Nadia and Grandpa also were able to learn some colonial dance steps in a 30 minute "Pleasures of the Dance" program. When we got back to the resort we had lunch and then spent the rest of the day at the swimming pool. It was a very hot day; we were grateful to cool off in the water of both the indoor and outdoor pools. We had dinner at the pool as they were selling hotdog meals (including chips and lemonade) for $3 and BBQ pork meals for $5. It felt very festive to eat by the swimming pool. We played some cornhole before heading back to our units.

We spent about 7 1/2 hours there on Tuesday which included a brief visit at Great Hopes Plantation, a guided tour of the Governor's Palace, walking through a maze, the observation of chocolate being made in the palace kitchen, magazine, and a visit to the brick yard (Nadia helped to stomp the clay), cabinetmaker, printing office, milliner, tailor, silversmith, blacksmith, tin shop, weaver, and shoemaker. We all attended the 30 minute "Polite Academy," and our day ended with a guided tour of part of the art museum that focused on dollhouses and included making a craft at the end. Nadia loves asking questions during tours! On our way home we stopped at Denny's for dinner because at Denny's kids' meals are free on Tuesday nights. It was raining, and the temperature had dropped quite a bit so we were not interested in swimming.

This morning we started our day with the 30 minute movie (produced in 1957) shown at the Visitor Center and then took a guided tour of Everard House before heading back to our resort for an early lunch. The kids then did a scratch art craft at the activity center before we headed to the Bounce House, which is an indoor inflatable playground for kids. The large building (very high ceiling) contains 9 very large inflatables and 3 smaller ones geared for toddlers. The kids had a blast playing there for about 90 minutes, and then we came back to the resort so Oliver could take his nap. During his nap Nadia and Ian painted suncatchers at the activity center, and then four of us headed back to Colonial Williamsburg for a guided tour of the Geddy House and to visit the gunsmith and courthouse. Upon our return back at the resort, Nadia and Ian did another painting activity before we all headed out to have dinner at IHOP. After dinner, the kids were able to bounce at the Bounce House for another 30 minutes before we came back to the resort. Nadia wanted to swim in the indoor pool, but we decided to wait until tomorrow. I think there are about 11 historic sites at Colonial Williamsburg we haven't visited yet (such as the jail, Capitol building, wigmaker, apothecary, etc.), but I am not sure if we'll venture over there on Friday morning or not. I do think touring a place like this is a far better way to learn about history than just reading about it in a book. I hope we can take the kids back here again in the future when they are older.