Day 5: Williamsburg

The cabin in the State park has been great to stay in. In the mornings you could step outside and watch the sun come up (courtesy of J who is an early riser, and who exuberantly sings at the top of his lungs each morning). The fields are quiet and misty in the early morning.

My favorite feature is the four poster bed with netting. (It's also my daughter's favorite!)

Williamsburg was really fun! The highlight for me was seeing the interpretation of "The first reading of the Declaration of Independence". I will admit that I got a little choked up. Both M and P are memorizing the first part - up until "that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive to these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government." P was really excited when she realized that she knew what they were saying. M actually admitted that is was "kinda cool". Remember, he is a teenager, so actually admitting that he likes something is like jumping up and down for the rest of us.

I think the highlight for C (and probably for M, though he might not admit it), was "drilling" with the "guns". The got to carry "guns" (wooden sticks) and learn how to "load" and "shoot" them. With sound effects! C was determined that he was going to get a real hat like the soldiers. He didn't care how much it cost. He didn't care if he had to spend all his allowance - he wanted a soldier's hat. I made him wait until the end of the day, to make sure that was what he REALLY wanted. He didn't want the plain one - he wanted the one with the gold trim. He finally got his hat, and it hasn't been off his head since. A's favorite part was also the gift shop. She found a beautiful cloth doll there named Margaret. She decided to change the doll's name to Virginia.

The best quote of the day came from M as we were eating lunch - "This place has really good food, considering that the whole place is a museum!" I think the food in question was a roast beef sandwich. We ate lunch in Shields Tavern.

When we first got to Williamsburg, we decided to skip the movie "The Story of a Patriot" and see it later in the afternoon, when the kids were tired (and more willing to sit still). About 3:00, we decided we had reached our saturation point, and headed back to the Visitor's Center. We arrived at 3:32, and just missed the 3:30 show. We headed to the gift shop until the next showing (3:50). Well, the kids got a bit carried away in the gift shop (plus the checkout lady wouldn't stop talking), and we raced back to the theatre just in time to see the doors close. We finally made it to the 4:15 show. J decided to take a nap during the movie.

One of the other highlights for the kids in VA has been taking the ferry every morning and every afternoon across the James River. They know the names of all four of the ferrys (Pocahontas, Surry, Williamsburg, Virginia) and each has their own particular favorite.

Tomorrow is our travel day to Philadelphia. We are going to go by way of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The KOA we are staying at has wireless Internet, so hopefully we can post more frequently.