Yorktown

So our day began on the Colonial Parkway, this time headed for Yorktown. Our first stop was the Yorktown Battlefield, run by the National Parks Service. This is the site where Washington won a decisive battle over the British, resulting in a ceasefire which ultimately led to American independence. We saw a brief film then took a tour given by a park ranger, who gave excellent descriptions of the military strategy involved. There's an extended tour you can take in your car. We bought the CD but opted not to do the tour. Instead we drove past the Yorktown Victory Monument, then headed over to the Yorktown Victory Center. This is a museum complex run by the same people who run the Jamestown Settlement. There's a farm (circa 1780) at the front of the complex (saw a turkey rolling in the dust to try to stay cool) and a military encampment at the rear, where a costumed interpreter showed us 18th century surgical implements. There's also a small gallery showing the American Revolution from the perspective of ordinary people. By now we were famished, so we took the trolley into Yorktown. Our destination was Beach Delly, a very casual dining spot on Water Street across from a beach (duh!) with a great view of the York River. The place features sandwiches, burgers and pizza. My bacon cheeseburger was served with lettuce, tomato and a pickle slice. Ketchup and mustard were on the table and there was a packet of mayo on the plate. Loved my burger. The accompanying potato salad was meh -- more mayo than potato and very little flavor. Drew ordered the "Lee", a roast beef hero with cheese and horseradish sauce - excellent sandwich. The french fries were hot and crisp. Service was friendly and efficient. I know this is a casual beach place, and I know this is Virginia in July, but still . . .they need to do something about the flies - after we finished eating, as I was getting money together to pay the bill, the flies started to bother me - it's not fun to be swatting at flies while calculating your waitress' tip. By now the heat was starting to get to us, so we called it a day and headed back to Williamsburg.