Road trip day two, the adventure begins

 What you have to understand about Williamsburg.  It’s a living history museum that’s in the center of a bustling modern town.  The colonial area of the town was restored and/or reconstructed by John D. Rockefeller starting in the 1930’s.  Walk deepen Duke of Gloucester Street and all you will see are colonial buildings, most part of the museum but some privately owned.  Keep walking and you will eventually find modern shops and restaurants,

This is not our first visit to Williamsburg.  We were here in the summer of 2012.  

So the Williamsburg Inn has program where you can stay in an authentic colonial building.  Last time we were here we stayed at the Chiswell-Bucktrout House,  named for two prominent citizens.   Colonel Chiswell served in the House of Burgesses and co-owned Raleigh Tavern.  

This time?

We’re at the corner of Queen Street and Duke of Gloucester Street .

Our room

And our view

And on the first floor of the building 

We met another guest, a man from Michigan.  He lives in ac19th century lighthouse.  He was dressed in 18th century garb, even had spectacles made to his prescription .  

Our morning began at the Visitor’s Center, just outside of town.  We did a little shopping in the gift store, then watched a movie — Williamsburg:The Story of a Patriot.  It’s a good introduction to the area,  Believe it or not, the movie was filmed in 1957 and stars Jack Lord.  Yes, that Jack Lord.

Seen at the gift shop

Next we went to the Governor’s Palace. This was the home and business office of the Royal Governor,  Later, when the capital was moved to Richmond m the building was used as a hospital.  Eventually it burned down, and had to ve reconstructed in the 1930’s. 

The palace has beautiful gardens.

By now we were getting a bit hungry, so we headed over to Old Dominion Burgers.  The burgers were great (I had a gluten free bun).  I liked my fries but Drew thought his fried pickles were too salty.

A quick walk over to our hotel, the Williamsburg Inn, to pick up tickets from the concierge, and then it was time to go to court.

We headed over to the courthouse to see how colonial justice was dispensed.  We saw two court cases reenacted, a guy charged with a felony for not going to church and a woman complaining about conditions in the marketplace.

An 18th century court clerk and his desk,

We saw a few other sites — the magazine and mi,Italy encampment, some house, and various stores and tradesmen.

Dinner was at the King’s Arms Tavern, where a woman entertained us with the Irish harp, and where our waiter gave us napkins that covered us from neck to knees.  Drew had roast duck and I had Cornish game hen.

The evening’s entertainment was at the Capitol. A show calked Cry Witch.  While most of Colonial Williamsburg is geared to the 1770’s and the Revolution,  this production is set in 1706, the trial of Grace Sherwood.  It’s an interactive experience, with the audience playing the role of jury.  Our group found her ‘not guilty”.

More to come …