This was a two part trip. First part, Cycle NC event was all about the bike. We should look for more events like this. Low cost and fun way to see an area and meet new people. Always pick the camping option – it’s a great crowd in the campsite and shower trucks are just fine. Next time, bring the cooler, pack some food and beverages and maybe even the camp stove. I was surprised that people were cooking in the campsite because it was just a waterfront park. Figure out how to keep the biking butts conditioned year round! Maybe that just means travel more but it also might involve the dreaded trainer.
Second part was mostly history and some biking. This area, Williamsburg and the history triangle, has a lot to offer and is delightful before the main tourist season and heat arrive. Katie, here is the history part. Yes, Dad is helping me with this!
Colonial Williamsburg is a full day experience and wear good walking shoes! The interpreters are very good and the different houses and shops in the village are quite interesting. Many have been refurbished or rebuilt and a couple were moved there. The time period is early 1770s just when everyone was starting to get real crabby about Mother England and the Church of England. We saw a lively debate about whether the CoE should be the only recognized church.
Yorktown was the site of the final battle of the revolutionary war. We biked out there and watched the movie, walked to the tower commemorating the battle which they finally got aroud to building 100 years later. Cool thing about the tower was that it’s topped with lady Liberty and in the 1940s a lightening bolt hit it and blew off her head! That is some fun history! She was headless for 15 years!
Jamestowne has fascinating active archeological digging. We took an hour long tour with one of the archeologists who’s been working there for over 20 years. She was a great story teller and we learned a lot about the original settlement. It’s a sad tale of starvation with a bit cannabalism tossed in for spice! One old man asked if they could tell if it was the Indians that were the cannibals and then pressed about could they be sure that it was really the English settlers. I suspect he wants to build a big wall. We also visited their glassblowing exhibit and furnace restoration. Glassblowing was a pretty quick failure in Jamestowne but it made for an interesting exhibit and they sell their glassware there.
The Art Museums in Williamsburg were a treat for me. 12 quilts made by African American women in the early to mid 1900s on display. Most were made from recycled clothing and often used flour and sugar sacks for their backing. We also saw representative furniture from many states and 3 rooms of maps that charted the course of the American Revolution and formation of the nation – Tom really liked that part!
Ok, that was some fine history! I wish we could have biked the Capitol trail that starts in Jamestowne and some of the Yorktown roads, but otherwise we were pretty happy with what we managed to see.