Colonial Williamsburg - A Great Vacation / Judy

jennifer & uchenna in ponca city, ok

Whoo-hoo! This is my first attempt at writing a blog. So here goes. I want to tell you about our wonderful vacation last week. Jennifer talked about our being at her house and it really was fun. She has a beautiful house, a great yard, a pretty town, and nice friends. And of course it felt really good to just spend time with her and Uchenna. We got there on Tues. night and then left the following Monday.

accomodations

We arrived in Newport News (the closest airport to Williamsburg) about 6 pm and were met by a shuttle/cab that I’d arranged. The trip there takes about 20 minutes and we stayed at the Woodland Inn, which is right next to the Visitor Center. The hotel was a little pricey, but we didn’t have to rent a car and they had a huge (included) breakfast every morning. Also, since we were staying at one of the official hotels, we had free tickets to Colonial Williamsburg for the length of our stay.

live theatre everywhere

As we’ve mentioned before, that is one of our favorite places. It just feels so good to be there in that environment. The weather was perfect; although rain was predicted, we didn’t see any. During the day we walked around and went into every place we could. We saw how to make chocolate from cacao beans and several dramatizations. We found we were especially interested in the actors’ stories. We learned the very first troupe of actors came from England in 1752 and gave the first play ever seen in America right there in Williamsburg—“The Merchant of Venice.”

Because the colonies wanted to avoid everything British, drama was banned during the Revolutionary war. Except George Washington, knowing he’d be in trouble for doing it, put on the Greek play “Cato” at Valley Forge to inspire his men. The play was about the choice to die or to live free with lines like, “One hour of freedom is worth an eternity in bondage.” And my favorite: “How beautiful is death when earned by virtue.” Sounds like it’s right out of the Book of Mormon

One night we saw two performances—one called “Crime and Punishment” which was about legal punishment during the 18th century, and we walked around the places like the gaol where things like hangings, brandings, etc. took place—pretty gruesome but fascinating. After that we were inside the Capitol and saw a re-enactment of a trial of two people, including a woman, accused of piracy—very fun.

colonial taverns and theatrical farce

The next night we ate at one of the taverns and had storytelling and music for entertainment. The last night we saw a play that was actually presented in 1767 in Philadelphia. It was hilarious which shows that funny is funny, no matter where or when it happens.

hoping to return

The flight back was long, but it was good to be home and especially since Aaron and Marrisse and the kids came the next morning. It sort of extended the vacation so we didn’t feel so bad about leaving Jen & Uchenna & Williamsburg. But I do want to go back again.