Traveling as Two - Jamestown

"And the rain rain rain came down down down..." 

It doesn't rain like that in Utah.

We headed for Historic Jamestown. We probably should have, but didn't bring an umbrella on this trip. Fortunately, it was only sprinking and it was a warm soft rain.

We watched a movie and looked at the exhibits and then my sweetie insisted we stop by the gift shop and buy an umbrella before we headed outside to see the archeological evidence from Jamestown.

Unfortunately, it was really only big enough for one and though my sweetie tried, I insisted he be that one. I like the rain... for a while. We ducked into this cool old church.

At least it was dry. By the time we got to this statue, I was starting to worry about slipping and falling into the bay. 

We took advantage of the next roof at a tiny cafe where we grabbed lunch. By then, the rain was pounding on the roof and it was no longer warm and light, and I was drenched!!

My sweetie suggested we walk the 50 yards or so to the museum and try to buy another umbrella. It was that or brave the trail back to the main building.

I was only in the small museum for about 5 minutes when I cut through to the gift shop. I bought an umbrella and a dry hoodie. I pulled off my wet hoodie first, but five minutes later, I was in the bathroom, pulling off my soaked t-shirt too. After I told my sweetie, we went back to the gift shop one more time to buy him a matching hoodie.

This was on our trail back.

We left Historic Jamestown and made the quick drive to Jamestown Settlement. 

We were starting to get tired of the galleries, so we didn't really give this museum a fair chance. The outside area was still being pounded in rain, so I kept my phone put away, but the living history stuff was pretty awesome.

We ended our visit in the ginormous gift shop. My sweetie found this really fun game.

After we got back to the condo, we played the game for an hour, constantly changing the rules. Then we cooked dinner and watched a movie. On the move tomorrow.

Traveling as Two - Williamsburg

Tuesday dawned bright and early; we had places to go and people to see.

We started out at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. It was BIG!!

We skipped the outdoor settlement because it was raining and that meant they wouldn't be firing the guns.

We spent our last 30 minutes eating lunch in the cafe, waiting for the gift shop to reopen. But we loaded up and left for the Yorktown Battlefield.

The rain was still pouring down, but we didn't want to miss the visitor's center.

They also had a huge cannon.

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It was time to see one more thing before heading back to the condo... a statue about the battle of Yorktown. 

Pretty impressive, even in the rain, but we had somewhere to be, HGV's Paint and Sipp event and the bus was leaving at 4:30.

We ate wood fired pizzas and sipped Diet Coke while we painted the Governor's Palace.

So much fun.

Traveling as Two - Richmond

We checked out of our Harper's Ferry hotel early since we had tickets to be at Monticello by 11:15. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive without stops and we got there with 5 minutes to spare. After we passed through the metal detectors, it was time to get on the shuttle.

This was our first glimpse of Thomas Jefferson's beloved Monticello.

It wasn't as big as we were thinking it might be. Here you go, up close.

The entryway was really cool...no staircase!

I loved the library and all the old books. Here was Jefferson's bed...pretty short for a guy who was 6'2", but our guide told us Jefferson always slept sitting up!

Look at his closet!!

We toured the kitchens and the underground tunnel. We stopped at the cafe and bought a root beer. A quick dash through the gift shop and then it was time to go. We still had lots of miles before we could sleep.

Next stop, Richmond and this fleeting glimpse of the state capitol.

And this really cool building from capitol square that I don't know what is.

We left Richmond for our last hour on the road. Our destination was Williamsburg and after checking into our condo, we went looking for somewhere to eat.

The Plaza Azteca was so good and even a bit different. They made fresh guacamole at the table.

And our food was delivered by robot!

More fun tomorrow.

 

Traveling as Two - Harper's Ferry

We got up bright and early on Sunday so that we could eat our free Hampton Inn breakfast and then get to church by 9:00.

When Sacrament meeting was over, we drove the short distance to Harper's Ferry. After checking in and changing my shoes, we climbed on the shuttle to Lower Town.

Harper's Fery was not really what I expected. Nearly all the old houses and storefronts had been turned into various museums. My sweetie was so sad that he couldn't really buy fudge at the confectionery!

The first building we went into showed us a little movie about the various floods that kept taking out the town.

Harper's Ferry is at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, so that isn't really surprising. After looking inside several buildings, we walked over to the bridge leading to Maryland. It spans the Potomac just before the Confluence.

We walk slow, but it wasn't too long before we got off the bridge. We decided to get something to eat, so we stopped at a cute little pub with a crazy small winding staircase leading to the second floor. (That's where the restroom was...)

The food was way good, especially the french fries.

After several more buildings and a run through the gift shop, we caught the shuttle back to the visitor's center.

Our feet were hurting from all the walking on uneven terrain, so we decided to take a dip in the hot tub.

Then it was a quick dinner of pita bread and soup in the room, and we decided to call it a day. 

More excitement tomorrow...