Jamestown: The Buildings

Recreation of 17th Century Town, Jamestown Settlement, Virginia

Powhatan's Kitchen

Near the "real" Jamestown is a large living history museum called Jamestown Settlement. (It used to be called Jamestown Festival Park, didn't it?) Their outdoor exhibits include a recreation of a Powhatan Village.

I wonder if Pocahontas had to cook like this. Or was she spared kitchen duty because she was a princess?

Something that didn't happen

I was hoping that on our trip, our allergies and our coughing would clear up. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, although I felt a little better. We've both taken antibiotics and that didn't help either.

Also, there were some foods that I didn't have (notably chocolate) for the duration of the trip, and that didn't make a difference either.

Left: Frank at Jamestown Settlement. I believe that the carved face on a pole is based one of John White's drawings.

Where We Stayed in Williamsburg

Hampton Inn & Suites
1880 Williamsburg Road

We were two miles from the historic district but at least we were close to restaurants. This is the view from our window.

It's not a pretty view like have at home but you can't have everything. I had reserved a suite so that we had a place to cook and a fridge. This was helpful because it is hard to get a gluten-free milk-free breakfast away from home. Unfortunately, the skillet provided was not "seasoned" so I scorched it just making pancakes. For a minute I feared the smoke-alarm would go off! The pancakes, which were rice-flour based, tasted good anyway.

Anyway, we were happy with the hotel. The desk clerk, Sammy, was very helpful, and I had wireless internet.

We didn't spend much time in the historic district since I really wanted to see the new discoveries in Jamestown. Last time either of us were there, we were told that the remains of the fort were under the James River. Since then archaeologists have proved that this was not the case.

Reading a Marker, Yorktown

Here's Frank as he reads a historical marker. He kept his sunglasses handy while he used his reading glasses.

We did quite a bit of sightseeing in a few days but came home a day early.

Tasty Food in Two Tourist Towns

We've had some good food down here in the Historic Triangle of Virginia. A lunch at the Riverwalk Restaurant on Yorktown's waterfront was pleasant and we enjoyed the view of the river. We had three excellent dinners in a row in Williamsburg: The Peking Mongolian & Japanese Restaurant, which is the largest oriental restaurant I've eaten in, Outback (which is usually good anywhere but was perfect here), and The Jefferson, which features staff in colonial costumes even though outside the historic district.

York River Scenes

I took these pictures of the York River from Riverwalk Landing, a new commercial development. I must say Yorktown did a nice job with this complex.

Events this Saturday, Shenandoah County

September 29, 2007

10 AM: Lecture on Islam in the Modern World. Ken Lizzio speaks at the Orkney-Basye Rescue Squad.

1 PM: Real Estate Auction at the Bryce Resort Old Pro Shop

All day: Shenandoah Caverns Savor the Valley Family Festival

Picture of Passage Creek

Passage Creek,
George Washington National Forest

Benny's Grandfather?

We took this picture because the yellow dog reminds us of Benny.

This photo is from a visit to American Celebration on Parade that we made this spring.

Oriental Garden at Glen Burnie

Winchester, Virginia:
Down the hill from the manor house at Glen Burnie is a spring-fed stream. An oriental garden and a pond have been landscaped to make a refreshing park to wander through.

A Visit to Glen Burnie

Last month we visited Glen Burnie in Winchester, VA. It's a historic estate next to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley on Route 50.

According to a sign, Glen Burnie is the homestead site of Col. James Wood, who founded Winchester in 1744. Wood's son, Robert, began the present house in 1794. Later the house was expanded and filled with antiques and artwork. Around it are lovely gardens.

Deer in Moreland Gap

These deer are taking advantage of a cleared lot on Moreland Gap Road. That road goes from Camp Roosevelt to Meems Bottom, where it meets US 11 south of Mt. Jackson. The road is narrow in places - don't expect a superhighway!

Another Footbridge Picture

Frank decided to shave his beard. I liked the beard personally.

The Lion's Tale Trail

I'd heard about the Lion's Tale Trail but had not been there until yesterday. It's near Camp Roosevelt and Fort Valley. A project of the Lions Clubs of Virginia, it was built with special features, such as a places where a child in a wheelchair can touch spring water or dip his toes in a pond. It's only half a mile long and provides a pleasant walk in the National Forest.

The interpretive signs will appeal to children. They feature a mountain lion telling about the sights of the forest. (Don't worry, mountain lions haven't been seen in this area for generations.)

I imagine this area will be lovely in a month when the colors change. I know Passage Creek farther down at Elizabeth Furnace is gorgeous in autumn.

The Lion's Tale Trail is on Forest Road 274, which I think is a little hard to find coming from Edinburg or Mt. Jackson. At the intersection next to Camp Roosevelt, it's the road that is not well-marked! (Camp Roosevelt Road and Moreland Gap Road are more easily identified, at least for me. FDR 274 is also called Crisman Hollow Road.) Fortunately I had a little map in a Forest Service brochure called Massanutten Motor Mountaineering which cleared things up. If you come in from US 211, 274 is easier to find. It's practically across from the visitor's center at New Market Gap.

For info, visit Forest Service Office, Edinburg, VA

Pondering at Shrinemont

Little white-tailed deer

We often see deer when we drive around here. We saw these from Connie Road yesterday. One still had spots.

They were in the shade so the image came out dark. And while our deer are used to living around people, they run off when you get close.

Recently Read History Books\CDs

Okay, I'm a history geek. Here's three books I read recently:

1. Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. I listened to this one on CDs. It combines anthropology, biology, geography, history, and the author's personal opinions on why some societies became wealthy and powerful while others just subsisted. The answers have nothing to do with talent or intelligence, but much to do with resources and the limitations of geography. Very interesting.

2. Holding Rugged Ground: The Civil War Along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike is an audiobook that combines narrative, diaries, letters, and mountain music to tell about the Civil War in West Virginia. We visited that area in May - see my Civil War Field Trip Photo Pages.

This is good CD to listen to while you drive through West Virginia. Those mountains were rugged places for an armies to march through. They even camped in the mountains over an entire winter. Heh, talk about a "cold mountain!"

3. Everything was wonderful: A pictorial history of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Shenandoah National Park by Reed Engle. This is a slim paperbook back that I found in the library. I've heard about the CCC all my life; my parents explained to us kids how the CCC boys built the facilities that we enjoyed at Shenandoah National Park and other recreation areas. This book has recollections and photos of those young men building the park. For those of us who did not experience the great depression or the New Deal, this provides a glimpse of those times and a successful social program that still benefits us today.

Trees - Growing and Gone

Note the size of the stump on the right. It will take a while for the young tree to reach that width!

Around the Pond with Benny

Little Ben is always happy to go for a walk. He likes getting in the car too. I took him to Orkney Springs today and we walked around the pond.

Additions to Civil War Tour Website

I added a couple of pages to my recent Romney to Delaplane Civil War tour:

• Shenandoah River South Fork and
• Farms at Paris (Virginia).

These pages add four photos that I took recently showing the route that Confederate troops took on the way from the Shenandoah Valley to Manassas. I also added a couple of photos to the pages that were already posted.

Flowers at Orkney Springs

At the end or VA Route 263, inside the loop where the road goes around and meets itself, is a stream and a lovely garden. We've seen folks tending it; they do a great job.

If you peer closely at the butterfly bush below, you can see that there are two butterflies on it (upper right and lower middle).

Someone Else's Window

View from a Chalet at Bryce

Last week we looked at some houses for sale here in the resort, not for ourselves, but for a client of Frank's. The view above overlooks the golf course.

A year ago we were buying the house we have now. Yes, it's already been a year!

To the right is the view from one of our windows. I show you our view pretty regularly - it's pretty, and it changes with the weather and the seasons. Sometimes I just stop whatever I'm doing and enjoy the view.

After the rain, Morning

I noticed that wispy vertical cloud often rises up in the same place in our view. Nancy M. says that there's a waterfall there. Or maybe it's fog rising off Lake Birdhaven.

Walking through Paris

I went back to the village of Paris, Virginia to take some pictures. When I was there on a field trip in May, a steady rain made photography difficult.

Paris is mostly hidden from the highways (17 and 50) that intersect nearby. Travelers may glimpse the historical marker for Jackson's Bivouac as they speed past. A few may come into town to visit the Ashby Inn or the nearby antique shop. They find a quaint little settlement that seems to have been ignored by time for a hundred years.

Above: The Ashby Inn.
Right: A sign on a farm fence says Jackson's Bivouac, duplicating the text of the marker on Route 50, which states:

"After a day’s march from Winchester on 19-20 July 1861, Brig. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson halted his lead brigade of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Valley army near here. At 2:00 A.M. his 2,500 men sank down to rest.

When told that no sentries had been posted, Jackson stated “Let the poor boys sleep. I will guard the camp myself.” Relieved of his duty an hour before daybreak, Jackson slept briefly, rising at dawn to march to Piedmont Station (now Delaplane), where railcars waited to transport the 11,000-man army to Manassas Junction. There, nearly 30,000 Confederates faced 35,000 Federals at the First Battle of Manassas."