A friend asked me to post something more about this years trip to Colonial Williamsburg, so here goes: To someone interested in 18th Century America, Colonial Williamsburg does more each year to make the experience deeper, if you look. The clothing is more varied and better-matched to the socio-economic level the interpreters are portraying. And the clothing shows wear and OMG!, dirt. The guides you lead you on tours of the major buildings like the Capitol and Governours Palace really do a grand job of putting you in a time and place. It is not as rigidly first-person (or in-character) as it is some places, but they are well- prepared and rehearsed. Over the years interpreters of African descent have become more numerous and more involved in interaction with the visitors. Examples this trip were the young man cooking in the Great Hopes Plantation site (he was cooking for the group doing the Pig-to-Pork butchering and salting/smoking program) and the woman who portrayed a free Negro Laundress who was in Charlton Coffee House trying to drum up business for her laundry and catch any customers who owed her money. They were expert in their roles/skills, and were an absolutely vital part of telling a rounded story of this Virginia town. The Anderson Armoury had just been opened, and I spoke at length with the tin men working on objects made of tin-plated iron for the Armed Forces of Virginia: kettles, cups, canteens, coffee and tea pots. This is a wholly new site based on the old blacksmith area. The people here are not just tour guides they ARE working tin men who ARE making items for use on the site by interpreters. The same is true of the blacksmiths in the forge area: they are working on making things needed by the interpretive program. If my memory serves, they duplicated some original tin working tools of all types for the new tin shop. They very complete set of tin working tools donated for the site are still in the collection. The wise choice was made to create duplicates for the day-to-day work. The meals we had in the tavern were a bit pricey, but they were full- course meals and you got grand food, good service and the atmosphere of the tavern ,and free strolling musicians. The Big Dog Café in the Merchants Square area was good, too. You can spend a whole day in the Art Museum Complex. Hurry to see the Threads of Feeling exhibit before it goes home to England. Read about it at the CW website, and you will know why I so strongly recommend it. Dont forget the furniture, ceramics, silverware, clothing, coins and firelocks, either. Can you say, Kid in a Candy Store boys and girls? I can also recommend the corn chowder and the vegetable soup in the cafe. The Museum bookstore can hurt your wallet deeply, as can all of the bookshops. Two last points: 1) this seems to be a slack time in Williamsburg, so they are running some deals for tickets/lodging. I know of some chain motels REALLY close to the Visitors Center that have rooms in the $30.00 per night range. No, not the Taj Mahal, but I dont spend a great deal of time awake in my room, unless there is a good movie on TV. 20 I like to detour off of I-95 at exit #31 and head east on VA 40 to VA 10, then south to VA 31, then sort of north to the town of Surry, then go straight toward the VADOT Ferryboat that runs 24/7 between Scotland and Jamestown. Take the nice boat ride across the James River then follow VA 31 to VA 5 and the CW Visitors Center.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 02:02:25 +0000
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