Sewicked

We made it. I fell asleep around 9 am & woke up an hour late, near Richmond. Another hour passed (& one missed exit) and we were pulling into the hotel in Williamsburg

It was raining yesterday, whoot. It's not enough but it's a start. However, traffic backed up enough for a 40-minute drive to take over an hour. The first 40 minutes of that was to cover about what's 10 minutes of travel, normally.

We're staying at the La Quinta, which provides breakfast. This one has the largest breakfast I've ever seen at a La Quinta. It was still completely full, with people waiting to find a table.

We took our time about getting started & did not actually get to Williamsburg & get our tickets until about noon or so. We wondered around a bit and finally had lunch at The King's Arms at about 2 pm. Rosemary & I had the Norfolk Pottage Pye (aka chicken pot pie) & it was delicious. The crust was so flaky, it had huge chunks of chicken, just yum. Chris had the East Indian Company chicken (ie fried chicken) with a slice of country ham, a biscuit & mashed potatoes. I tried a bite of his chicken & a bite of his potatoes. Again, yum. I had a shrub to drink (fruit juice & sorbet drink) while Rosemary finally had a mint julep. She had never had one. I had a taste of hers. We both agreed that we prefer rum.

All three of us bought the souvenir mug and got cider. They are refilled for free and for each of us, maybe another 2 or 3 refills & the mug has paid for itself. I also bought a couple maps, Colonial America c. 1719 & New France, same era. I may give them for Chris as his birthday is the 15th and he wanted them, too.

I've seen a number of things that I'd like to get for Hailey & Leela. It's hard deciding upon just one item each. I might get one of the whistles for Liz. They are perfect for calling wandering kids, or husbands, home.

We toured the Governor's Palace. I took more pictures this time. Last time, we had to cut our tour short to be in time for our carriage ride. This time we completed it and then looked through the gardens a little.

Williamsburg has gotten a little more like Disneyworld, in a good way. They have collectible (& at least theoretically, tradable) pins, the refillable mug, & if you are staying at one of their hotels you can have your purchases shipped to the hotel & you get preferential treatment for tickets & stuff.

They are doing the Revolution City right now & we've caught part of it. We were at the edges of Hardcastle's tar & feathering & heard one of his speeches. We saw the rider come in with news of the events in Lexington & the aftermath.

I bought a notebook and a couple cedar pencils. I've started a travel journal. I'm leaving spaces to add some of the photos that I've taken. I want to do things like add my ticket to it & stuff like that, too. I'd love to use a quill pen but 1) I need to get one [though I have one at home], 2) get better at using it, 3) get some ink & 4) get a stoppered inkwell so I don't waste the ink.

It was very hot today & after the threat of rain cleared up, it was sunny. Good thing I put on spf 30 this morning. Since we walked about 4 to 4.5 miles today, we all got hot & sweaty. I think that I got a little heat sick. After we ate supper at the Dairy Queen (a short walk from the hotel), I was cold & took a nap. I was still abnormally cold when Chris woke me up.

We went on the Haunted Ghost Tour, which is a fairly recent addition to the Williamsburg experience. It's about an hour & the guides carry old-fashioned lanterns. They tell of encounters & unexplained occurrences in the area around Duke of Gloucester Street, including the old jail & other nearby locales. The oldest one that they relate is only a decade or so old & it's the first of a recurring sighting. The Lady in Green is probably a daughter of the Shields family which used to live in & run the Shields Tavern. She died, a teenager, of an unknown diseased in the 18th century. She often shows up in the Tavern since they reconstructed it, usually in the family's rooms.

Since there were children along for the tour, the guide did not talk about the occasional unfriendly ghostly encounter just the friendly ones; even if a couple of them were downright creepy. They ranged from footsteps to a mysterious meeting to a figure seen behind a locked gate to water faucet turning itself on. At the end of the tour, everyone got a pin. They could choose from a lantern or the Lady in Green. Rosemary & I chose the latter, Chris chose the former.

books: I bought Savannah of Williamsburg & the author signed it. I haven't done much reading though. I've had no time, really.
Tatting: I've worked on one of Jane's bookmarks but I messed up and it's canted to one side near the top. I'll use it but this is not one that I'm going to show off.

clothes: black ~slippers (which are now very dusty), black jeans (yeah, good idea on a hot sunny day that you'll be spending outdoors), burgundy NC Archaeological Society t-shirt (with time line of arrow points on the back), clip watch, black bead bracelet, andromorph Celtic pendant, chain mail earrings, Celtic knot ring, hash mark ring, hematite ring & braided hair.