A Short Stay in Williamsburg, Virginia

November 8 - 11, 2020

Photos below

Laura and I decided to take the kids down to Williamsburg back in August, but decided against it because of the pandemic.  We thought it would be less busy in November (it was) but still pleasant weather.  Were we ever right!  We had perfect weather, great accommodations at a Hampton Inn/Hilton (really clean) quite close to Colonial Williamsburg, and the opportunity to visit, if even for  short time, with one of my former fifth graders, Emily Doherty, who now has the dream job of being a docent/writer/presenter at Colonial Williamsburg.

We drove down on Sunday, arriving before dark to check in and find an outdoor venue to eat dinner.  We found the perfect place, a wonderful pizza place at the end of the mile-long central strip of Colonial Williamsburg, Mellow Marshmallow.  We enjoyed it so much that we decided to eat there again on Tuesday night.  Great food, wonderful wait staff, we loved it.

First thing Monday morning, we met up with Emily outside the Governor's Palace.  She hasn't changed one iota, what a sweetheart.  She even gifted us with free tickets for our two-day stay.  She says it's one of the perks of employment, and she hasn't had the opportunity to give many away this year!  

Our first "tour" was of the governor's palace, which was super enjoyable.  I spent a week here on a Teacher Education Opportunity back in 2001, and remembered some of the places here so fondly.  During that week we saw so much behind-the-scenes and gleaned a huge knowledge of how to share this incredible place with kids.  I remembered the entrance to the palace, full of swords, knives, and firearms.  Tristan sure enjoyed it!  

Even though inside touring was limited, small groups got to see a dozen or so of the authentic settings.  Docents were more than happy to answer questions, including those relating to working there.  We learned about blacksmithing, silversmithing, brickmaking, millinery, and the two different courts of law available to the residents of Williamsburg back in "the day."  It was laid-back, engrossing, and so much fun.  Both kids enjoyed it greatly.

We spent Monday morning and Tuesday morning at Williamsburg.

On Monday afternoon we went to Jamestown, one part of the Colonial National Historic Park "triangle."  Unfortunately, the movie and museum were (of course) closed, which lessened the information for the kids greatly.  Next time...

On Tuesday afternoon we headed to Yorktown.  Again, no museum or movie, but interesting.  Kids got to hike around both places, but Williamsburg was the super hit of this trip.

Mellow Mushroom

Just Arrived

We felt like we had the entire place to ourselves!

Fall in Colonial Williamsburg

Inside the courthouse

Masks the whole time, of course

Walkway bridge with benches at Jamestown.

BOARD BOOK - All Aboard! National Parks by Devin & Haily Meyers

Illustrated by Haily Meyers

2016 Gibbs Smith

$9.99 board book

11 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.04 - 45 ratings

My rating: 4

Illustrations - Love the colors, errors (see below), but I like them otherwise

My comments:  I don't usually write any kind of review for board books, but I've found a couple today that take exception to that.  I love anything to do with national parks, and that there's a BOARD BOOK for little ones about them is more-than-super.  The colors are great and the illustrations are fun. Although the text is particularly sparse (it is a board book after all), the verbs used are wonderful.... savoring.... marveling at..... surveying.... experiencing.... peering over.....
          There's a map at the end with the locations of the nine parks notated.  Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountain, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon, Olympic, and Yosemite.
          I have two beefs with the illustrations, both of which tend to drive me crazy.  The first - when saguaro cacti are shown where they should not be!  There's not a single saguaro cacti at Grand Canyon National Park.  The closest one can be found in the Sonoran Desert, much to the south.  Secondly, there's a puffin denoting Acadia National Park.  Although I'm sure there are lots of puffins way out on the far outer islands of Maine, you will definitely not see one at Acadia National Park (I lived there for 30 years, so I know that for a fact). It does make me wonder if there are other misrepresentations for other parks in the book.  I know this is probably insignificant for most people, but I do wish it had been researched a little better!

Goodreads:  From the creators of BabyLit®: Every area of the world can be mapped out for adventure, and brilliant babies love the sophistication of traveling by train.
          This new board book series written by the husband and wife team of Haily and Kevin Meyers and illustrated by Haily, celebrates the unique qualities of each city while employing a fun primer element to tell the story. These books will have you and baby seeing the world by train and will turn story time into a globetrotting event. Perfect as a souvenir or as part of a geography collection for brilliant babies, the All Aboard! series will be pulling into your station next!

Coronado National Memorial

I spent this year's anniversary exploring in far south eastern Arizona. After spending the morning in Bisbee I traveled west on 92, seemingly inches from Mexico. When the road looped northward toward Sierra Vista, I decided to take the 5 mile ride in to Coronado. I visited there when I first moved to Arizona, in 2003, but it's so down and out-of-the way that I hadn't returned. And this time, after stopping in the visitor's center, I continued on up the winding, well-maintained dirt road to the summit of Montezuma Pass. And I'm so glad I did! It was gorgeous.

Location: South of Sierra Vista, take route 92 for 16 miles. A right-hand turn is marked by a sign - the Visitor's Center is about 5 miles down a lovely road. If you're coming from Bisbee, take 92 west for about 20 miles and the turn will be on the left.

Visitor's Center: You really feel like you're in the middle of nowhere (you are), and there was only one other car there - the Park Ranger's. There are really clean restrooms, a picnic table, and a picnic area across the street (I could hear voices coming through the trees). The center has some paintings as an exhibit and a 9-minute film telling of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's expedition up from Mexico, through what is now Arizona, and over to Kansas before giving up looking for gold and treasures. A beautiful, large picture window showcases a shaded area where you can sit and watch animals and birds. Very quiet. They need music playing, or some sort of white noise for when the film is over.

Bookstore: Small and intimate, with a few Arizona books, a few that apply to Coronado, hiking sticks, hats, tee shirts. Nothing major or out-of-the-ordinary.

I especially enjoyed: The ride up to the top. I didn't do this the first time I came. It was really beautiful. A little scary in places, because it's only wide enough most of the time for just a little more than one car, and there might be someone coming....around the corner....the other way. There were no railings, so to see you HAD to stop...or risk going over the edge. There were three big white vans and a mess of people at the top....bird watchers?....so I didn't get to explore up there too much. I was in a solitary mood. I was told there's an accessible hike to even cooler views, with benches along the way as you ascend. Next time.

There's also a cave - unlit, so you need a flashlight, that's a 1.5 mile round-trip hike. Wow. That would be pretty cool, too!

Yosemite National Park

On Tuesday, July 13th, I left Novato, California to head home to Tucson. I wanted to go down 395, through the Sierra Nevadas. To do this, the only way I could get across them was to go through Yosemite National Park.

Wow.

I'd been to Yosemite once before, for three or four days during the summer of 2002, visiting a friend who lives there, and she'd taken me to all the wonderful natural destinations. This time I was to get to drive across CA-120, which is only open for 4 or 5 months of the year. This is also called the Tioga Road, which passes through Tuolumne Meadows. It's so breathtakingly beautiful that it's practically indescribable. It didn't hurt that the day was absolutely gorgeous. I took this picture myself!

Location: 195 miles from San Francisco, 315 miles from LA. 1169 square miles in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Visitor's Center: To get here, you must drive six miles on the 12-mile, one-way loop through Yosemite Valley, park, and take a short shuttle. There were a lot of people, but virtually no waiting. The Visitor's Center was busy, informative, and interesting. The movie was okay....I wanted more information than I actually got....so I can only say it was "okay."

Bookstore: This was a very nice bookstore, but a lot smaller than I expected. The children's section, where I always gravitate, was more than adequate but again, nothing special.

I especially enjoyed: The views. This vista, nearing the end of the Tioga Road, was one that I didn't want to leave. It's the backside, where I suspect many visitors never get to see.

I wish that I'd had more than just an afternoon there. Next time I'll stay overnight (probably in a bed, not in a tent, though the campsgrounds looked pretty tempting) and take a tour or two. And no, I won't be climbing Half Dome. At least not in this lifetime. Big sigh. Wish I could!