Saturday, November 14, 2009

Our trip, part 1

This is going to be long, and it may very well end up being in two parts. We'll just have to see. :)

We left here early in the morning on Tuesday, October 13th. We had a pleasant drive down to Williamsburg, VA. I would highly recommend going down 301 rather than taking 95--there was virtually no traffic, and it was a much nicer drive. Jamie really enjoyed going over the Bay Bridge--he was quite impressed with its size. :)

Once we got to Williamsburg, we drove directly to the Visitors Center to pick up the tickets that I had purchased online. I'd gotten us the "Key to the City" passes, which are one-day admission with a second day free, plus tickets to the Governor's Palace tour. Since we were getting there in the early afternoon, I knew we weren't going to have time to get everything done the first day, so I decided to head over to the area where the Revolutionary City presentations were going to be going on, see the buildings down there, and see the Revolutionary City program. It was very cool and I'm glad we took the time to see it.

During our first afternoon in Williamsburg it was fairly warm, and we quickly found out that a) there are a lot of bees in Williamsburg, and b) they really, really like root beer. I had purchased a bottle and started being followed all over the place by bees. I finally had to abandon the bottle after like 3 bees fell into it and drowned.

Some Williamsburg pictures:

Jamie at the apothecary. They got to crush sugar and cloves to be used in some sort of medicine they were making.

Jamie with two of the actors from the Revolutionary City re-enactments.

Fifes and drums marching to the Capitol building to see the resolutions for independence passed.

After Williamsburg events ended for the day, we headed over to our hotel to check in. We had booked a room on Priceline at the EconoLodge, which was very nice. I had hoped we could find someplace interesting to eat that night, but as it turns out there are really not a lot of options in the general vicinity of the front gate that aren't super expensive, so we ended up just driving through Wendy's and heading back to the hotel.

The next morning we got up relatively early and headed over to the Capitol Pancake House to eat before going back to Williamsburg for another half day. This time, we concentrated more on the area where the shops are and we purchased several souvenirs, including a tricorn hat for Jamie to wear.

More pictures:

I joked to Jamie we were going to get some stocks for the house. He wasn't amused. ;)

Visiting the blacksmith was a highlight of the day. We had a lot of fun watching them make nails.

After a quick stop at the visitors center gift shop to purchase some Christmas ornaments, we were on our way to Charlotte. This was probably the hardest part of our trip. Driving 5 hours, walking around Williamsburg for 2 half days, and then driving 5 more hours....let's just say that was not well thought out! I was very tired by the time I got to my cousin Carey's house that evening.

We had a lot of fun with him and his family, though. They have 2 boys, one of whom is just about a year and a half older than Jamie, and they had a lot of fun together. I enjoyed catching up with my cousin and his wife, too--I haven't seen them in a long time. Although Michelle and I both take a lot of pictures normally, for some reason neither of us thought to take pictures of the boys together! Oh well. :)

On Thursday morning we were up bright and early and after seeing the boys off to school, Jamie and I headed over to Discovery Place to spend some time there. It's a really cool museum--part of it is currently under construction, but we were able to see some cool things anyway. Jamie and I enjoyed watching the trained rats play basketball (yes, really!) and making boats out of aluminum foil, which we then tested to see how many pennies they would hold before they sank.


Rat Basketball!

The hurricane tube--it simulates Category 1 hurricane force winds.

Floating boats!

From here, we drove down to Greensboro to visit with my friend Andria and her sweet little boy Wilder. It was so much fun hanging out with them. Jamie got to play with Wilder for a while while Andria and I chatted, and then we went out for really yummy Mexican food for dinner. :) That night Jamie and I got to stay in one of the buildings at the girl scout camp where Andria lives. I really wish I'd taken some outdoor pictures there, it was beautiful. :)


Jamie playing with Wilder. I love this shot. :)

This is getting long, so I will cut it for now. Stay tuned for part 2 picking up in Spartanburg! :)

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