Yorktown & Williamsburg

We got an early start, for us, today; and headed to Yorktown. We
started at the battlefield where we toured their small museum and
watched the video about the battle at Yorktown. Next we drove the
battlefield tour to see where each side was camped, the battle lines,
and the redoubts that the French and Americans captured that led to
the British surrender. We also went to the Yorktown Victory Center,
which is a larger museum, another video, and some costumed
interpreters who helped us learn more about Yorktown. At the end of
the day, I asked the kids what they learned and Nathan was able to
give me a very detailed account of the battle, including the troop
movements leading up to it and what came after, so that is the sign of
a good field trip. This battle was a lot of physical labor for our
troops, digging trenches and fascine and gabbions, and moving heavy
guns. With the French, we had about 17,000 troops, plus 23 French
ships in the river, to the British 5000 troops. They tried to bring in
reinforcements by sea, but they were unable to get passed the French
fleet, so they took their damages ships back to New York. Cornwallis
was too 'sick' to surrender in person, so he sent his 2nd in command.
In response, Washington had his 2nd in command accept the surrender.
This was essentially the end of the war, though it wouldn't be
official until the Treaty of Paris 2 years later. The picture below
was taken in a tent in a re-creation of the army camp at Yorktown.

After Yorktown we headed back to Williamsburg to see more there. We
only had a little over an hour before closing time, but we were able
to visit a few more of the craftsmen, including the jeweler, milliner,
wig maker, post office and book binder. Raven's favorite was the
milliner, where they also told us how they make gowns, by draping the
fabric directly on the person and cutting it out from there. While in
Williamsburg we ran into the Garff's, a family from our ward. Small
world! This is our last night in the Williamsburg area. Tomorrow we
head to D.C. I can't believe it has been a week already!

Williamsburg

We went to tour Colonial Williamsburg today. We had a late start
because David had a 2 hour phone interview with someone they are
considering for the VP of Engineering position. We were able to tour
the church before David got on the phone again. He and Nathan got
separated from us and missed the tour of George Wythe's house, where
this picture was taken. We saw where Thomas Jefferson would have
studied when he was studying law with Wythe. George and his wife
Elizabeth lived here for 30 years and they never had any children.
The Wythe's turned the house over to Washington and his men for about
3 weeks in September to plan for the battle at Yorktown the next
month, which would be the end of the war. After his wife died Wythe
moved to Richmond, which was the new Capitol. He never remarried.

After the Wythe home the kids and I toured the Governors Palace while
David was on the phone. Again. The palace was the home of the royal
governors until the revolution and then it became the home of the
Virginia governors, such as Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, while
Williamsburg was the Capitol. The original building was destroyed in
the Civil War, but this reconstruction was built on the original
foundation from records of the building.

We ended up going back to our condo for lunch and stayed there because
Raven was feeling feverish. She wasn't feeling well all day and has
been napping this afternoon. Hopefully she will be better tomorrow.

David had more phone calls this afternoon. Fusion-io had a big press
release announcing their $47 m funding today, so he's had lots of
press calls and meetings today.

Monticello

We awoke to a Thunder Hail Storm today, wishing we had this weather
yesterday instead, when we stayed in anyway. We decided it was a good
day for a drive, so we headed to Monticello, which was two hours away.

We did the Mulberry Row tour, where we learned about Jeffersons
slaves. Our tour guide told many stories that made the tour very
interesting.

Next we took the tour if the house. It was fun to see his interesting
designs in the house, like the dumbwaiter in the fireplace mantle and
the closets above the beds. The views from Monticello are beautiful. I
can see how Jefferson could be so conflicted with wanting to get rid
of slavery and keeping his lifestyle at the same time.
Oh well, even though he didn't solve that problem, he was still an
amazing man who fullfilled his mission in life.

In the fort at Jamestown

Aboard the Susan Constant in Jamestown

Saturday & Sunday April 4 & 5

>

> Saturday we spent the day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It was a
> very pleasant day with lots of sun and nice temperatures. We were
> glad to have Nathan along to hold our stuff while the rest of us
> went on the roller coasters, except for the one that he decided to
> join us on. This is a picture of the kids next to Turkish Delight,
> the name of their tea cups ride. Nathan does love the spinny rides,
> that David and I avoid. The kids are working on the play "The Lion,
> the Witch, and The Wardrobe", so we had to get a picture by the
> Turkish delight sign.
>
> After a full day there, we came back and watched the Saturday
> morning session of conference via the Internet. It was a great day!
>
> Sunday we spent a quiet day in our condo watching the next 3
> sessions of conference. It was a really great day with all 5 of us
> cozy on the couch and watching conference all day. The kids were
> great and really wanted to watch all of the sessions. This is the
> first conference weekend we've been away from home, and I'm so glad
> we didn't miss it!
>

Jamestown Virginia

The kids and I took a red-eye flight to Norfolk, via JFK on Wednesday night, and met up with David who came down about 3 hours later from meetings in DC.  Thursday we just spent the rest of the day grocery shopping and swimming and getting settled in our Condo.  

We were quite tired, so we all slept in today.  It felt lovely!  That's what vacations are for.  We went to an outlet mall and got a few things before heading to Jamestown.  We spent the afternoon exploring the replicas and museum at Jamestown.  It was a really fun day and everyone is as happy to be here as I am.