Samuel's Birthday

Samuel's parent's came for a visit to celebrate his birthday.  Whenever our daughter comes for a visit we like to go to places that she and her husband enjoy.  All of us enjoy Colonial Williamsburg so we decided one of the days they were here we would drive down to one of our favorites.

After having a wonderful lunch at the Old Chickahominy House we decided to take a stroll down the Duke of Gloucester Street.  This was the first long walk I have taken since having a flare up of arthritis in my knee.  I mentioned to Noel, Peter, and Samuel to just go ahead as fast as they want and Grayden and I took our time enjoying the gardens.

As many times as I have visited Colonial Williamsburg, I have never encountered a pig on the Duke of Gloucester Street!

His owner was letting him eat the grass.  He seemed perfectly happy with visitors petting him. 

We passed Bruton Parish Church on our way down the street to view a favorite garden.

It was a warm, but beautiful afternoon.  There were many tourists enjoying themselves.

Passing by this boxwood garden reminds me of how lovely and formal this garden looks.

At this garden you can buy plants and flowers and books and all the items you need for your colonial garden.

All the bee skeps in this garden look lovely as well as help the bees have a home to pollinate the flowers and nearby vegetables.

It was tempting that day to want to take a carriage ride.

Johnny Jump Ups

Walking along we found a nice shady spot to wait for our family to return and join us.

Soon they too wanted to take a break in the shade.

Samuel and Peter hold themselves the same and I always get a kick out of seeing that!

On Monday we celebrated Samuel's birthday with dinner out and cake and ice cream.  Then his parents had to fly back home.

Peter decorated his cake.  Do you know the symbol on his cake and his t-shirt? 

Bruton Parish Church Rector and Colonial Williamsburg

♫ Music ♫

Did you know that Colonial Williamsburg was restored because of the rector of Bruton Parish Church?   In 1926, the Reverend Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin dreamed of preserving Williamsburg's historic buildings.  He tried many times to secure funds from wealthy businessmen.  He approached Edsel Ford and was turned down.  He persuaded John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to fund the preservation.

Dr. Goodwin wanted the buildings that figured in the founding of our nation to be left to the ages.  Most of the remaining structures were in bad shape.  Dr. Goodwin and Rockefeller began to restore a few of the buildings.

Williamsburg was the capitol of Virginia when the colonist dreamed of freedom and independence.  Virginia encompassed land that stretched west to the Mississippi River and north to the Great Lakes.  Williamsburg was the capitol from 1699 to 1780 of this vast land.  It was here that the concepts of our republic were formed under the patriots, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason,  Peyton Randolph and others. These same men worshiped at Bruton Parish Church.

The enormous project that Dr. Goodwin and Mr. Rockefeller pursued cost a fortune.  Many buildings had to be removed and others were rebuilt on the original foundations.  Colonial Williamsburg continues to be a living museum for many generations to enjoy.  Over the years we have visited Colonial Williamsburg many times.  We have had Patriot Passes that enabled us to visit as many times in a year as we wish.  This week we did not go into the buildings that require a pass.  You can still enjoy much of Colonial Williamsburg in the shops, the taverns, the gardens, and the general beauty of strolling down the Duke of Gloucester Street.

Walk with us as we continue down the street toward the Capitol.

On our left is the Governor's Palace.  It's always been a favorite spot for me.  The palace green is lined with trees and serves as a backdrop for many annual events.

Continuing on down the Duke of Gloucester Street there are shops to stop and visit.  Inside them are mostly period items.

Creamware

After leaving the shop we continue on down the street and see the Magazine on the right.  This structure housed all of the munitions of the day.

Chowning's Tavern is a great spot to enjoy lunch or dinner or afternoon refreshment.

A lot of the homes that we see as we walk along, are rentals for short stays or for long term lease.  There are strict codes of what can and cannot be seen in the front and back of these homes.

The buildings that are open for tours are marked with the British East India flag.  Our current flag is patterned after this flag.

You can even have your letters posted here at the Colonial Post Office with the Colonial Williamsburg stamp.

I could live in this sweet little cottage!

Or maybe this one!

To me, it doesn't get any more charming than this!

BrickHouse Tavern

King's Arm Tavern

The King's Arm is a favorite of ours, but it was closed this week.

I must admit I didn't know what this meant.  After a little research I found that this is referring to the possibility of being tarred and feathered for being disobedient to the crown.  Yipes!  Even though it was threatened in Williamsburg it was never carried out as it was in Boston.

The Capitol is at the end of the Duke of Gloucester Street.  This is where the Virginia delegation voted to declare independence from England.

Thank you for walking with us in this special place.  I'll post some of the other interesting places in Williamsburg.  Even though the gardens are asleep, I think you would enjoy seeing the bones of some of the gardens.♥

Valentine's Week in Colonial Williamsburg

♫ Music ♫

Grayden and I spent this past week in Colonial Williamsburg.  If you have been you know it's a most wonderful place to vacation.  We love history and always learn something new whenever we visit.  Going in the month of February can be tricky as the weather can still be quite cold in Tidewater Virginia.

The Manor House

We stay in the Williamsburg area at Powhatan Plantation.  We have stayed here since the 1980's and always find it enjoyable.  The above Manor House is the central focus to this property.  Richard Taliaferro (pronounced Tolliver) built the Manor House at Powhatan around 1735.  He was a renowned architect and is known for his designs of many public buildings in Virginia. He designed in Williamsburg, The Capitol, The Governor's Palace, The George Wythe House and The Presidents House at William and Mary.  Taliaferro passed away in 1779, but the home stayed in the family until 1819.

We checked in and got settled into our home away from home.  Since we were celebrating Valentine's I bought my roses from home that I had on the dining table.

The weather was quite cold for the weekend.  There was even snow predicted!  In fact this is our view in the morning.

I've never seen the Manor House all decorated in snow!

We decided we must go down to the Duke of Gloucester Street to see the snow on all of the beautiful buildings.  We drive carefully to the Colonial area.

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We park the car in Merchant's Square and it is beginning to rain. 

I know many are sick of winter weather, but seeing Colonial Williamsburg in the snow was quite magical.  

"Virginia is for Lovers" is the slogan for Virginia.  In many cities one will see Love signs displayed.  How lovely for this Valentine's getaway!  You are looking toward the College of William and Mary on the Duke of Gloucester Street.  Behind us about one mile is the Colonial Capitol.

Come walk with us as I want to show you one of my favorite sights in Williamsburg.  First let's look at some of the buildings.

We are now seeing the beautiful Bruton Parish Church.  I will write more about it later.

This is the Palace Green that gives a beautiful view of the Governor's Palace.  Many events are central to this green.  The Grand Illumination and the Forth of July celebrations are focal points of  Palace Green and it certainly is a beautiful location for the Governor's Palace.

We are staying for the week, so I'll show you more of beautiful Colonial Williamsburg in a future post.