THE ROAD TO WILLIAMSBURG

June 23 and 24, 2014

First thing in the morning GG and Grandpa went to the car rental office to rent a minivan for the drive to Williamsburg.  The boys were all happy that they didn't have to cram 4 in the back seat of the Accord.

The drive from Alexandria to Williamsburg.  It should have taken about two hours, but there was a lot of road work and we had several delays.  We finally got through the road work and it was pretty smooth sailing from there.  The highways  here are surrounded by lush green forests, so different from the dry, brown hills of San Jose.  So, the scenery is pretty along the way. 

We stopped at a Wendy's for lunch and then finished the drive to Greensprings  Vacation Resort.  Our unit is pretty nice, with two bedrooms and a pull out sofa bed in the living room.  There is a good kitchen, well-equipped.  There is an outdoor pool and an indoor pool, a mini-golf course, a game room and an exercise room.  We had a good time playing while GG and Grandpa went to the grocery store for food.

 We stopped for a short time at Colonial Williamsburg and picked up our 3-day passes and we went to the visitor center theater to watch the introductory films which gave us some background about what was happening in Williamsburg at the time.  The period that forms the setting of Colonial Williamsburg is just before Thomas Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence and while King George was imposing many taxes upon the colonists.  (He had to pay for his war with France somehow, didn't he?)  The colonists were very unhappy about being treated unfairly, but they still considered themselves loyal British subjects.  Although the people were complaining about the taxes the talk of revolting was a very radical thing, and many were unwilling to join the protests until finally the Governor took the extreme action of removing the gunpowder from the public armory.  Then the people had had enough and more joined in the protests.

The next day we were up and at-em, making our lunches and off to Colonial Williamsburg.  GG had planned out the whole day with events.  Grandpa went in the back way and found a good parking space, close to the village.  We walked into the village and right away we got a tour of the Capitol building.  This was not on GG's plan, so we missed the orientation tour and the storming of the Governor's Mansion, which were at the other  end of Duke of Gloucester Street.

We strolled down the street, checking out the costumed "citizens" of Colonial Williamsburg and then we went to Charlton's Coffee House to hear Thomas Jefferson speak.  There was a lot of discussion about the Boston Tea Party, although they did not refer to this event with that name. And there was also discussion about the Governor, who had arranged for all of the powder to be removed from the citizen's armory.  The citizens were very unhappy about this and that is why they had stormed the Governor's Mansion.

There were many people on the street discussing how to deal with the problems of taxation without representation and the removal of the gun powder.  Some people felt we should join Massachusetts and revolt against the unfair taxes.  Some people felt that we should accept the King's decisions about the Colonies.  We watched a sword fight in the street.

As we strolled down the street we stopped in at the apothecary where the guide told us all about the different herbs kept there and what some of them were used for, and then we went to the printer's shop to see how the political tracts were printed and then we visited the blacksmith shop to see how a rifle was crafted.

Next we went on a tour of the Governor's Mansion, and our guide was a very good actress, playing the role of the upstairs maid, and explaining that normally we would only be allowed into the entry hall.  The entry hall was quite impressive as the walls are lined with hundreds of crossed swords and many long-barreled rifles.

Our guide explained that since the housekeeper had not come along, maybe she could sneak us into the Governor's parlor and we also peeked into the housekeepers office.  Then we got to see a fancy bedroom where the Governor's daughters slept, and a guest bedroom and the Governor's bedroom. 

The Governor had taken his family away because of the unrest amongst the citizens of the town.  We visited the dining room and the ball room too.

After this tour GG and Grandpa said we could have an hour of free time to explore and to meet them at the car by 2pm because they had to go to a timeshare presentation at 2:30.  So, GG and Grandpa got lost and couldn't find the car and had to get the security guy to drive them around to find it, but Brendan, Chayton, Aidan and Bryce knew right where the car was and found their way with no problem.

In the afternoon the boys played at the pool and game room until it was time for dinner.

We went to The Grecian Plate for dinner because Chayton was pining for gyros.  Our hosts were George and Roula Komianos and they were very happy to see us,.  Business was very slow.  George had a big hooked nose and a chin to match.  Roula was very friendly and happy.  Grandpa showed her some pictures of his trip to Nea Makri, Greece, and the Easter Dinner he had there and also a short film of him Greek dancing. 

Roula was very happy to see these pictures and told us how important Easter is in Greece.  She and George have a big celebration every year at their house in Williamsburg with a lamb on a spit over the barbeque, the traditional Easter meal.  She also showed us a red egg that is wooden and is the special egg to find on Easter to bring good luck for the year.

Bryce and Brendan tried their first gyros and pronounced them good.  They are a little like a taco, but they have a white sauce (tatziki) on them that some of the boys were skeptical about.  Chayton got his gyro and fries and Aidan go a good-looking hamburger.  Roula comped us a Greek dessert for the finish.  Our meal covered their overhead for the day, I am sure.

It was back to the condo for showers, telephone calls home and bed.  GG tries to get us to bed by 9pm, but somehow we are always talking to mom and dad at 9 and she lets us stay up later because she feels bad about interrupting our home calls.  But, eventually she has to tell us to wrap it up and go to sleep.  We are so busy every day we fall asleep pretty fast once the lights go out.  So--nite, nite.