Day 2: In the midst of a revolt
Colonial Williamsburg
Williamsburg, VA
We went to the recreated/restored city of Williamsburg on our second day. The 1700′s Virginia State capital was instrumental in the country’s push to break ties with the English crown. Many of the country’s Founding Fathers walked these streets.
Colonial Williamsburg
Duke of Gloucester Street, at the Silversmith and Milliner & Tailor shops
Horse and Carriage
The streets, including the main Duke of Gloucester Street, were lined with small trade shops and exhibit sites. The trade shops, including a wheelwright, blacksmith and silversmith, among others, were fully functional. The wheelwright apprentice told a family the shop fills order from various historical locations and museums for time-period carts and such.
Revolutionary City
The area near the Capitol is referred to as “Revolutionary City,” and hosts a living history themed program each day. Today’s theme was Collapse of the Royal Government, 1774-1776. The skits run periodically at various points within the area throughout the day.
Elizabeth Nicholas & Edmund Randolph
Guilty and sentenced
The first short program piece for the day was Star-Crossed Lovers,, depicting a budding romance between the youngest members of two dueling families. She was the daughter of the patriot, Robert C. Nicholas, while his father, John Randolph was a staunch loyalist. The two flirted for a bit, discussed an upcoming ball and left with a date to dance.
We missed most of the program, but made it back to catch A Court of Tar and Feather. A group of Continental Army soldiers took offense to a local citizen blabbering against the patriotic cause in a nearby tavern. The group pulled him out into the streets and publicly ‘tried’ him for treason. After the testimony of a bartender (both for and against the guy) and his refusal to apologize, with some encouragement from the crowd, he was ‘sentenced’ to be tarred and feathered. He did give in right before the ‘hot tar’ was slapped on his bare back and decided a public apology was the better option.
Historic Buildings
Courthouse
Magazine
Public Hospital of 1773
The local magazine is actually the original building restored. It’s also the site of a key event pushing Virginia towards a revolt. In April 1775, Virginia’s Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, ordered the gunpowder be removed from the magazine, which infuriated the colonists. Now, it displays various weapons and other military accessories.
During the Public Hospital’s hay-day, it was a mental institute, however, now it’s the entrance to Williamsburg’s art museums. There’s a small exhibit inside dedicated to the building’s original purpose. Having spent more time than I’d like to admit in a few mental hospitals, it was frightening to see what they were like back then. Not that I believe I’d have been commit to such a place, but still. The mental health system, from my experience, has come a long way.
The museums were interesting. It was a two-for-one deal. Both the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art and DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts museums were housed together in a building behind, but connected to the Public Hospital. Of particular interest to my friend was the toys/doll house collection, which is where we concentrated our stay. It was neat. They had a few HUGE, intricately decorated houses. Wow, I can’t imagine how much time it must have taken to build them.
Royal Government
Capitol
House of Burgesses
Governor’s Palace
We started the State Capitol first thing; however, I couldn’t sit still through it. I felt like I was wasting my precious morning minutes stuck inside a building on a timed tour. The streets were relatively empty at that point giving me ample opportunity to snap a few pictures without large tourist crowds cluttering them, but I was squandering it. Therefore, we snuck out a side door to continue on our way. Once we made our first round through town, we came back to the Capitol and took the entire tour.
The H-shaped building is the third rendition, replacing the previous two destroyed by fires. During the Colonial period, the west half was considered the “King’s side,” and housed the higher legislative, executive and judicial branches of the government. The Royally appointed Virginia Governor and his Councilmen held General Court in the lower floor and privately met on the upper level. The east portion of the building was referred to as the “People’s side,” and was home to the lower house of the legislative branch, the publically elected House of Burgesses. The lower level was the official meeting room, with offices and small council rooms above.
It was in the “People’s side” where many of the American Revolution-era’s most influential people, including Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, as Virginia’s elected politicians, began discussions against British rule and pushed for American Independence. The House of Burgesses, with its ties to the British government, was eventually replaced by the Virginia House of Delegates.
We ended the day at the Governor’s Palace. The building tour was not included in our one-day Capital City Pass, however we were allowed into the gardens. Walking around the grounds was more than enough for me. The house’s exterior and gardens were very nice, as would be expected for the home of the English crown’s representative in the colony.
Prominent Houses
Wythe Mansion
Randolph House
George Wythe was a very accomplished scholar and prominent figure in Williamsburg. He’s perhaps overshadowed by one of his most famous students, Thomas Jefferson, but he did play a significant role in movement towards the Revolution himself. As a politician, he was elected to the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. He educated and eventually freed his slaves, a couple who chose to stay employed by him as freemen/women. He was a leading Colonial-era scholar. He became a law professor at nearby College of William & Mary and instructed many prominent figures.
The Wythe Mansion is the original building where he and his wife lived. Apparently, even the door knobs are original, meaning I touched and turned the same knob as the likes of George Washington and Jefferson. Kind of neat. The gardens were also open to walk through. The house tour was very relaxed. Every ten minutes a small group is escorted into a small area in the yard for a brief history lesson regarding Mr. Wythe and then everyone is released to roam around at his/her own pace.
Next stop was the home of Peyton Randolph, another virtually unknown (to me) and yet influential revolutionary. Leading up to the Revolution, he seemed to head every significant meeting that took place. He served as Virginia Attorney General, the Speaker of the House of Burgesses and chairman of the Virginia Convention and the Continental Congress. He died of a stroke before signing the Declaration of Independence, thus leaving him relatively lost to history.
The house is quite large and tours are every 15 minutes. I thought the tour itself was quite interesting. Our tour guide, while seemingly rather indifferent, was quite informative. The highlight of the tour was the dining room, where the floor is still original. Once again, we were standing on the same wood flooring as George Washington.
Today’s Flickr set: town photos
A random stop in the Shenandoah Valley
Warren County, VA
Okay, well today was a bit of a duh-moment for me. So, I surfed around the National Zoo’s website this week and found they have a cheetah conservation center in Front Royal. Being that I have yet to find the Cheetah Conservation Station exhibit at the zoo, I wrongly assumed this was where the cats were on view. Ooops. Why I jumped to such a conclusion is a mystery. I’ll just chalk it up to the major brain injury I’ve recently suffered. Anyway, the cats on exhibit are at the zoo, and I drove the whole way out to north-western Virginia for no good reason. Haha, good one. This was all brought to my attention as I asked the attendant at the local visitor center where the center was, to which he quickly responded it wasn’t open to the public. Of course, I just as quickly argued for a moment, before slinking away in embarrassment with a copy of the town’s tourist information. Go me! Haha.
Anyway, considering I had driven two hours to get there and I needed a break before driving back, I took a stroll around the historic main street in town. I had to make the most of my mistake.
Downtown
Village Commons
Historic Main Street
Caboose
It’s a pretty small town, so not much to it. I started at the visitor center, walked up Main Street, took a short detour, then walked back.
Historic Buildings
Warren County Courthouse
Confederate Monument, at the courthouse
Front Royal United Methodist Church
Front Royal Town Hall
The significant historic buildings in town are the old Town Hall, United Methodist Church and the County Courthouse. The courthouse is surrounded by small memorials to local war veterans, 9/11 victims and Confederate soldiers.
Really, all things considered, it turned out to be a good day. I’m certainly not ready for a long walk, and the peaceful streets of Front Royal made a great spot for today. What luck.
Today’s Flickr set: town pics
Trying to venture out…
Prince George’s County, MD
While still not much, I made a small attempt to once again get out and about. Laurel isn’t far from home, but again, I’m limited in what I can do. My goal was to walk through as much of the town’s historic district as possible, which ended up only being Main Street.
Main Street
Laurel Museum
Citizens National Bank, along Historic Main Street
I covered most of Main Street, although I drove half of it. It took everything out of me, so I didn’t stay long, nor did I take many photos. I wouldn’t consider the area to be very photogenic, although, that could be that I’m not in a place to really see it. Walking is exhausting enough, trying to appreciate the sights might have been a little out of reach today.
Railroad Station
Old Laurel Railroad Depot (currently a commuter rail station)
On the way out, I stopped at the historic railroad depot. It was closed for the day, so I just wondered around for a bit.
The Flickr set: town pics
A morning walk in Fells Point
Baltimore, MD
I was up in Baltimore this morning for an appointment with my nutritionist, so I stuck around the city for a peaceful Saturday walk. As a side note, I’m ready to switch that appointment to a week day. It really interferes with my weekend plans as is. First, I’d prefer to be out of the house doing something long before she could even see me. Second, I have a drive 45-minutes north to get there, so that impacts where I can go after.
Alright, enough of that little rant, it will work out. The point of this post is that I explored a new district within Baltimore today – Fells Point.
Neighborhood
Thames Street
South Broadway Market
View from Fells Street
It’s a small neighborhood along the water, but pretty. It’s filled with National Historic Register townhouses, with a few cobblestone streets winding through the blocks. There’s a small commercial area at the end of Broadway, near the Pier, lined with cute shops and pubs.
Pier
Broadway Pier
City Recreation Building
The steamboat, “Black-eyed Susan,” is docked in the pier. Oh, and the City Recreation Building was the main filming location for the TV cop-drama series Homicide: Life on the Street is nearby as well.
Sadly, that’s about it. It was short walk, but it was a nice way to blow off some steam after my appointment. It was a beautiful day. The sun was out in a slightly cloudy, blue sky. The area was still very quiet and peaceful. Just what I needed.
This morning’s Flickr set: city pics
Morning visit to Old Town Manassas
Prince William County, VA
I managed to drag myself out of the house this morning to do something. To be honest, I didn’t want to do anything when I woke up because I was too tired and the thought of being out in the cold didn’t help. However, I finally motivated myself to get up and not let the opportunity slip away. I had some free time and it wasn’t raining or snowing or anything that would keep me inside, so I had to do something. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold as I had anticipated, but it was very cloudy. The sun didn’t peak through at all.
So, what would that something be? Since I enjoyed my walk through Old Town Alexandria, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with Old Town Manassas. I thought it would be relatively peaceful spot, with a lot of interesting historic buildings to snap pictures of.
Old Town Manassas
Old Town Hall
Old Prince William County Courthouse
Old Rail Station
It did turn out to be quiet, but that would be because there’s nothing there. The town’s historic district is made up of about four blocks and two Registered Historical Buildings. I somehow squeezed a two-hour walk out roaming around and took about 50 pictures, but most of those are of the same things. Oh well.
I’d say, during business hours, it would be a nice addition for a visit to the nearby National Battlefield, but probably not worth a trip on its own.
Today’s Flickr set: city photos
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