Yes, I have a confession to make. When I moved to Richmond ten years ago, Williamsburg pretty much meant the outlets to me. There were no real malls in the area, and I had a new big firm job with no big firm clothes. Hence, the equation: Williamsburg=Outlets. However, with the addition of the Saminator and a few pounds (sob), there was no need for business clothes, only outlet clothes for him.
Then last summer it all changed. Williamsburg graduated to become synonymous with Busch Gardens for us. The outlets were a mere cobweb in my mind. Not bad, I love a Busch Gardens trip!
And then this summer it got even better when Williamsburg began to symbolize Busch Gardens AND Water Country. Man, I was enamored with Water Country, so much so that I contemplated simplifying the equation to Williamsburg=Water Country. No, I regained my composure and retained my loyalty to BG and the Grover Rollercoaster. So there we were, all happy with W=WC + BG.
And then I started writing a monthly traveling with kids column for Richmond Parents Monthly. As I was gathering ideas, I realized that this would be an ideal time to check out Jamestown and Yorktown since I had never been there. Shameful, I know, but I hadn’t really been interested. At least I didn’t think I was. I envisioned a quick jaunt, paying homage to our ancestry at both places, and being done with it, back to my jubilant status of W=WC + BG.
Was I ever in for a surprise, quite a pleasant one at that. The Jamestown Settlement was amazing, one of the finest museums I think I’ve ever seen. The building is absolutely humungous, beautiful and filled with an incredible amount of information, all presented in really interesting exhibits and organized chronologically. Wow! It is truly fit for a queen, and it was built for the Queen’s visit in 2007.
The initial 24 minute movie was excellent; Sam and I both paid attention (!) and learned a ton. I had no idea there were slaves from Angola in Jamestown or that the settlement itself endured as long as it did, with wave after wave of people arriving and different governors presiding. I had always thought that Pocahontas married John Smith. No, I stand corrected — she married John Rolfe. Outside the grounds were equally spectacular with a fully recreated Indian village, Jamestown Fort, and the three ships in full detail. We really could have spent days there.
Our heads bursting with new knowledge, we could have called it a day right then and there. Then I figured that the Historic Jamestown probably wasn’t any big deal, so we should just check it off. Was I ever wrong! There was a full museum inside with lots of interesting-looking exhibits, a movie, etc. We just couldn’t take any more in, so we trudged outside out of obligation, thinking nothing could measure up to what we had seen at the Jamestown Settlement. Wrong again! (I’m sensing a pattern here.)
There was a stunning obelisque dedicated to Pocahontas, a stunning statue of John Smith overlooking the water, and the original Anglican church holding a real service. In addition, the original Jamestown arch still stood. There was excavation going on and a museum housing all the artifacts, a museum that we’ll have to go back and see and the glass blowing exhibit as well. Go back, go back, go back, I kept thinking to myself.
By this point Sam and I were both ready to head home and process all of this info in the comfort of our own messy home. So, we didn’t make it to Yorktown at all, but I’m already looking forward to setting aside a day or two just to do that — and then going back again. I may as well admit it, there is a new equation in town:
Williamsburg=Jamestown + Yorktown + Water Country + Busch Gardens.
And I have a feeling that I’ll finally be adding Colonial Williamsburg itself to the list. So, here goes:
W=CW + J + Y + WC +BG. And just maybe I’ll head back to the outlets while I’m there…
LibbY
