Even with the milder winters we’re having, we still see our fair share of snow, ice, and sleet. But temperatures are warming and we’re not seeing those epic dumps of the white stuff like we used to.
This used to be a normal February.
Tunneling was a way of life.
Now? We get a few inches and it melts.
Then it freezes.
I am so done with ice.
Yes, it’s pretty.
But when walking to the mailbox means you might slip, fall and crack a rib?
You can have it.
Give me a foot of snow over pretty shining crystals any day.
And with all that snow, melting and ice?
This –
A leak in the roof.
And what looks like an expensive repair to the ceiling.
It’s the worst possible time of year for it.
So from now until spring, when we can get it fixed, I’m going to cringe every time it rains.
The second half of the American Revolutionary War Museum in Yorktown, Virginia is the interactive outdoor exhibit re-creation.
First up…. the soldier’s encampment.
It’s one thing to read about these things and see them in your mind’s eye….. quite another when you can physically touch and experience them first hand.
See those little tents? 4-6 men slept in there….. and let me tell you, it wouldn’t have been comfortable for one.
Meals, such as they were… were cooked here.
And the fire was kept burning 24/7.
There were few doctors as we think of them today, and the surgical tent more than likely contained a barber with a bag of torture implements like these. Please note the large bottle of laudanum in the back. I’d be chugging that like iced tea, thank you very much.
Though if you were bitten by a mad dog?
They had you covered.
The General’s tent was a bit larger….
And served as his office as well.
The laundromat was a bit primitive.
Though you did get a discount if you brought your own soap.
And the entire camp was ringed with wooden spikes to repel attackers.
As well as providing excellent selfie backgrounds.
But there was so much to see and I’m not even covering an eighth of it.
Oh, stop.
A little knowledge won’t hurt you, although these might.
While I’m not a general fan of firearms…
Even I had to admit they were beautiful in the 18th century.
The silver work was lovely.
And the under sides of the butt caps really did have grimacing faces… but the lighting, the glass cases, and the reflections prevented any of my pictures from being post worthy.
Everywhere you looked you were surrounded by history.
Which is basically my nerdy idea of heaven.
When I die? I want to find out who killed JFK, how the pyramids were built and the location of ancient Troy.
And trust me, I have a lotof shoes.
Impressive, right?
There was even a tree of knowledge. If only I could spread some of it’s seeds in our nation’s capitol today…..
Naturally we had to check out the surround sound movie.
Complete with battle scene sequence smoke rolling by on the floor.
And in my experience?
There are very few museums who actively instruct you to touch their balls.
Yup.
Seriously big balls.
This now concludes the indoor museum section of our trip to Yorktown, Virginia.
We said goodbye to our company early on the morning of vacation day 10, promising to think about joining them for Christmas. The plan was to head down to Yorktown where I’d heard their American Revolution Museum was quite something….. but first, a Golden Corral buffet breakfast.
Biscuits and gravy and cheesy hashbrown casserole.
Long live the artery clogging south!
The museum?
Was everything they said it was…. and a little bit more.
A sprawling place chock full of fascinating history.
(If that’s not your thing? Leave now… I’ll try not to hold it against you.)
2019 was the 400th anniversary of the arrival in America of the first enslaved people from West Africa and the museum devoted an entire section to the subject.
Most of it was hard to read.
To view.
And to understand how seemingly otherwise good people could think this practice was just.
But though horrible, it is a part of this country’s story.
There were many free people of color during the Revolutionary era, and a large number fought alongside the patriots who would later come to own them.
A reprehensible thought.
One of the most stunning documents was this:
Seeing it in black and white gave me a chill.
And the descriptions?
Heartbreaking….
I can’t even imagine.
Even the father of our country wasn’t immune.
I certainly never read that in any school textbook.
After we settled into resort #2, we tried to pick a day’s activity that we could all enjoy… because yours truly was not visiting another theme park, no matter how much I loved that child.
Hence the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News. Part zoo, part aquarium and lots of interactive children’s exhibits.
Because who doesn’t love a velociraptor Santa Claus?
An extensive boardwalk wraps around the wildlife enclosure where little people can run to their heart’s content.
And the old folks can enjoy the beauty of a red fox…..
And a bobcat.
Who even though a wild cat, still enjoyed a cardboard box.
Insert required cute group photo here.
There was a plastic dinosaur section…..
Where little hands could get filthy excavating some plastic bones.
Injured vultures…..
And bald eagles were next… this one with a clearly broken wing. And if you’ve ever wondered how large an eagle’s nest is?
Yeah. They’re pretty damned large.
More boardwalks, more running.
And some shore birds…
Whose antics I could easily have stood and watched all day.
Sunday dawned bright and sunny and our visitors wanted to check out the Manor House at the Historic Powhatan Resort.
The smallest of our group thoroughly enjoyed it.
Especially when she found a pint sized door just her size.
Shame it wouldn’t open.
But the game room was a good second choice.
I had occasion to use the rest room this trip….
And immediately fell in love with a sink.
Is that wrong?
Sadly, it was Sunday….. and that meant it was time to change resorts.
When we time share travel and I’ve never been to the area? I usually choose 2 different resorts for our 2 week stays in case one of them is a dud. Of course we adored this first place and hated to leave….especially when Gracie found this under the bed when we were packing up.
Proof positive there were no dust bunnies.
But, ever onward.
I was slightly appeased when we drove across town, found the road that led to the new resort and saw this on the corner.
Ample tequila in walking distance is never a bad thing.
The Wyndham Kingsgate actually got higher reviews than the Powhatan we’d just left, so I was expecting something special.
On first glance?
It looked like a school.
And their pond was totally goose-less.
Strike one.
The closest thing they had to a Manor House was the activities center which consisted of a few pools, a gym, and numerous video game machines.
Strike two.
The buildings were much closer together with more units per building and though it was empty in this picture…. the parking lots were filled to capacity the whole time we were there and didn’t have reserved spots. We circled and hunted for a place every damned night.
Strike three and we hadn’t even been inside yet.
Thankfully the 2 bedroom/2 bath unit was pleasant…… albeit smaller than the first resort.
But the furniture was nice quality….
The kitchen well stocked….
And though the balcony was the bare minimum….
The king sized beds were comfortable.
I did take issue with the fact the master bathroom was smaller was than the guest…..
And while the shower was attractive it only had that one tiny shelf which barely fit a bar of soap. What’s a girl supposed to do with her shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, loofah, razor etc.?
Piss poor planning if you ask me.
And while the guest bath was also attractive, there wasn’t a heck of a lot more room to move around.
See?
There isn’t even an entire horse in the picture…. that’s small.
But we did get the second floor that my husband always has to have. Which Destiny was actively cursing when she offered to drag my suitcase up to it.
I believe her grimace is in direct proportion to it’s weight.
The girls relaxed while we put the food away…. and Gracie drew me something to put on the refrigerator.
I was thinking something like this would be more appropriate….
It was finally dark enough to check out the lights we’d paid a small fortune to see at Busch Gardens.
Have you ever stood in a freezing cold circle of strangers and stared at a tree?
We did.
And I felt like a Who.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas as much as the next person.
But Christmas in Busch Gardens? Loud and crowded, filled with screaming, unruly, sugared up children as well as their rude, cell phone addicted parents…. and utterly devoid of the old world charm they were attempting to replicate?
No.
But we smiled… and enjoyed the company of those we love.
If not the techno extravaganza.
I read there were 10 million lights in Christmas Town…. and I believe it.
If it stood still? They lit it.
Admittedly there were some pretty spots.
But the crowds pushed you along at a pace not conducive to enjoying them.
There were numerous theaters you could enter and view a show…. for a large price.
But we did stumble on this extremely blue one for free.
Naturally there was no place left to sit…
So we stood off to the side and listened for a while.
Until our teeth were chattering again.
Thank God for the warm up stations.
At least they got that right.
This was an impressive section of lights.
Although I was constantly getting bumped into when I stopped and attempted to focus a shot.
That tree at the end?
Shone like the sun.
It was so damn bright….. I think my retinas actually screamed.
In case I forgot to mention it….. trying to stay together and find your way around this place in the dark amidst the crowds of screaming children and oblivious parents? A total nightmare. We had no idea where we were half the time and by the time we decided to head back to the parking lot?
We couldn’t find a map, no less the exit. And I think they plan it that way. We even went into the stores and asked the staff how to get out …. but they looked at us like the proverbial deer in headlights.
Maybe they never get out…
I don’t know.
Asking the plastic polar bears seemed like a waste of time.
So we kept walking.
Took a right past the ice castle…. then a left…. then a right… and another left…. and backed up… and crossed a bridge…. and turned around….. and found ourselves back at the damned ice castle.
We walked and walked.
And shivered and chattered and froze.
We also blessed the day man discovered fire.
But then we finally saw something familiar.
And I was never so happy to see a fake European village square in my life.
Joy to the World my *ss.
I was only joyful when we found the exit, waited on yet another long line for the shuttle, rode the sardine can to the parking lot with 50 tired, cranky children and worn out adults and got into our car.
Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Williamsburg?
Bah humbug.
Overpriced and over rated.
Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 