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.
Did she see anything?
No, but she had fun trying.
Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 