traveling Virginia--May 13-19, 2013
The WASHINGTON house
George Washington slept here and now we will, too!
Traveling to Washington D.C. last summer stirred a place in Keeara’s spirit that has created a thirst for more--more adventures, more history, and more learning about her world. When I joined the Jennings staff last fall and met Keeara, she quietly mentioned in one of our first conversations that she wanted to travel out east again to learn more American History. A week in Washington had taught her much about our nation’s history, but she knew it was only the tip of the iceberg. Where should she go next? She landed on the state of Virginia with all of its rich colonial days and Civil War history and started planning. Several months later, an excellent presentation to the school board, and some courageous fundraising, she is off. Keeara, along with four other students who have earned the right to travel with the school, will be flying to Dulles Airport on May 13th and heading to the heart of Virginia to learn about life in the early American colonies, events that led up to the Civil War, and more. The best part? We have found a home for the week just north of Richmond and Colonial Williamsburg--a home where George Washington himself slept on his travels between Mt. Vernon and Williamsburg for meetings with the House of Burgesses. It has been preserved and is part of a working horse farm that is on the state’s historic register. Owned and operated by a warm and generous family, this farm has a main house, the guest house, barns, a small fishing pond, a floral shop run by Agnes who is a master florist, horses used for teaching riding lessons (which we will get to take!), and plenty of spaces for us to relax and gain some needed rest for each new day. When we are exhausted from sightseeing, we will be able to cook in our own kitchen and take cat naps in the hammock under the trees. Agnes plans to give us riding lessons on our day home with the horses, and she has offered to help us plan our excursions so we get the most out of our five days of touring important historical sites in Virginia.
ItineraryThis itinerary is subject to change depending on weather. However, our days will be spent taking in as many of these sites as we possibly can while we experience Virginia's history...
Monday, May 13 Travel
Drive to Charlottesville
Drive to Williamsburg and then on to Norfolk
Traveler’s Rest Farm Day at “Home”
Drive to Colonial Williamsburg and Historic Jamestowne Full day of general touring with a few specific sessions:
Historic Richmond
Leave by 4:00AM for Drive to Dulles Airport
|
Discovering Virginia
As you may have already realized, we were unable to update this site during our trip. Our farm guesthouse was a great base from which to travel the state, but it did not have internet service and was quite a drive from each place we visited. We did manage to upload and view photos on the school laptop nightly; however, we were too exhausted to do much more than that. None of the girls ever complained about the fact that our "home" lacked WiFi or a big screen TV! They just relaxed and rested in their rooms upstairs or sat and recapped the day in the kitchen. We stocked our refrigerator with food, so they could grab a snack or a bottle of water while they recharged their cell phones and reviewed the day in photos. When doing this, the exhaustion from each experience gave way to smiles as they realized the memories they were making and the courage they had to embark on this educational experience together. Of course, there were moments of tension as we adjusted to being such a close-knit group with some of us new to this kind of travel, but we managed to problem-solve and learned a lot about compromise and cooperation in the process. Likely, some of the toughest moments of the trip will be the best learning experiences of all...
Our week in Photos...
We traveled all over the state of Virginia in our comfortable rental van. All of our destinations were over an hour away--most being a two-hour drive one way--but the countryside was beautiful. We passed through golden fields of wheat and barley, green hillsides, dense woods full of deer (and skunk), the low mountains of Shenandoah National Park, and the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The girls kept commenting about how CLEAN the state was everywhere we went. No garbage littered the sides of the roads we traveled by car or on foot, and this helped make a very positive impression on our "city" girls. One of the first, most beautiful spots we happened to discover by accident as we drove to our guest house from the airport. It was the National Battlefield Park of Manassas where the two Battles of Bull Run took place--each launching the Confederate Army to the height of its power. We didn't have time to tour the area, but we called Bill, our history expert, and got the story as we drove on. It was 9PM by the time we arrived at Travelers Rest Farm and settled into our guest house. We tried to imagine General George Washington ducking through the low doorways and settling in for the night. We knew it was going to be an early morning and a big day in Charlottesville, so we tried to settle down and get some rest.
Day 1--Monticello, The University of Virginia, and Skyline Drive
Our day at Monticello, Jefferson's "mountain" estate, started with a tour of the home. No photos were allowed as we went inside, so all of the pictures are of the exterior and the surrounding grounds. On our inside tour, we learned many details about the Jefferson's life from his childhood to his last days. We saw inventions that demonstrated his brilliance and heard stories of his interactions with his friends such as John Adams and James Madison. We saw evidence of his relationship with Native American Indian chiefs and artifacts that demonstrated his interest in science. However, we also wrestled with the fact that this author of our nation's freedom document--the Declaration of Independence--could own slaves and depend on their labor for the smooth functioning of this grand estate. We took a second tour that brought us down to Mulberry Row where the slaves lived in tiny shelters with mud floors. We were told how hard they had to work and how even those closest to Jefferson himself were, upon death, referred to in his written correspondences as mere property to be replaced. Having inherited 300 slaves as a young boy, it was a mindset and a reality into which Jefferson was born, but clearly there is still much debate over this conflicting aspect of Thomas Jefferson's life.
Jefferson's Home:
University of Virginia----Designed by Thomas Jefferson
Skyline drive in Shenandoah National Park
Day 2--Travelers rest farm
After two very long and tiring days, we chose to catch up on some sleep and stay back at the farm for our day of horseback riding lessons with Agnes, our host, and her gentle work horse, Beau. Most of the girls had never ridden horse and none had ever ridden a horse of this size, so this, too, was a great learning experience. She invited us to the stable in the barn to help groom and prep Beau for the day of riding. We were shown how to brush his coat and clean out his hooves. She told us about his diet and how including garlic helped to keep the flies away. Beau stood there completely calm and comfortable as Keeara put a beautiful French braid in his mane. Agnes and her friend bridled and saddled him for our riding experience and we were off to the corral for lessons.
Day 3--Norfolk Naval Base & Virginia Beach
Having rested for a day on the farm, we headed to Norfolk where we met our tour boat that took us along the coast of the city and up to the naval base where ships from the largest fleet along the Atlantic Coast were docked. We learned about their function, size, costs of production, and methods of operation. We learned about dry docks and cargo ships, cranes and ports. It was a hot day, so we headed from there to Virginia Beach. Some of the girls had never seen the ocean. It was so fun to witness their awe and excitement as they made their way into the waves. We ended this day with dinner at Rockafellers, a seafood restaurant at the end of Virginia beach. A woman we met at the boat tour had called and made reservations for us and told us it was a great night to go because they had 2-for-1 lobster dinner and free salad and dessert! It was a great dinner and a lot of fun making a mess as we cracked into the fresh lobster.
Day 4--Colonial Williamsburg and the College of William and Mary
Stepping back in time to the Colonial days of Williamsburg was amazing. Comfortable tour buses took us to various stops where we explored, visited with "locals" who were dressed in the clothes of the day, and took tours of the grounds and houses. It would be hard to even begin to describe all of what we learned on this day. From our morning slavery tour to our late-night, candlelit witch trial in the courthouse, we were immersed in the culture and surroundings of this era. One of our first interactions was with a man who showed us some riddles--our favorite being the one with the penny, nickel, and dime. Then, thanks to Aaliyah who greeted Brandon, the print-shop worker sitting in front of the post office, we learned a lot about how Colonial Williamsburg works and how well-read the employees need to be. He helped us know what places to visit and tours to take and gave us each little pins to wear. It was thanks to him that we found ourselves on our best tour about slavery in Williamsburg. It was in Peyton Randolph's home and the tour guide did an excellent job of weaving together historical events into a suspenseful story that kept our attention and built up our curiosity about what would happen to Randolph's slaves upon his death. After lunch, we discovered that we could walk from Merchant's Square right onto the campus of the College of William and Mary--the second oldest college in the nation (Harvard being the oldest) chartered in 1693 and attended by three presidents including Thomas Jefferson. Later, we toured the governor's palace and learned that his young boys left home and lived in the dorms of the college to further their education at the ages of 7 and 10! We also stood in the reconstructed ballroom and learned that one of the best dancers in all of Colonial America--George Washington--danced there on many occasions. During our evening "Ghosts Among Us" tour, we learned how the colonists believed in ghosts and passed stories among each other that categorized certain residents as "affected" or "possessed." We learned about some of the harsh treatments for these "illnesses" such as leeching and the box treatment. The night culminated in a historical witch trial reenactment in the capitol courthouse and we got to be among the jury deciding the case of a woman accused of causing another woman's miscarriage.
Colonial Williamsburg:
The College of WIlliam and mary:
Day 5--The historic capital of Richmond
Our last day--a cloudy, dreary one--we headed into Richmond, the Capitol of Virginia, to tour the Museum of the Confederacy and the White House of the Confederacy. Since Richmond had served as the Capitol of the Confederacy, the sites were located right in the heart of the city next to each other. After the war, the Capitol building had been used for multiple alternative purposes--including a school for many years. Eventually, the women who ran the school decided the building should be preserved as a museum and restored to its original look with as many original furnishings as possible. Today, it looks much as it did back in the late 1860's and feels very much like the home of Jefferson Davis and his family; however, no photographs were allowed inside, so we are not able to show you what we saw on our tour. It could be described as ornate, with classical, rich furnishings, a winding staircase, wallpapered rooms, a large "nursery" for the children, offices for Davis and his secretary, many fireplaces, three floors, etc... One of the most interesting facts we learned on the tour was that Mrs. Davis could write exactly like her husband and often finished writing letters for him with no one being able to distinguish between his handwriting and hers. She also could "hold her own" in all political conversations and interactions of the time, proving to be as knowledgeable and capable as her husband. Upon his death, she was hired as a columnist for a "Mr. Pulitzer" in New York City and lived a successful life as a writer there for at least two decades.
The Museum of the Confederacy was a self-guided, three-floor building displaying weapons, artifacts, flags and clothing from the Civil War. One particularly interesting gallery showed ways in which the soldiers passed the time in camp while waiting for each battle. There were games, pipes, musical instruments, books, and more. We read about the prevalence of disease and the countless deaths of soldiers within the camps not even due to fighting. We learned of some strategic moves used by the Confederate Army to outsmart its opponent. Although, it was a rather subdued environment requiring reading and concentration by tourists, it was worthwhile to see the displays and get a feel of this significant historical time period.
We had hoped to go on to tour the Black History Museum and areas of what was known as "Black Wall Street" or the Slavery Trail, but the museum was closed for relocation and renovation and we were WIPED OUT. We got back into the van and headed "home" to the farm so we could pack and prepare for our middle of the night drive back to Dulles Airport.
The Museum of the Confederacy was a self-guided, three-floor building displaying weapons, artifacts, flags and clothing from the Civil War. One particularly interesting gallery showed ways in which the soldiers passed the time in camp while waiting for each battle. There were games, pipes, musical instruments, books, and more. We read about the prevalence of disease and the countless deaths of soldiers within the camps not even due to fighting. We learned of some strategic moves used by the Confederate Army to outsmart its opponent. Although, it was a rather subdued environment requiring reading and concentration by tourists, it was worthwhile to see the displays and get a feel of this significant historical time period.
We had hoped to go on to tour the Black History Museum and areas of what was known as "Black Wall Street" or the Slavery Trail, but the museum was closed for relocation and renovation and we were WIPED OUT. We got back into the van and headed "home" to the farm so we could pack and prepare for our middle of the night drive back to Dulles Airport.