Stacey’s 30th Birthday Extravaganza

As you may have noticed by now, I am totally into historical parks and the like. I could go the rest of my life and never look at an art museum…but history? I’m on it. When I was little-ish and my family lived in Connecticut we went to this awesome place called Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. It was so cool…a recreated colonial village complete with costumed, in-character workers. I loved it and was hoping that Colonial Williamsburg would be the same…and it did not disappoint.

As I mentioned in my last post, my friends Karen and Paul were exceedingly generous in donating a night’s stay in one of the official Colonial Williamsburg hotels, the Woodlands’ Hotel and Suites. I’m sure that I would’ve been far too cheap to select this hotel but I cannot recommend it enough. Everyone was nice and the CW grounds were walkable. Plus, guests of the official hotels get discounts on the passes, meals in CW restaurants and other various amenities. I think if I were doing it again I would spend the extra money to stay on the grounds again as it was so convenient and the regular rate wasn’t too outrageous…around $150 per night. So now that I’m done playing travel agent…

I got an early start at Colonial Williamsburg on Monday as I had a lot to pack into one day. The plan was to spend most of the day at CW and a couple of hours at the Jamestown site and then drive until I dropped towards Charleston, SC. There is a mildly informative orientation walk where I learned the following things:

1. Colonial Williamsburg came about courtesy of John D. Rockefeller and a fellow College of William and Mary alumni Dr. W.A.R Goodwin as a means to preserve and restore the decaying historical city of Williamsburg. Rumor has it that this guy Rockefeller had a bit of cash and thus he subsequently committed $60 million (in 1926 dollars!) to the project. As any savvy business man would, Rockefeller used an alias in all real estate transactions to keep the prices from going up once it was known that he was the buyer. Very clever of him.
2. During the restoration process, nearly 600 nonperiod buildings were razed or removed from the Historic Area; 88 original 18th-century buildings were restored or repaired; and almost 500 structures (including outbuildings) were reconstructed according to the specifications of colonial-period documents and archaeological evidence. Perhaps more interesting is that many of the buildings in CW are currently occupied by the families of full-time employees of CW.
3. Opened in 1934, Colonial Williamsburg was the first theme park to use American history for amusement.

I have long had an inner conflict about the difference between “preserved” and “restored” buildings. I’m never quite sure if I’d like to see the ruins the way they currently exist or the pretty, restored versions that exist in places such as CW. Maybe a little of both? I’m not entirely decided on this issue but one thing I do know is that the restored buildings have this new-fangled, always-colonial invention…air conditioning. Believe me, if there’s one thing I can do without its authenticity, it’s Virginia heat in August.

Perhaps my favorite mini-tour in CW was that of Wetherburn’s Tavern which was less of drinking establishment and more of a bed and breakfast. This building was one of the originals and it was fascinating to see the public vs. private accommodations. Though they were right next to each other, they were a world apart. In the private rooms you got your own bed but had to share the room with several other people. In the public rooms they packed 3-4 into a bed and at busy times could fit up to 30 people in a room on floor pallets in a rather tiny room. On a disgusting note, they apparently only washed the sheets once a month…but they did shake out the linens every couple of days. Eww.

After spending about 5 hours of nerdy fun on the CW grounds I headed out towards Jamestown which is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year. Jamestown, for the historically impaired, is the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607. Those clued into their high school history will recall that the Roanoke settlement was earlier (late 16th century) but since those people vanished they are not counted as a permanent settlement. There are two sites here…one is the original historic Jamestown site with the ruins that is run by the National Park Service. The other is the Jamestown Settlement which is some sort of living museum which I was unable to visit due to time constraints. As it turns out, crudely built buildings from 400 years ago do not preserve well so there isn’t much to see building-wise except for the foundations. For a long time the archaeologists even believed that the fort built on this site was located where the river currently is but about 10 years ago they began excavation and found evidence of the original fort.

A recreated version of the fort now exists which you see in the picture below. Perhaps more interesting than the fort is all of the artifacts they discovered in the excavation that are now contained in the very well-done Archaearium.

After the Archaerium I was completely fried and done with the historical touring so it was off to North Carolina which, unfortunately, I had to cruise through to get closer to Charleston. This is too bad because NC is a very cool state and I’ve always endeavored to check out Cape Fear and the rest of the Outer Banks. Another trip I guess. My assessment of the Williamsburg/Virginia Beach area is that there’s a lot here to keep people busy for a while…historical stuff, beautiful beaches and of course the obligatory tourist traps including a water park and the oddly named Busch Garden Europe(?). It was nothing at all like Niagara Falls. I repeat, not at all like Niagara Falls.

Amy and Xander at the World War II Memorial

Since I used to live in the DC metro area, there’s not a lot of sightseeing in town that I haven’t already done. True, the Corcoran changes its exhibitions as do the various museums of the Smithsonian…but by and large, things are pretty standard in the District. Consequently, my time in DC and Baltimore was mostly about catching up with old friends and relaxing a bit outside of the Civvy. While this was a great time for me I realize it may not make for the most compelling blog post…my apologies to the disappointed.

On Wednesday I left the newly discovered rapture of the Pittsburgh area and departed for the Commonwealth of Virginia. I spent 3 days with my old roommate Amy and her family in Arlington…not too far from my old stomping grounds…the Park Adams apartments. For the most part, Arlington looks the same with a bit more commercialization along Wilson Boulevard. Though most of the DC tourism stuff is the same as ever, there were two new monuments constructed since I moved away so on Friday we (Amy, her adorable son Xander and I) braved the 95 degree heat for a trip down to the FDR and the World War II Memorials. The FDR is down near the Potomac River and not too far from the Jefferson Memorial. It’s comprised of a lot of rock, cascading waterfalls, sculptures and compelling quotes chiseled into the walls. I couldn’t help but notice that a lot of what was said by FDR during World War II is still relevant today in light of the current war situation. It seems to me that the current administration might benefit from a field trip to the FDR…it is just down the street after all.

After FDR it was off to the World War II Memorial which lies between the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool. The WWII monument has a circle of distinct pillars for each state and territory of the U.S. who fought in WWII which surround a beautiful fountain in the middle. The pictures are not great but will hopefully give you an idea of what things look like. After an afternoon at the Mall we headed out to Tyson’s Corner for dinner with my old friend Stephanie.

I spent Saturday morning hanging out one last time with Amy, Alan and Xander and it was off to the Baltimore area to meet up with my friend Karen and her family. Karen and I used to work

Stephanie, Amy and Stacey

together at the Urban Institute in downtown DC and have fortunately been able to keep in touch over the years. She and her husband Paul have a cool, old house in Catonsville, MD and have

Amy, Xander and Alan

a nearly two year-old daughter Ellie. Karen found it absolutely appalling that I had never had a Snowball so after a mexican meal in historic Ellicot City, we stopped at the Snowball stand for dessert. What is a Snowball you ask? Well, it turns out it is really just a snow-cone in a cup…but

Stacey, Karen, Ellie, Paul and Karen’s stepbrother Seth

with lots and lots of flavor choices. We asked the high school kid behind the counter which flavor is the most popular…you’ll never guess which it was…still thinking? Perhaps cherry? Or lime? Blue raspberry? Nope. It’s egg custard. Seriously. Personally that sounds a bit vile to me but what do I know? My stop in Catonsville was altogether too brief but the Extravaganza itinerary calls and I was headed out fairly early this morning for Colonial Williamsburg. I decided to take the slightly more scenic route over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the subsequent 21-mile Bay Bridge Tunnel from Maryland into Virginia. You’ll all be happy to know that I finally got to stop at the cute seaside restaurant for the sea critters that I failed to find in Maine. Yum…crab cakes and lobster bisque.

As if their amazing hospitality wasn’t enough, when Paul and Karen found out I was headed to Williamsburg they generously offered a gift certificate for a free night’s stay in CW that they wouldn’t be able to use before it expired. Not only did I get a free hotel room, I got a free hotel room on the grounds of CW and that is where I’m typing to you from today. I didn’t get in until around 5 pm so I’ll be doing some sightseeing tomorrow and will be sure, as always, to take some mediocre pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

Here's a conversation I've had multiple times in the past few weeks: Person: "So, where have you been so far on your trip?" Stacey: "I see you haven't been keeping up my blog or you would know that already." Person: ... [Continue reading this entry]