Saturday, August 31, 2013

August 29, 2013 Jamestown Settlement

Walking along the short of historic Yorktown, to catch our free shuttle bus to Williamsburg and Jamestown.

Ron in front of the corridor of flags - one each for all 50 states.  This is in front of the museum at the Jamestown Settlement.  (One heck of a nice museum - Ron and I enjoyed it very much.)

Inside a long house replica - at the re-created Indian village at the Jamestown Settlement. 

More long houses...

Outdoor cooking...

More HGTV interior shots...ooopps...I mean HGBTV (Home and Garden BEFORE TV)...notice the skunk skin...

Not quite like having a feather bed, or one that rocks you to sleep on the water.

Using oyster shells to 'carve and scrape' out the interior of the beginnings of a canoe.
The first of three ships - replicas of those that landed at Jamestown.  These ships represent full-size re-creations of the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery.  When you think about how many persons travelled on board; the conditions; and the length of time it took to travel from England...over four months...you can only be amazed. 



 

Sleeping quarters.

 

"Bunk beds" on board...

 


 

Ahoy, Captain!

Looking up...


"portable cannons"

Not quite like our storage units...


 

 

Cannon wagon...



Every living creature is hot and humid today...this chicken takes a drink of water; at the re-creation of the Jamestown Settlement's 'village'.

Inside a home...

 

Ready to arm, if needed.

Thatched roofs.

The largest building was used to house supplies.


And dry tobacco

Protection surrounds the village...

 

 

More 'readiness'



The village's church

The Governor's house...it was the largest, of course.

 

...and most "elaborate"

 

They used floor rugs as table covers...for a couple of reasons:  as a status symbol, and because they didn't want to put them on the floor because they would get dirty.   

Village walls.

 

 




Heading back in to the Settlement's outstanding museum.  (ah yes, air conditioning...) 

August 28, 2013 Jamestown

Scenes from Historic Jamestown's fort...site of the U.S.'s first permanent settlement.


Capt. John Smith walked these grounds, as well as many other courageous new settlers from England.

Hmmmm...I guess you could state that 'taxes' began here...as well as representative government.

The James Fort's church.  The original one burned down, and only the original tower, built in 1680, remained.  The church your see here is a replica of the original, and built in 1907.


Statue of Pocahontas.  Did you know she died in England?  She was kidnapped, married to an Englishman, John Rolfe, and baptized in the Christian faith as Rebecca.


Inside 'walls' of the fort.

Fort layout.



 



Two great captains:  Captain Ron posing with Captain Smith. 

Pure simplicity...inside the fort's church.



The 'spot' for the first Virginia House of Burgesses.

 

Inside the visitor center at Jamestown Settlement.... what a great display and chronology of America's history

We made two days at Jamestown.... there was just too much to take in... this is the entry to the visitor center.

 

Interior shots of the Thomas Nelson , Jr. home - still an original (albeit furnishings are not original).  Mr. Nelson was a signer of the Declaration of Independence on behalf of Virginia, and was Governor of Virginia the time of the siege of Yorktown.

Original floors, walls, etc., only the paint has been freshened.


Exquisite woodwork moldings... 

It was noted that the Nelson children were tutored at home by a  Dr. Jacob Hall!