Nanda & Nathan The Travellers: December 2012

December 31, 2012

Historic Jamestowne

December 31, 2012 ---- Jamestown was the first permanent British settlement, founded when 104 colonists sailed across the Atlantic to North America in 1607. It's also the capital of Virginia.

Nathan and I got to Jamestown in the afternoon and went straight to the Visitor Center and looked around at the fabulous exhibit they provided. Then we walked to the Old Towne part of the town and the museum, but we didn't have enough time to go through the New Towne because we had to drive to Washington, DC, that day. There were a lot of interesting collections in the museum, but they didn't allow anyone to take a photo inside of the museum.

Later we drove to the Jamestown Glasshouse, and it was my favorite. They were making a lot of glassware using old techniques here, and I bought a blue bowl for my friend as a New Year gift.

Visitor Center

Old Towne

The Tercentenary Monument

John Smith Statue

James Fort

Memorial Church 1907

Voorhees Archaearium Archaeology Museum

Jamestown Glasshouse

Yorktown National Battlefield

December 31, 2012 ---- Yorktown is a very interesting little town located next to the York River in Virginia. It was established in 1691 as a port town, and later in 1781 it became famous for the "Surrender of Lord Cornwallis" and the end of the Revolutionary War.

Nathan and I planned to do a self-auto tour through the battlefield in the morning and then go to Jamestown in the afternoon. We started at the Visitor Center and watched an introductory film before heading to the battlefield. There was also a ranger tour, but we decided to wander around by ourselves because we didn't have much time. The battlefield map was very easy to follow, and we had a great time there. The only thing we missed was walking through the historical town. We were out of time, and I hope to visit it again if I am in the area.

Visitor Center

A. British Inner Defense Line

B. Grand French Battery

C. Second Allied Siege Line

E. Moore House

F. Surrender Field

Yorktown Victory Monument

Yorktown

December 30, 2012

Colonial Williamsburg

December 29-30, 2012 ---- I have gotten more interested in American history since I watched the movie, "Lincoln," and read the whole American history book I bought many years ago. Since Nathan and I went to Hilton Head, SC, for Christmas, we thought it would be nice to stop at Williamsburg on the way back home and visit the 18th-century capital city of Virginia.

Colonial Williamsburg is like a living museum. Nathan and I started early in the morning at the Regional Visitor Center. The parking was free, and we watched the introductory film about the history of the town there. Then we walked across the bridge to Great Hopes Plantation and took a 30-minute orientation walking tour in the Revolutionary City. There were park tour-guides in every major building we visited, and there were people dressed up like in the 18th century all over the place.

My favorite part was the Capitol, and Nathan liked Bruton Parish Church the most. We took the entire day to visit every single program they had for the day and learned so much about the city, people in the past, and how things were made back then. It was a very educational tour, and I would recommend it to everyone to go there once in a life time.