Jamestown/Yorktown Day

 We started off our last day in Williamsburg at Astronomical Pancakes! Mendis got this hot tip from a DC lawyer he knows. They are huge but honestly not my fave.It tastes like there is cake mix or something in the batter. Whatever it is I'm not a fan. The berries were great so I got through those of course and about a 1/4 of teh pancake stack. Yup it was a stack of two. Everyone else loved breakfast so we will be going back should we return here someday.

 We decided since it had been 12 years we should redo Jamestown and Yorktown today. Just refresh our memories and see the sites again because they are incredible. My first thoughts of Jamestown in what a swamp. How on earth did those poor people survive this. It is so hot and humid there. All the water looks brackish and unfit for drinking or using for anything. Those poor people who tried to settle this place.

 The long walking bridge out to the original site of the fort.

 It's always a thrill to imagine Pohcahontas there. She is my 11th great grandmother so its makes being there extra special.

 I smashed some pennies and we headed right on over to Yorktown. 

 There is such a feeling there. It just brings to life the how grateful we should all be to those men that fought for this country and formed our nation for us.

Christina reenacting the moment 12 years ago when a bird flew out of the cannon into Hayden's face and scared the daylights out of him. She tried but it just wasn't the same.

 We had some lunch at...yup the Trellis.Just had to have that Death by Chocolate one more time!

Yup, It was still amazing.

Battlefield Tour

Mendis had a few sites on his list so we did them on Tuesday. It took the whole day but I can't believe how much we were able to fit in!We started off in Fredericksburg at the visitor's center. We took a ranger guided tour there which was really interesting. 

 There is a sunken road at this battle field too.It's on the left. The mansion was turned into a hospital and is now the home of the university president there.

The  bullets tore through this house that is right beside the sunken road that day. That was incredible to see. In fact there were so many bullets flying that they tore through a tree leaving just a torn up stump. It was a good size tree. Our ranger told us they took the stump to the Smithsonian so when we got there later I looked for it and sure enough I found it:

Here is the stump...amazing!

 

 I was amazed by the story behind this monument. A southern soldier heard the moans of the wounded and came out to give them all water no matter what side they were on. The northerners thought he was coming out to kill them so they were screaming at first. What a brave man he was.

We decided to grab some lunch before we pressed on and found the mother of all restaurant and shopping areas. Wow we were kinda jealous of all that convenience just right there. It was fun picking from a million possibilities but ended up at Chick Fila. Our first lemonade shakes were a hit!

Next we drove to Chancellorsville which is just a few miles away. 

This is where Stonewall Jackson was shot by friendly fire. It was interesting to hear the story behind that. From Chancellorsville we drove to the Wilderness and took a car driving tour through that battlefield.

 After the Wilderness tour we went to see Spotsylvania. Another interesting tour. The soldiers dug trenches and salients so fast and you can still see remains of them today.

What a history filled day. I simply can't believe we fit all this in AND drove all the way back to Williamsburg again lol. Yup we put some miles on that vehicle for sure.

The Long Way Home

Sunday we went to church and then came home and made a fabulous spaghetti dinner. We were missing a few things but it was so good. Jeff & Rachel and I took a long walk through Ford's Colony. There were some beautiful homes back in there by the golf courses and it was so pretty in the trees. We just hung out and played games and relaxed the night away.

Jeff and Rachel had train tickets to return to DC on Monday but we decided it would be more fun and cheaper for them if we just took them home. Of course that meant we would be taking the scenic route. Why go the same ol' way. I had been over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel when I was a teenager and wanted to see it again. We went in a complete circle. Up through the bridge/tunnel and up the small strip of land to Delaware. We went through Delaware and over to Annapolis. Did some touring there and then took Rachel & Jeff home. Then we just drove back down to Williamsburg making it a complete circle and a pretty long but fun day.

 

 The bridge/tunnel is 23 miles long and is a series of bridges and two long tunnels crossing the Chesapeake Bay. We enjoyed the drive over the water and I was super glad the bridges are pretty close to the water not way up in the air. I hate that.

 

 You can see how flat and undeveloped the peninsula is.The drive up through there wasn't very exciting because nothing changed much. Lots of little seafood restaurants along the way. We decided to go through Delaware so we could all cross that off our list.

It was fun to drive through this town of Delmar. I took this picture so I could send it to Joan Leatham!

Delaware was just filled with fields of fruits and veggies and was just beautiful. There were stands all along the roadway but we didn't stop. Ahhhh regrets.

 We crossed over another gnarly bridge to get to Annapolis.

 This was huge and frankly alot scarier than Chesapeake Bay.

 

 Finally we pulled into Annapolis. It was such a charming town. We just loved it. We parked and walked all over it. There were quite a few homes from the founding fathers and just alot of history there.

 The view was amazing because the harbor was just right there.

 

 

 Such a scenic little town. With the cutest little shops to explore. We wished we had gotten there earlier because alot of them closed by 5pm.

 Thomas Jefferson called this the most beautiful door in America. Got to put a beautiful girl in front of it right.

 

 

Jeff helping Rachel by giving her a boost up to see the gardens at yet another historical home.

After we walked all around we got some much appreciated ice cream and headed back down to DC. We braved the traffic and dropped them off at home before heading back down some more to Williamsburg. We grabbed some dinner on the way and made much better time than the first time for sure.