Colonial Williamsburg

For spring break this year we spent a few days in the Outerbanks and then were headed up to Washington, DC. I noticed that Colonial Williamsburg was on the way to DC so I thought it would be fun to stay there for a few days. I hadn’t been to Williamsburg since around 1991, the last time my parent’s had taken us there.

My favorite thing about Colonial Williamsburg is how some of the workers never break character. It’s like taking a time machine straight back to colonial times.  I think it would be a great experience to work in such a place. Here we are meeting James Madison and his horse Homer.

I have this same photo of me and my siblings…I wish I knew where it was right now!

Learning some new DIY at the silversmith:

Boo loved the wig shop, and that the wigmaker never broke character. When I asked if we could sell Boo’s long braid to her she replied, “Oh no, it’s too damaged from the sun and elements.”

Brett is such a good sport. I volunteered him for the “Order in the Court” mock trial we went too. He grabbed Boo’s hat and played a colonial attorney with gusto:

I loved all the textiles we saw. Two rug designs from the Governor’s Palace:

Wallpaper in George Wythe’s house:

Yarn rainbow at the weaving shop.

Speaking of weaving, I love how these branches were woven together to grow this archway:

In the afternoon when it was hot we ventured over to the Art Museums of Williamsburg. There was a great exhibition on doll houses and as soon as Boo saw this she was yelling at us to come see:

It looks so much like her old dollhouse we found at a thrift store a few years ago:

We stayed for a short play called A Gathering of Hair, a fictional Revolutionary-era story of a freed woman and her two enslaved friends, but loosely based on three actual women they researched and connected with. These three women, Deirdre, Hope & Katrinah, wrote the play back in 2013 and are still performing it today. It was really great. Boo wanted the play to be longer so she didn’t have to leave:

Our last day Boo wanted to visit two places: the blacksmith shop and revisit the wig shop. First thing we found the blacksmith kitchen well underway with lunch. The original farm-to-table:

Boo was ecstatic to see a female apprentice at work in the blacksmith shop, especially since she has been saying she wants to grow up to be a blacksmith these days:

When we got to the wig shop there was a longer wait than expected. Boo quickly made a new friend, Aubrey. Aubrey sat patiently with Sienna and taught her how to write secret messages using Pig Pen Cipher.

When Boo asked what she should write Aubrey gave her a Revolutionary War-era example of “you could write a secret message to the blacksmith shop and have them send more bullets.” So Boo sat there for a very long time and wouldn’t let us leave until she had finished her message, even adding her mailing address in the cipher code. As she was doing it Aubrey said to me, “I think she’s writing a real letter” and I started to worry that Boo was really expecting the blacksmith to “send more bullets” if she wrote out that secret letter. When we said goodbye Aubrey tucked Sienna’s little note into her pocket.

Two weeks later we checked the mail and there was a package addressed to AGENT SIENNA from A FRIEND IN WILLIAMSBURG. Inside was a little brown paper package, hand stitched closed with thread. Inside that package was a secret message written back and a hand embroidered handkerchief wrapped around two musket balls. Needless to say, Sienna was thrilled. She’ll never forget that kind gesture. Neither will I. The world is full of amazingly kind people.

 

P.S. We stayed at the Williamsburg Woodlands right at Colonial Williamsburg. I picked the Woodlands because it’s located right next to the visitor’s center. It was so convenient to be able to catch the shuttle each day right at our front door. Boo wants to go back soon. My parents spent Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg the year before my dad died.  I’d love to spend Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg one year.

P.P.S. I also bought a bunch of seeds for my spring garden from Colonial Williamsburg’s heirloom seed collection. Can’t wait to see how they end up: