Day 32 - 7/22

Today we went to see Jamestown and Yorktown. Before we left, we had breakfast in our hotel. There was a guy who looked liked Einstein and someone who was Santa Claus. He even wore a Santa Claus Hat! Jamestown was the first permanent English colony settled in 1607. We saw a statue of Pocahontas and went on a tour about her life. Despite what Disney thinks, Pocahontas married John Rolfe and died in her early 20's either from disease or perhaps being poisoned. We also saw the excavation sites where archeologists have dug up artifacts. The church building was also still standing so we went through and looked around there. Inside the museum they had hundred of artifacts displayed. Among them was a skeleton of one of the men who was with John Smith. They had a kid program where you would count a certain number of items (wells, cannons, ducks, etc.) and add up your total and receive a prize. The prize was a nice drawstring backpack. It's amazing to think about how old the Jamestown artifacts are. Our nation is only a little over 200 years old. Jamestown celebrated its 400th anniversary five years ago.  Jamestown serves as a continual reminder of how we are here today.

Yorktown was a beautiful area. Inside the museum they had a movie on the battle of Yorktown complete with a map that would light up different areas to show where specific skirmishes took place. There was also a model of what Washington's tent would have looked like. The greatest part of the museum according to the girls was the giant model boat that kids could explore. Rachel liked it because "there were two floors and you could see the potty. They also had a telescope and you could see pirates sailing a ship." When we arrived at the visitor's center, it was going to close in a half hour. We wanted to do the Junior Ranger program, but there wouldn't be enough time to complete it and pass it off. The Ranger was understanding and graciously gave us the patches and told us to complete the packet, which we did later.

The outside parts of Yorktown didn't close until sunset, so  we toured around in the van to look at the different sites. We saw some of the ridges and ditches the British and Americans made. During this battle, the French sent troops to support the Americans. Off in the distance we saw the body of water where British and French ships fought until the British were overtaken. What was probably the most poignant part was seeing the actual field where the British surrendered to Washington. Cornwallis sent his second in command to give his sword signifying defeat. Mom told us the story of the surrender in detail.