First Glimpse of Jamestown

We finished our touring of Williamsburg and decided to travel to Jamestown to get the lay of the land and plan for the next day. We arrived in the evening and saw a beautiful sunset over the James River and York River which both feed the Chesapeake Bay. We stopped to get a few photos of the sunset then found the Jamestown Visitor's Center. We also found a little trail that wound from the pavement to the Bay. We decided to walk the trail to the Chesapeake and had a wonderful time imagining the ship's crews trying to find a place to dock and establish their first community.




A Tourist Riverboat floated by.

 





 







Foot path to the shore





LeGrand finds the Chesapeake Bay.



More Pictures of Colonial Williamsburg





Discussion of religion with the iterant preachers.

The Town Crier delivering the mail and

giving the news outloud at the city square.



Colonist listening to the town crier

Fife and Drum Corp parade downWilliamsburg  Main Street












 

Marquis de Lafayette

General Lafayette traveled for months to get to Williamsburg to join the Revolutionary Movement.  At first he met with a rather cold reception but after he had declared his wish to serve as a volunteer and at his own expense, Congress (31 July, 1777) appointed him major-general. The next day he was introduced to Washington, and the life-long friendship between the two was at once begun.  He was a true and loyal friend to George Washington and proved to be invaluable in helping defeat the British troops. And if that little bit of information makes you feel more kindly towards the French, then good on ya!
 
 

The French General, Lafayette

Muzzle loader demonstration

Make Ready the Cannons!

Fire!

Marching Drills

The children in the audience were invited to come and follow the military

out of the field. They took the call to arms pretty seriously. 

Yes, I shed a tear.

 

 

The Fantastic Historical Triangle in Virginia

LeGrand and I were staying in DC with Kellie and the kids this summer. One day LeGrand felt particularly good so we decided we ought to make the trip to see where our country got started.  Previously touring Philidelphia, Washington DC, Mount Vernon, etc., our patriotism levels were sky high.  We were hopelessly hooked on American History so while we were in the neighborhood we decided to take an overnight trip to Virginia to explore the Historical Triangle.

You can buy a ticket that will get you into some great preservation sites in Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown.  Each is wonderful, but everyone told us to spend most of our time in Williamsburg so we started there.  Williamsburg was remamed after the King of England after the capital of the Virginia Colony was moved there from Jamestown in 1698. The town received a royal charter as a city in 1722, and was the center of political events in Virginia leading to the American Revolution.

The Colonial Williamsburg Park is an is a large living museum of early American life. It has dozens of restored and recreated buildings and reenactors. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.  We loved this place and could have spent days there.





Of course, we were still under British Rule in early Williamsburg, but
 colonists were getting tired of the oppression.  This palace was the house
 of the British rulers of the colonies until the Revolutionary War. 
 
 

Thomas Jefferson address--I loved this lecture!  This was one of my favorite memories and made me really think about the events that led to the formation of the United States of America.

George Wyclith Home--Original home where Washington and many of the framers of

 the Declaration of Independence met.  

LeGrand outside the original Church of England where the colonist met in Williamsburg.

Among the men of the Revolution who attended Bruton Parish Church were Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, George Wythe, Patrick Henry, and George Mason.

The Pew of the Jefferson Family

This is the speaker's stand in the Church.  Notice the little roof above where the

 speaker stood that  amplified the sound to the congregation.  This was a very cool church

and you can still attend services there. We decided to go to a wonderful LDS ward that Sunday,

but next time, we'll go to both services.  I wanted to sit in the church where so many of

our founding fathers worshipped!

This was the cobbler's shop where this guy made shoes.  Beautiful store. All the
store shop keepers and actors would stay in character and discuss issues of the
day with us or explain how they made or created their wares.





LeGrand attended an organ recital in the Wren Church built on the College of William and Mary campus.  The campus was named after the British Emporer William III and his wife Mary II and is the 2nd oldest college in the country after Harvard.
 The organist played from orginial musical transcripts copied by hand in England from the masters' scores by the original organistof this church.  LeGrand loved this event and was thrilled to see this performance. He told me all about the Wren Chapel and I told him all about Thomas Jefferson.



The chapel of the Wren Church.  LeGrand took me back later to see this, but a
wedding was taking place and we did not get to enter.

Williamsburg Courthouse -- We attended a trial sesson in this English

Courthouse to learn about the British Judicial System.  The tourists

were pressed into service to represent all the people involved in the

court.  It was hilariously fun and educational too!

The Court Clerk-  Sober and Sanctimonious

Patrick Henry -- "Give me liberty or give me
death!"  This lecture/performance was
outstanding!  After it was over, some in the audience
came up and asked questions.  The actor stayed
in character and answered so intelligently. 

Patrict Henry

The Palace Gardens -- The Colonial Williamsburg historical site is
so clean and well-kept.  The gardens of the original palace
were beautifully done in the old English style.



The Sacred Grove--Palmyra, New York





(Joseph Smith History, Chapter 1) At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God.  I at length came to the determination to "ask of God," concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.

 

   



So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt.

It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty.

  













It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my
 anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.



After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go,
having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began
to offer up the desires of my heart to God.







I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended
gradually until it fell upon me.  

  



When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all
description, standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling me by name
and said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

  





 



My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that
I might know which to join.  No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be
able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the
sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)--and
which I should join.

He forade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me. When I came
 to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven.

.

When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home.

 




And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was.  I replied, "never mind,
 all is well--I am well enough off.  I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true."

 




This is the stream that young Joseph Smith crossed to enter the grove of trees behind his
cabin home.  The stream watered the Smith farm and originated at the Hill Cumorah
where the plates of gold were buried.  The Book of Mormon that Joseph would soon
translate would become the living waters of the Restoration.

 





Being in the Sacred Grove was a dream come true for me.  LeGrand and I also found
ourselves alone in that  most sacred place and had the Spirit witness to us that Joseph
truly did see the Father and the Son as he prayed that morning in 1820. 

 





Firehouse Ruin Part 2

On the north end of the ruin is a perfect refrigerated cave-ish room created by these huge sandstone rocks.  This is really quite a ruin.



I dragged LeGrand back to this ruin after my fun neighbor introduced it to me.  He patiently waited until the sun came out so I could take a few pictures.

The trail.



Nice easy little hike through a beautiful canyon bottom to these ruins. . .

The ruins weren't the only things on fire--LeGrand's feet were burning too.  He enjoyed his little nap on the rock while we waited for the sun to hit the roof of the ruins.  That man is so good to me! I was so excited to show him the canyon that I didn't think of the agony that might result from my enthusiasm.