This is the story of A. and I's trip to Colonial Williamsburg, as she narrated it to me as we looked at these pictures. The words are hers.
We rode a monorail to get to the right place in the Orlando airport. We had to wait by the gate for a while. While we were waiting, I put Molly on the windowsill so she could watch. She’s wearing her Felicity traveling dress. It’s perfect for that day because we were traveling!
I used my Kindle to play a really fun puzzle game. I had lunch on the plane. While I was having lunch, I played with the Kindle. I didn’t expect that the clouds would be as pretty as they were! Flying in the air and landing made my ears feel funny, so I chewed gum. That helped a bit.
After we checked in at our hotel, I really wanted to go to Colonial Williamsburg right away! We went to the Visitor’s Center. There was a really pretty waterfall right outside the door. In the gift shop, I tried on a colonial hat that was probably kind of like Felicity’s hat that her mommy made her wear all the time. When we were walking to Colonial Williamsburg, we found a little creek under a bridge. The creek was really pretty and much different that the Florida ones. It had little stones in it, and it was really clear.
We went to the gate of the Governor's Palace and, at a nearby field, watched George Washington review the troops. We saw soldiers, fife and drums, and cannons firing. We had dinner at Mongolian, and I loved the golden bread! We watched Cupcake Wars to calm down. When I went to sleep, I slept in a very weird position!
We ate breakfast at the hotel buffet. I got a really yummy lemon-poppyseed muffin. Then we went to Colonial Williamsburg again. We had trouble finding a rental costume at the Visitor’s Center, but then I suggested going to the Market Square to rent one there. But instead of renting, we bought a really pretty one that I could keep. It was white with a pretty purple design. I got a picture before I got my costume, then I got a picture after it.
I sat down on a bench outside the Getty House while Mommy talked with one of the people outside the house. When we went inside, a lday taught me how to curtsey, and then someone played a spinet and another person played a viola. The person playing the viola was a girl who was dressed up like a boy, because in Colonial times it wasn’t proper for girls to play instruments that went close to their face. I really liked the music.
We went to a colonial garden, and we saw some huge marigolds and we also saw some HUMONGOUS sun flowers. After that, we went to the weavers and we saw someone weaving some carpet. Then we went across the street to Bruton Parish Church. We saw the pew where George Washington would sit. There was sun clock outside, which only works when the sun is shining.
We went to the Milliner’s Shop, and there was a pretty dress that looked like Felicity’s fancy gown. Then I tried on a pinner cap. We saw some horses pulling a carriage on our way to another shop. I petted the one named “Chief”.
We took a tour of the Governor's Palace, and I sat on a neat window seat. The first room we went into, the walls were covered in swords and guns. We went to the pretty ballroom. The ballroom had pretty blue walls and a pretty carpet with flowers on it. When the tour was done, we went to the Governor’s Palace kitchen and we got to see some different meals. Then we found a pretty little bridge over a small lake to sit on. When we were on the bench we saw a really neat fuzzy caterpillar. It was a hickory tussock caterpillar. I’m glad I didn’t touch it because it has stinging hairs on its back!
At the Wythe House there was a neat microscope and the holes in the shutters were for a solar microscope that Mr. Wythe had. In the back of the Wythe House, we saw a kitty and in the Wythe House gardens, we found a neat arch made out of plants. There was a bench in it that I sat on.
I ran across the Palace Green. We needed a break and we were kinda hungry, so we went to a little cafe (the Cheese Shop) to eat lunch. After lunch, we went to the bookstore. I read Rainbow Fairies books.
We took the bus to the Powell House. When you go into the Powell House gate, there’s a neat little garden you go through. In the back of the Powell House, I found a stick and hoop. When I rolled the hoop, I tapped it with the stick to keep it going. Rolling the hoop was fun, but it was hard and it took a lot of practice.
In a building behind the Powell House, there was a little area where I made a needle book. A needle book holds needles and keep them safe, because there wasn’t much metal in those times. Then we went to the Powell House kitchen. I washed some spoons. I had to hand wash, though. There were no dishwashers! Then she showed us some cabbage she was pickling, and she showed us some already pickled things. They pickled because it kept food good for a long time.
Inside the Powell House, we cleaned up the dining room by clearing off the table, then we folded the tablecloth. After that, we played a fun game called “Find the Thimble”. Someone has a thimble, and the rest of the people close their eyes and stomp their feet and make lots of noise so they don’t know where the thimble is being hidden. The person who is hiding the thimble says something to tell you that you can open your eyes, then whoever finds the thimble first says that thing and then they let the other person have a chance to find it. I had a hard time finding the thimble, but it was still fun.
In the parlor, we played Shut the Box. Shut the Box is a fun math game. You roll some dice, and you fold down the number that you have. Whoever gets the lowest score wins. There were some dolls that you could change the clothes on, so I made one look as much like Felicity as I could. Then I played Cup and Ball. Cup and Ball is a game where you try to get a ball into a cup. Cup and Ball is hard, but it’s very fun.
We went to the gaol. I stood in front of one of the cells; we called it Jiggy Nye’s cell to show Miles where Jiggy Nye went into jail. I tried to get my hand all the way into the slot people got food through. My arm didn’t even get to the other side! I used a chain as a picture frame as mommy was taking a picture of me.
We found a lighting tree. There was part of it that I could walk right through. And then we went to the wig makers. There were 4 types of hair they used to make wigs -- human, horse, goat, and yak. If I had a wig, I would want it made out of goat hair, because it’s super soft, but it isn’t very long. For dinner, we got some pizza and we took it back to the hotel room. We watched Cupcake Wars while we ate pizza on my bed.
When we were walking to Colonial Williamsburg in the morning, I met a girl with a Felicity doll! She was wearing Felicity’s tea party dress. We got a picture together and went to the Governor’s Palace maze together. The maze was really fun. The only problem with it was that people made shortcuts, so it wasn’t tricky enough. When we were leaving the maze, mommy said she’d meet me at the end, but instead I met her there by running super fast through the maze!
We decided to go on the path in the Governor’s Palace gardens that we found the bridge on. I found some interesting stairs, so we followed them. We found an ice house at the top of the stairs. The ice house was used for storing ice. The only way they could have ice in the summer was to save it from the winter!
There was a neat show on the Palace Green called Storming the Palace. There were some soldiers who were going to go to the Palace, because they thought the Governor stole the gunpowder. I decided to storm the palace with them. After that, we went to the canons we’d seen the soldier fire the night before, and then to a humongous tree!
We found the stocks and pillory. I decided to see what a pillory was. It was kind of funny, but it wouldn’t be fun in real life. I could pull my hands out. That’s because they didn’t use it on little kids. There was an oven outside the blacksmith. They were putting a fire in it. After the fire was made, they could cook the bread in the oven without the fire inside because it still stayed hot from the fire. We went to the Prentis Store. It was probably a lot like Felicity’s dad’s store. It smelled really nice, like spices and soap. They sold bird bottles, cones of sugar, and colonial writing supplies (quill pens and ink).
We went to the printing office. It was really neat how they put the ink on the things they needed it on, bammed them together to get the ink on, then they put it on the huge stamp. After that, they put a piece of paper on top of it, and used a machine to push it down. Then it was done, they didn’t have to write anything! Then we went to the milliner. They let me experience what it would be like to get a new outfit. I pretended to get an outfit for the Governor’s Palace ball. I chose a pink dress with some pretty silver fabric on top. They tricked me into thinking I was really getting a new outfit!
At the blacksmith, there were some really big and small nails a lady was making. We also watched them make bullets. They pour melted metal into a mold, and when they pull it out they have bullets! Then we went to the apothecary. They had some medicine that smelled like Vaporub.
We ate lunch at a tavern. There was somebody playing music while we ate. I liked the music. Mommy and I split a pork sandwich. At the encampment, there were really small tents for the soldiers to live in. That doesn’t seem comfortable at all!
We went to the brickyard. To make bricks, they got a big clump of clay and put it in a mold. The mold had some sand in the bottom to keep the clay from sticking. Then they took the bricks over into a big open space and dumped the bricks out of the mold. The bricks had to dry before they could be used. I got to walk in clay to mix it up! It was really tricky to walk in. Then I had to clean my feet AND legs.
We went back to the Powell House. In the dining room, there was a person who taught me about colonial money. It was different because they cut up coins when they had too much money. The value of a coin was dependent on how much it weighted. We played in the parlor while a thunderstorm came through. We saw somebody playing with dominoes, and I joined her for a game. I won!
We went back to Market Square to look for souvenirs. There was a finger harp. We walked back to the Visitor’s Center. On the way, we stopped at the plantation. We saw the slaves’ room and we saw a kid’s bed. I don’t think the bed would be very fun to sleep in -- it was mostly just a pillow and blanket laid out on the floor. The little kid had a straw doll.
When we were at the Visitor’s Center, I got another pin for getting a certain amount of punches when we went different places in Colonial Williamsburg. We went back to the hotel for a break. Then we went to Sno-To-Go and we got ice cream for dinner! We got a brownie sundae. It had whipped cream, a cherry, vanilla ice cream, and brownie. I ate the cherry for Mommy. Then we went to the Governor’s Palace for the ball.
The ball was in the Governor’s Palace ballroom. There were candles in the crystal chandeliers. The music was from a viola. There were lots of people in fancy colonial outfits dancing. I got to dance two of the dances with them! The dances were fun, but they were a little bit hard. After the ball, I got pictures with some of the people.
When we came out of the ball, I saw a firefly in the grass! Mommy caught it for me so I could hold it. Then we went to the Palace Green, and I tried to catch some more fireflies. I didn’t catch any, but it was still fun.
The last day, we went to Mommy’s old college. We got pictures in front of one of the buildings. Then we went to the Sunken Gardens. They were neat!
We went to the biggest tree. I had fun climbing on its roots! Mommy boosted me up into a magnolia tree.
We finished our trip at the Visitor’s Center. I chose a Cup and Ball and some paper dolls as my souvenirs. Then we went to the bookstore, where I looked at some colonial books with pictures of colonial people. Then it was off to the airport. We had two flights to get back home.
