Jamestown Settlement

This afternoon Mike and I went to the Jamestown Settlement, which is outside of Williamsburg, VA. In 1607, 13 years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, a group of 104 English men and boys began a settlement on the banks of Virginia's James River. They were sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, whose stockholders hoped to make a profit from the resources of the New World. The community suffered terrible hardships in its early years, but managed to endure, earning the distinction of being America's first permanent English colony. It must have been “Girl Scout Day” because they were EVERYWHERE! I wasn’t expecting too much from this exhibit but it turned out to be awesome. The museum was huge with lots of good information about the time period. It showed the time period from different perspectives, for example, what was going on in the new colony, with the Indians, and in England and all of Europe. This photo is part of the living history exhibit.

The Williamsburg Scottish Festival was being held across the street. By the time we made our way over there, it was later in the afternoon so we got in free. Yeah! The bagpipes were still playing (a group called Warpipe) so we bought a beer and found a seat. They were really good.

On a side note, we drove the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on the way from Maryland to Virginia. It is truly an engineering marvel. I had seen a special on the making of it on TV at some point in the past. It's awesome. As we drove into the second tunnel, a huge cargo ship was passing over it. Here's the Link