Our Trip Blog

Events of Monday, December 27, 2010

            Happy Birthday to my boys‼ Fifteen years ago today I gave Jim a great gift – the gift of a son for his 30^th birthday. (I’ll let you do the math to figure out how old Jim is…) At breakfast we gave the boys their gifts. A Balaclava for Ben which he very much appreciated in the cold snowy weather we have enjoyed in Virginia and an Archeological Bible for Jim. He had perused one when we visited the Bjorlo family in Minnesota. The rest of Ben’s gift was inadvertently sent home to California, so it will catch up with him eventually. Then we quickly packed up a lunch and returned to Colonial Williamsburg to enjoy the last day of our 7-day pass. As we left we made plans to meet up with the Jim’s parents and sister for lunch at the museum.

            We were eager to get an early start for several reasons. Yesterday, because of the snow, many of the living history re-enactments had been canceled or the hours shortened as people simply could not travel. We learned that Williamsburg, Virginia has NEVER experienced a white Christmas and this record snowfall placed third in the record books. Despite the cancellations, we had a wonderful time yesterday. We had beautiful, white, snow covered Williamsburg practically to ourselves. However, that would not be the case today. In all the white fluff, which just begged to be played in, Caitlin had managed to lose her admission badge yesterday and we needed to procure a new one. The final reason for our early arrival was our desire to finally be able to participate in “A Conversation with… insert famous Colonial Williamsburg character’s name.” On our first day at Colonial Williamsburg we had just missed out on Thomas Jefferson. The next day we were in time for George Washington, but his conversations require a reservation ticket and all were dispensed already. There were no opportunities on Christmas or Sunday, so today was our last chance to make this happen. Checking in at the Visitor’s Center we learned that Marquis De Lafayette had indeed been able to travel to Williamsburg, but we should hurry over as this usually outdoor event was being moved indoors due to the weather and space would again be limited.

            So we set our sights on the Governor’s Palace for our public audience with Lafayette. The shuttle was larger and more crowded than the ones we rode yesterday. Arriving at our stop, I suggested we head one way, but Ben patiently explained that I had my directions, confused in the snow, and Jim agreed with him. Turns out, I was right but following the boys’ directions we walked the LONG way to the Governor’s Palace. I mention this because last night when we played Aunt Jennifer’s Trivia game about Ben and Jim, one of the bonus questions was:  “Where did Ben and Jim go backpacking last year?” What was funny about this question is that Jim and Ben inadvertently get lost EVERY time they go backpacking, so even they couldn’t remember where they had gone. They couldn’t remember where they had initially planned to go and if they had ever reached it. However, they claim they are never really lost, they just don’t know where they are.

            When we finally arrived at the Palace, we found a Scottish-born colonist manning the gate and trying to clear the path and steps of snow and ice. Despite our extended journey, we were first in line. I held our place while the kids went off to explore the garden maze in the snow and Jim went to get some pictures of Williamsburg in the snow. Shortly after they returned, we were ushered into the room a little early. It seems the roof of the Palace is quite steep and as the sun warmed things up, great avalanches of snow would cascade from above onto the waiting crowd below. The room was small, about 50 chairs, and soon was full with about 75 people with others watching from the hall. Precisely on time, General Marquis De Lafayette swept into the room, huzzahing all the way. He quickly oriented us to the time period. It was 1781 and he was huzzahing General George Washington’s tremendous victory at the Battle of Yorktown. Being oriented to the time period was very helpful as, depending where you are in Colonial Williamsburg, the year keeps changing. It is 1765 at the Coffeehouse, 1776 at the Shoemaker’s and 1772 at the Governor’s Palace. One can easily get confused.

            Our “Public Audience with the Marquis de Lafayette” was incredible. For 45 minutes, he held us all spellbound as he spoke of the “Great Cause of American Independence” and his background, history and role in this great cause. He engaged the audience frequently, even asking Lindsey if she remember a certain French officer. He was certain she would as she danced the Minuet with him last spring and surely could remember that, although he was a fine officer, he was a poor dancer and probably stepped on her feet many times. His accent never wavered nor did his enthusiasm. In the end we were all very glad to have made this audience. Then it was off to see the rest of Colonial Williamsburg.

            On the drive over from our rented home the kids had pored over the map; highlighting what sites/places we had seen, circling those left to see and prioritizing our visits. As we emerged from the Palace, Abby informed me they had a plan. So off we went. First stop was to see the Basketmaker. However, as the outbuilding where this demonstration typically takes place was buried in snow, we had to be content with a tour of the Wythe house. George Wythe, a lawyer, had been Thomas Jefferson’s teacher and mentor. He even signed the Declaration of Independence. They had saved him a spot as he was such an honored man. The house was fairly large, and the most amazing part was the wallpaper. Each room had a different design and bright vibrant color. In his study were several jars filled with alcohol and preserved frogs, snakes and fish. It seems in his spare time, George Wythe like to study physiology.

            Next was the Gunsmith and Foundry. The kids were very excited to see steps in the process identical to those they had learned about when we visited the Kings in Pennsylvania. These Amish friends run a foundry, very much like what we observed today. The master of the Williamsburg shop was creating two identical pistols and explained his job as part carpenter, part blacksmith and part metalworker. Various creations were displayed on a table, everything ranging from guns to pistols to sword hilts, to belt buckles, door handles and stirrups. The docent explained that while he was primarily a gunsmith, his ability to diversify his work drew in business and made his foundry a place for one stop shopping. Exiting the foundry, we munched on granola bars to tide us over to lunch.  

            Crossing the street in front of the Bruton Parish Church where we had spent Christmas Eve, we made our way to the weavers; actually this is where the dyeing, spinning AND weaving takes place. There we learned how true the meaning of the words:  “The clothes make the man.” As it was explained to us, what a woman wore in public advertised volumes of how her husband’s business was doing. Different colors, especially blue which was more expensive to make, spoke of wealth and that business was going well. However, basic browns made from the plentiful walnut shell, spoke of a hard year and as a result business would fall off as well. Then the different methods of spinning cotton and spinning flax was explained to us all the while a loom shuttle hummed as another weaver created a patterned cloth.  The impact of war with the British was also explained. All in all it was a very informative session. Just before we left, Caitlin spied a skein of yarn that was two different colors. The weaver explained that this was an easy/lazy way to introduce texturing and color into a woven piece as the different colors made their way into the piece automatically without switching out the shuttle.

            Walking on we passed Chowning’s Tavern where we would be celebrating the boys’ birthday dinner.  We had planned to tour Wetherburn’s Tavern, but found it closed, probably as a safety precaution given the very large two foot long icicles that encased the roof and covered much of the second floor. So it was on to the wigmakers. Here we learned the history of wigs, where the hair was obtained and the multiple step process required procuring a wig. One could choose goat hair, horse hair, yak hair, or human hair, from peasant girls in Eastern Europe. Explaining that it started with your head being shaved, men and women alike, the wigmaker then asked for volunteers. Receiving none, she went on to explain that a wooden block head was made and fitted with tight fitting mesh; tight enough to guarantee a tremendous headache to the wearer. Then the proper lengths of hair were woven onto a thread that was then sewn to the mesh in a series of rows. The different styles were explained and we learned that a lady can be a blonde for breakfast, a brunette for lunch and a red-head for dinner. The wigmaker defined for us the difference between a women and a lady. She was a woman as she worked for a living. If someone else worked so you could live, you were a lady. For the men, dark hair was for everyday occasions, while white powdered wigs were for formal occasions. Next the various styling tools were demonstrated. Finally we learned that General George Washington was responsible for the demise of the wig. Not interested in the headache the notoriously tight wig gave to its wearer, he never wore a wig, preferring instead to wear his hair long and cover his hair with a grease mixture and then whiten it with powder for formal occasions. Turns out he was quite the trend setter and after the war the men reasoned what was good enough for George Washington, was good enough for them. So wearing wigs for fashion was out, but wigs have continued to be made for a wide variety of other reasons since the colonial times.

            As we exited the Wigmaker, I spied the Bakery across the street. It is a Taylor Tradition that your birthday begins with a chocolate donut with candles. Since our travel had been hampered by the snow yesterday, I had failed to obtain the traditional donut for Ben. So I told him he could select anything in the bake shop and he chose a slice of apple cake which he enjoyed immensely, oblivious to the envious looks of his sisters. Next it was off to see the Joiner and the rest of enjoyed a snack of baby carrots as we traveled, phase two of lunch. In England, a long standing guild system separated a carpenter, from a joiner, from a cabinetmaker. A carpenter frames a house and puts up the walls and roof. A joiner builds the doors, windows, and trim and a cabinetmaker makes the furniture that goes in the house. In the colonies, without the overseeing guilds, the lines grey a little and the carpenter and joiner merge to become the complete house builder. And, seeking to bring in a little extra money, the joiner will often use lumber left over from the house to make furniture to supplement his income.

            By now, it was past lunch. So as we waited for the shuttle that would take us to the museum we got out our cheese, sliced summer sausage and Triscuits and had the next part of our lunch. We were all pretty satiated by the time the shuttle arrived. We rode the shuttle to the museum which included the Public Hospital of 1773 (for the mentally ill). Shortly after arriving we met up with Jim’s family. As they had not had lunch they headed off to the café and we went to join the 2pm tour of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. Thankfully this tour did not last its full 45 minutes. Although it was interesting to see the quilts on display and the kids enjoyed the interactive quilting table where they could assemble different colors and shapes into quilt patterns, the rest of the tour was rather humdrum. The only other interesting room was the music room which featured a piano in a dresser, a gourd banjo and a horse jawbone. Luckily there was a video to show how a horse’s jawbone, a percussion instrument, is played as our guide did not even mention this unique instrument.

            Our real purpose in coming to the museum was to join the “Sipping and Supping for the Holidays” tour, billed to be a chance to “learn about 18^th century holiday dining customs and equipage”. Somehow in reading that we all thought there would be some actual ingestion of food and drink. However, fairly early in the tour we realized that it was to be a discussion of dinnerware patterns and opted out. We spent the next 45 minutes in a variety of ways, each pursing their area of interest agreeing to meet at the doors to the Public Hospital at 3:45. Jim’s folks and sister had opted out of the tour and were touring the museum on their own and would meet up with us there as well. While Lindsey perused the gift shop with Jim and the other kids checked out the Discovery Center, I chose to take a break and sit and rest.

            At the appointed time we met at the Public Hospital where we attempted to deliver the “odd” members of our family without success. The exhibit at this former mental hospital contrasted the cell of 1773 with the “apartment living” approach of 1862. While viewing each room a conversation between a patient and a doctor could be overheard. The 1773 patient believed he was the son of King George and all were his subjects and rattled his chains amidst threats of violence while the 1862 patient was stressed about writing a letter to her family and was encouraged to calm herself by playing the violin, after ingesting a large amount of laudanum. The other rooms exhibited a timeline of sorts of treatment techniques and methodology that demonstrated the some of these doctors were introducing ideas for dealing with the mentally ill about 100 years ahead of their time.

            Leaving the museum, we found a very long line waiting for the shuttle. Quickly I peeled some Cutie oranges to complete our lunch but found the shuttle could only accommodate about 5 new passengers. So we munched our oranges as we walked on to the next stop, two blocks away, beating the shuttle. There we visited a Williamsburg Arts and Craft store where the girls and their Aunt and Grandma sampled all the hand lotion possible. Then we returned to the main street of Colonial Williamsburg. By now we had seen all there was to see, but the children wanted to share their experience with their Grandparents and Aunt. So we visited the weaver to find a different docent presenting the material. Somehow the discussion moved to what could be spun into yarn and we learned that in addition to cotton and flax, hemp could also be spun into a usable textile. However, the federal government has decreed it illegal for Colonial Williamsburg to grow marijuana, even though it was grown in the 18^th century. It appears the last time it was grown in Colonial Williamsburg was in the 1960s and that was stopped when the students at William and Mary College started showing an increased interested in 18^th century agriculture at 2 in the morning. Aunt Jennifer asked if there was any record of the other uses for marijuana and the docent spoke of a document that noted that the “Negroes had gotten into the hemp again.” With a chuckle we took leave of the weaver and continued down the street. It was now approaching 5pm, when all the exhibits close, so we had just enough time to visit the Magazine before all closed down.

            Ready to celebrate our boys’ birthday, we headed to Gombol’s Tavern. Early in the week we had been directed to this Colonial Williamsburg tavern due to its family atmosphere. Promising that we would be entertained by magicians and jugglers and heralded by minstrels, the guide warned us that it was family seating and we might be sat at a table with another family. When I informed her that there would be nine of us, she quickly acquiesced that since that constituted a family, we’d have a table to ourselves and that is exactly what happened. Arriving shortly after five, we were ushered to an upstairs room; what we later learned would have been the sleeping chamber for the tavern. Taverns in colonial times were more like inns, with all meals being taken in the kitchen and everyone sleeping on floor mats upstairs, regardless of the number of guests.

            Ours was one of five tables in the room. The ceiling sloped up behind us necessitating careful maneuvering to get into our chairs. Peanuts in the shell were in baskets on the table and we read our menus by candle lanterns. Continuing our trips’ tradition of culinary adventure, we each ordered a different dish of traditional tavern fare. Bob enjoyed Brunswick stew with cornbread, while Gayle ordered the corn chowder. Caitlin had Virginia Pull’d Pork Barbecue with Coleslaw and Abby enjoyed “Grilled Salmon Sallet”, a salad. Both Jennifer and Lindsey ordered Josiah’s Barbecued Rib Bites while Ben feasted on the Prime Rib sandwich. Jim and I chose to share the Sampler Platter to get a taste of everything:  Crock of Cheese with sippets (essentially toast sticks), Brunswick Stew, Barbecued Rib Bites, Pull ’d Pork Barbecue, and Coleslaw. For dessert the others feasted on Josiah’s Peanut Pie and Yellow Cake with Fudge icing, while I had the best tasting chocolate ice cream of this trip.

            The food was delicious, but what really made the evening was the entertainment. First came the magician. After a few tricks of sleight of hand with three cherries, he then moved on to using cups and balls. It was difficult to see what he was doing from my vantage point in the room, but somehow in the end he had a guest tap on these empty cups and out came an apple, an orange and then two halves of a potato. We had asked the hostess if they did anything special for birthdays and she said the entertainment would take care of it, so I sent Caitlin running after the magician to see if anything would be done. She came back with news that we were to wait for the musicians.

            We were just finishing up our main course when the musicians arrived. One was playing a small guitar and the other a lute. Their first song was “Here We Go a Wassailing”. Then they approached our table and, after having the birthday boys identified, began singing “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” during which one musician tucked his lute under his arm and brought out a wooden fife from his pocket. Upon finishing, they asked for requests, explaining that in colonial times they would have been playing for their supper. Therefore, no requests, meant no performance, meant no Coin, which meant no supper. Eager not to have them starve; Jennifer requested “What Child is This”.

            To put this request in context, I need to explain that we had been trying to hear this song for the entire Christmas season. The brass quintet we heard was supposed to play it according to the program, but skipped over it. It was also one of the hymns slated to be sung during the Christmas Eve service we attended, but again it was skipped. The minstrels explained that “What Child Is This” had not yet been written, but they could play “Greensleeves”. However to do it properly, one gentleman was going to have to go get his “serpent”. So while the other gentleman soloed, he stole off and returned with something that looked very much like a snake, but with a brass mouthpiece and sounded very much like a tuba. Using the serpent, he joined the other gentleman to finish the song. Then they began to play “Greensleeves”.

            I had just been explaining to Jennifer that one of the highlights of our trip is some of the unexpected delights we stumble upon. This performance of “Greensleeves” was an excellent example of one of these unexpected delights. The minstrels started out playing on guitar and lute, then the serpent was added by one, then the other cupped his hands and blowing through his thumbs performed a portion of the piece. This was answered by the other fellow pulling out what looked like a long wooden clarinet. After tucking his lute under one arm and hooking the serpent on his other, he played on only to be answered by his partner playing on a comb. Stowing his clarinet in his pouch, he pulled then pulled out his fife. And so the song went, on and on, different instruments being added and demonstrated until finally they both switched back to guitar and lute to finish out the song. It was simply beautiful.