Colonial Christmastide

As we "shelter in place" and watch #Blizzard2016 out the windows (and while we still have power!), it seemed fitting to finish up a blog post from a sunnier time we had last month in one of our favorite places.

Nothing beats Christmastide in Colonial Williamsburg!  Gramma J. was here visiting and hadn't been there before, so we jumped at the chance to take her there and show her the sights.

As luck would have it, the weather was spectacular!  The temperature on our first day was 77 degrees with warm sun and a light breeze.  We've been there in late December before in unbearable cold, so we were very happy to be comfortable and warm.

We've already written a LOT about Colonial Williamsburg in previous blog entries, so I'll spare further details other than a few comments to narrate some of the photos we took as we strolled the grounds, hot apple cider in hand.

Gramma J. enjoyed the tour of the Governor's Palace, and Samuel took some cool pictures of the arsenal in the entryway meant to impress visitors to the Palace.

There was also ample time over several days to stroll around and see the beautiful Christmas wreaths and decor.

We also ate a couple of nice tavern meals.  The wait at Chownings was 2 1/2 hours, but we had some interesting entertainment to help pass the time.  A young man popped out of one of the upstairs tavern windows and gave a soliloquy on the virtues of hasty pudding.  And Eric, an aspiring fifer, especially enjoyed hearing the nice gentleman play some period tunes on the fife.

The Capitol looked beautiful illuminated by cressets at night.

One new thing we did was to attend one of the organ recitals in the Wren Chapel on the William & Mary Campus.  Gramma J., a pianist (and occasional church organist) loved hearing the light and bright "Roccoco" style of the Wren Chapel organ (English origin, circa 1740) emphasizing flute and woodwind instruments.

The Bruton Parish Church was also offering "A Sermon for the Season," which was meant to depict what an 18th-century sermon during the holiday season would be like.  The minister was a little stern, but Gramma J. was brave enough to pose for a picture with him.

Although the rest of Colonial Williamsburg was depicting the year 1773, the Wythe House was set up to depict the year 1781.  Wythe, a lawyer, had temporarily moved from his home while it was occupied by 15-20 French soldiers, including the Marquis de Lafayette himself.  The Marquis very graciously took time away from planning his seige of Yorktown, where Cornwallis was dug in behind heavy fortifications, to visit with us for a bit.

Our youngest and the Marquis had quite a conversation about military tactics, and he was kind enough to pose for a portrait afterwards!

He also got a quick portrait in with Patrick Henry after having some dialogue about who might be a good replacement for Lord Dunmore as Governor of Virginia.

Our oldest son, feeling very at home in the 18th century, entertained us as he practiced his "18th Century English."  Here's a flowery example of a text he sent while standing in line waiting to refill our hot cider cups at the Raleigh Tavern:

Although there is no electricity at Colonial Williamsburg (at least that the tourists see), it doesn't lack for illumination.  Here are a few pics of the courthouse by day and by night.  

Stay tuned for an inevitable blog post about #Blizzard2016 . . . once we survive it and get back on the grid!