Thursday, August 16, 2012

Late-summer Rambles in Williamsburg

We just took a quick trip to Colonial Williamsburg last weekend and brought along a family friend who has never been before.  It was a lot of fun introducing her to one of our favorite places, and she enjoyed finally getting to see things for herself, after hearing the two of us jabber about CW for twenty-odd years!  Here are a handful of some of my favorite photos from our all-too-brief visit.  Enjoy!

  Colonial Williamsburg
The Peyton Randolph House with a wee visitor perched on the fence.

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg
The Public Hospital.

In one of our favorite sites in town, the Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop, we found the ladies hard at work remodeling an old cotton print sacque back gown into an English gown of the very latest fashion.  Here, we were also most delighted to finally make the formal acquaintance of Samantha of The Couture Courtesan, who is finishing up her summer internship in the shop.  It was lovely to finally meet you!

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg
A Friday evening sunset, as viewed from inside the Capitol's walls.

On Saturday, we caught one of the new Revolutionary City scenes, which fully engages visitors in a reenactment of the storming of the Governor's Palace during the "Gunpowder Incident."  The day after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Governor Dunmore had the stored gunpowder removed from the city's magazine in the middle of the night.  The citizens awoke the next morning to news of the stolen powder and immediately assembled on the Palace green to debate an appropriate response.  In this new scene, actors interpret the views of various townspeople and encourage active discussions with the audience about the next move to be made.  Some argue for a peaceful resolution with the Governor to avoid violent conflict, while others advocate swift, decisive action against the representative of the crown to let him know that the colonists will not stand for their rights to be violated in such a way.

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg
Demanding immediate action against Governor Dunmore.

Colonial Williamsburg
The Governor anxiously watching the crowds of "colonists"
assembling on the Green, ready to march to the Palace to demand
the return of the stolen powder.

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg
The gardens of the Wythe property.

Additional photos from this visit can be found in our flickr set.

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