W-burg 2010: Day 6

The only thing we did of note on Day 6 was go to Monticello. The last time we went, tickets were $15. In only 4 years, the price jumped to $22. Honestly, it's still a bargain.
I've complained before about the tour groups being too large and it was no different this time (26). But it's really hard to complain about anything in this place. I find it difficult to explain to people who haven't been there what is so extraordinary about this house. It's not really any single thing. It's everything.
There's a new visitors center with a museum, a fancy gift shop and a hands-on discovery center for kids. I'm sure the extra $7 per person is subsidizing all of this. Also, they show a new film that they're very proud of. An employee sort of forced me to watch it. I'm not sure if it was being forced to watch the film or the film itself, but I wasn't crazy about it. Take me up to the house already.
Jefferson meets Jefferson.
Days 7 and 8 were travel days. We really didn't do anything but eat and drive. People have asked us how we were able to drive 8 hour days (plus stops) with a toddler. Lots of snacks, lots of comic books and lots of Spongebob.

W-burg 2010: Day 5

Historic Jamestowne is basically an archeological dig with a few artifacts and curios. It seemed even less likely to provide toddler fun than Yorktown. We were wrong again. You can take pictures of sticks.
You can run across a bridge with reckless abandon.
You can look at a dead guy.
Richmond is the home of the White House of the Confederacy. You can't really tell from the photo how nestled between giant buildings it is.
Here's the other side. The house tour was fascinating, but really turned out to be more about the life of Jefferson Davis and family than the Civil War itself. The Museum of the Confederacy is next door and it specializes in that latter part. Oh, and if you're wondering what activity on the trip was the most boring for a 3-year-old, it was this tour by a longshot. Nothing else even came close to producing the amount of boredom induced by this.
In addition to the his countless other accomplishments, Thomas Jefferson is credited with designing the capitol of Virginia.
Off to Charlottesville.

W-Burg 2010: Day 4

The Colonial Williamsburg experience does a pretty good job of shielding you from contemporary life ... except when it doesn't. Exhibit A: What can brown do for you, kind sir, on this good morrow?
Exhibit B: Day 4 began with a speech from Thomas Jefferson. This same guy has been Jefferson forever and he's great.
Near the beginning of his speech, a train thundered past across the lawn. It can't have been the first time, because TJ rattled something off to the effect of: "I recommend investing in such a contraption, should you have the means." The guy is a pro.
I talked to this guy about contemporary politics. He was incredible. I can't stress this enough: If you go to Williamsburg, talk to the costumed interpreters. It's a weird, fascinating and completely rewarding experience. Did I mention weird?
We went from Williamsburg to Hampton. The Virginia Air and Space Museum has loads of airplanes suspended from the ceiling. It was all pretty impressive, but nothing compared to ... THE APOLLO 12 COMMAND MODULE!! It was a sort of strange experience to go from Colonial Williamsburg to be standing a few feet from a spaceship that took humans to the moon. Note: toddler unfazed.
Our second swine flu opportunity.
It was a big, exhausting day. We went from Hampton to Yorktown. We really thought Yorktown would be pushing the boundaries of what a toddler could reasonably be expected to endure. Then he saw the cannons. Yorktown was a huge hit.
At ease, soldier.

W-Burg 2010: Day 3

The Dude is fascinated by maps. Which is good, because the Garmin seems to increasingly be violating Asimov's first law of robotics.
Well, when you go to Williamsburg, everyone gets in the pillory. Yeah, you'll probably get swine flu. But isn't such a memento worth it? Hogun...
Fandral...
Volstagg!!
If you go to Williamsburg, find out where George Washington is and interact with him. He's fantastically brusque, correcting you if you ask a question or make a comment out of chronology. I said to the Dude: "Say 'hello' to the general." GW said: "Colonel, sir. Colonel." I asked him his impression of the Marquis de Lafayette and his response was: "I don't know the man, but he sounds French. And as you know, I recently experienced some unpleasantness with the French." Awesome.
There's nothing quite like ambling around the historic area of Colonial Williamsburg with 40 pounds of squirming toddler atop your shoulders.
We threatened the Dude with jail for the first half of the trip. "Eat your food or they'll take you to jail." "Take a nap or they'll take you to jail." Unfortunately, jail turned out to be a helluva fun place.
Bye bye day 3.

W-Burg 2010: Day 2

Our first stop on day 2 was in Staunton, Virginia. This is Wright's Dairy Rite.
This is how you order food (note: no toddlers ordered food in the making of this photo).
This ... needs no explanation.
Eventually we made it to Williamsburg. I once said that the only thing nerdier than Colonial Williamsburg as a vacation destination would be one based around Dungeons & Dragons. Also, we wondered whether it would be any fun for a 3-year-old. It was. You know what's fun? Climbing on stuff and frowning.
You know what else is fun? Running away from Dad like you have no sense.
You know what else is fun? Cookies!
We finished the day eating in a colonial tavern. This included a weird minstrel serenading us and a guy regaling us with stories of period politics. You know what isn't as fun for a 3-year-old? Well, that stuff.

W-Burg 2010: Day 1

We took our first big trip as the Warriors Three last week. We went to Virginia. We took some pictures. However, we didn't take any on day 1. We spent day 1 driving from Cape to Charleston, West Virginia. We drove the entirety of Kentucky, from Paducah to Ashland.

Kentucky has a lot going for it. They make baseball bats there. The US government is alleged to keep gold there (Do we still have gold?). They eat mutton. But we didn't see any of that on day 1.

West Virginia has a lovely capitol building, but we arrived too late and left too early to take a decent photo. Try Google images. Or go there. Every person we encountered was friendly. Every person.

Are we not men?

Saw this at the Memphis Zoo and found it unspeakably upsetting. Wherever you stand on the issue of evolution, in the Parade of Primates, you stand between a gorilla and an orangutan.

And apparently you are a roadie from Bowie's '72 Ziggy Stardust tour, complete with ripply muscles, bare feet, cut-off jeans, and hair-helmet.
You will not convince me that the "artist's" previous job was anything other than Shelby County sheriff's office sketch artist, specializing in the extra creepy, sleezy crimes. I'll bet you $20 the model owns a carpeted conversion van and still listens to music on 8-track. Don't look into his eyes.