Our day in Williamsburg

Ahh, a full day to relax, with no organized activities, except for a reception later in the day.  So, a leisurely breakfast at the hotel with custom made omelets and pancakes we collected our suggestion list and went off in various directions.

Williamsburg, capital of Virginia from 1699 to 1780, is known for the significant role it played in the American Revolution. In the state’s southeast, it forms what's called the Historic Triangle together with Jamestown and Yorktown.  Williamsburg is perhaps best known for its tourist and historical points of interest, the centerpiece of which is Colonial Williamsburg, which is essentially a living history museum, depicting the lifestyles and culture of the 18th century colonial period in American history. Major points of interest in this historic district include the Virginia's first capitol building, the Governor's Palace, Bruton Parish Church (the oldest continually operating church in the United States), the Peyton Randolph House (home of Peyton Randolph, the first President of Continental Congress and rumored to be haunted) and The College of William & Mary

Then there is Historic Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America.  Here there are ruins, a visitors center and lots of archeology.

Near there is Jamestown Settlement with gallery exhibits, recreations of Jamestown colonists fort and Powhatan Village.  There are replicas of three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607. 

A bit further away is the Yorktown Battlefield where the last major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought ending with the surrender of British General Cornwallis.  The Yorktown Victory Center is a museum and exhibits describing the Revolutionary War and the nations founding.

Also there is Sherwood Forest Plantation, the home of President John Tyler.  It is the longest frame house in America. 

Our little cluster of four of us, the Hahn's and Kneisley's, decided to go to the historic Jamestown museum and village to learn about the beginnings of America and the struggles along the James River. 

Park Ranger and tour guide Jennifer explained the whole history of

the settlement, the battles, the struggle and starvation. 

A cannon and replica of a fort building were examples of the life along

the James River, a brackish waterway that nearly killed off the

entire settlement

A noon departure from the Jamestown village, we headed toward Pierce's Barbeque, highly recommended by one of our Pub Crawler members. 

Pierces BBQ

Other Crawlers went to Colonial Williamsburg and some went shopping. Pictures when and if I get them.

The late afternoon event was a reception at the lovely home of Bob and Missy McKenna, the host for our entire event this year.  They opened their house to us and members of the Williamsburg British Car Club...or at least to their members who own and operate Morgan's.  We met some new friends and had some wonderful conversations about their experiences with their cars.

Pub Crawl Morgan's tucked into McKenna's driveway, with

more to arrive in the next few minutes.

Looks great!  pic by Al Marsh

Watching "Silent Movie" starring Bob McKenna's old yellow Morgan

pic from Al Marsh

Pic from Al Marsh

Kitchen organizers-pic from Al Marsh

A surprise visitor was Chip (Abbot Spaulding, former OHMog member

and now a resident of Williamsburg, VA.  Nice seeing Chip again.  And yes, he

has his late fathers Morgan.

Food and refreshments aplenty

After dinner there was a brief meeting to discuss

the route we will take tomorrow.

Back to the hotel, cars neatly tucked away, the gals

started another round of Skip-Bo and the guys talked

football.

Thanks to Alan Marsh for supplying pictures of some of the reception activity.  Better pics than mine, by the way.

ANOTHER UPDATE: You may recall that we left John and Debbie Stanley's Morgan Plus 8 yesterday in a state of limbo.  After failing in the interstate, and being hauled by AAA to the hotel the expert mechanics in our group had installed a new thermostat to alieve the overheating issue, but just as the sun went down at sunset they discovered the temp gauge had resigned its job.  This morning they confirmed the sensor was working because its resistance changed as the engine warmed up.  And the gauge worked when we put a small flashlight battery voltage across it.  The issue therefore was found to be a loose connector at the temp sensor wire to the gauge.  Once wiggled and jiggled and pinched a bit the system was back to normal.  John reports the car behaved perfectly today, so he is happily ready to continue his tour with us. 

Off to Charlottesville tomorrow with a couple of interesting stops.  Our first rain of the trip threatens overnight and tomorrow so it will be an interesting day.  Hope to tell you all about it tomorrow.