On Friday, May 16, we bid farewell to the Washington, D.C., area, not at all unhappy to be getting out of that traffic! We had to traverse the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Maryland again, though, and were pleasantly surprised when traffic was light at 9:15 AM. We took MD-210, the exit to my old house, and caught US-301 in Accokeek. Then it was a smooth ride all the way across the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers to Port Royal, Virginia, where we stopped for lunch at Randolphs on the River. (The special was a soft-shelled crab sandwich, which you know I went for!!) Back on the road we headed southeast on US-17 down to Glenns, where we turned on VA-33 over to I-64. We exited north of Williamsburg and ended up at American Heritage RV Park by about 2:30 PM. The weather was a lot warmer than it had been, so pooh on that! After setting up, we relaxed for a bit, then met our USNA Alumni Association RV folks at the activities building for reconnecting and a delicious build-your-own taco bar courtesy of Glenn and Tracy Miller, our Firsties (coordinators) for this ComeAround (camp gathering).

Saturday the rest of the gang was heading over to Yorktown, but MW and I decided to take it easy. I woke up with a migraine, and just didn’t feel like getting out into the heat. Plus, we’d spent so much time running around in DC, it was nice to just sit on our butts. In the evening we met our Navy crew at the activities building for game night. It was pretty awesome with LOTS of laughter. One table played Left, Right, Center, and MW hung out there for a bit. Another was a couple of ladies playing Mahjong. MW moved there after a while to see if he could get a handle on how it is played. I had no idea how tough that is to learn! Angela Brady did her best to coach him, though. I was at the Telestrations table where we regularly descended into peals of laughter. My sides were a bit sore later.

Sunday the rest of our crew was spending time in Jamestown, but MW and I have done that one before. We opted to head over to Faith Baptist Church of Williamsburg for a nice sermon by Pastor Alan Garbutt. Afterwards we went to Francesco’s Ristorante Italiano in Williamsburg. The food was terrific, and the waiter, super nice. I wish I could remember his name. I thought his accent sounded Italian, but he was actually from Turkey. That tells you how good I am at picking out accents! LOL Then it was back to Priscilla to relax for a bit and take a little nap. My headache was doing its best to hang on. Ugh! Before returned to Priscilla we drove northwest up to Hopewell, crossed over the James River, returned southeast to Surry, then crossed back over the James on the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry. MW LOVES a good ferry ride! Later in the afternoon, we met the group for supper at Two Drummers Smokehouse in Williamsburg. The food was good there, too, but I took most of it home after having pasta for lunch!!

Monday many of our group were headed over to Colonial Williamsburg, another spot MW and I have enjoyed before. Our plan was to check out Yorktown, but I pooh poohed that because it was day three of my headache, and it was really blazing! While I slumbered on, MW went to The Mariners’ Museum and Park over in Newport News, Virginia. The museum’s main focus is on items from the USS Monitor, an ironclad warship built in 1862 for the Navy during the Civil War. After serving well during the Battle of Hampton Roads, the ship capsized and sank about 16 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras. Most of the crew made it off, but sixteen did not. Over the years there were several attempts made to locate the sunken vessel. As early as 1949 the Navy thought they found it when testing some equipment, but currents wouldn’t allow divers to get to it. There were other possible sightings, too, but it wasn’t until 1973 that it was truly discovered. It still remained under water until the mid-1990s. There was just no way, from both practical and financial stances, to pull up the entire ship. Finally the propeller was raised in 1998, but it would take another 7 years to bring up the turret. A few other artifacts have been recovered since, and they have a full-size mockup on display. MW said everything was well presented, and you can’t beat the $1 admission. They also had a really nice collection of models of commercial ships and a section of models made by August F. and Winnifred Crabtree that were super meticulous and gorgeous.

On Tuesday, the fourth day, I finally woke up without any sign of that nasty migraine. Yay!! So we got up and out to go check out Yorktown Battlefield, which is part of Colonial National Historical Park along with Jamestown. As part of the Act for Ports authorized by the General Assembly in 1691, Yorktown was established to support trade, collecting import taxes and inspecting cargos coming and going. The little town grew and thrived until the mid-1700s. Then taxes became an issue. Although given the job of collecting taxes on imports, the citizens weren’t all that enamored with the amounts paid. Their unrest increased with England’s Sugar and Stamp acts in the 1760s. Our country was like a big cauldron left to simmer on the fire. By the early 1770s, it boiled over and the colonies fight for freedom began in early 1775. France signed onto the American side a couple of years later, so the British had to decide where to focus their efforts. Thinking that the south, with its large plantations and ports, was where the most loyalists were, they began there. Lord Charles Cornwallis worked his way through Georgia and South Carolina successfully, then looked towards North Carolina. He met the Americans at Guilford Courthouse, near our former home in Browns Summit, North Carolina, on 15 March 1781. Lt. Gen. Cornwallis won that battle, but lost more than a quarter of his total force. That would come into play a few months later. As the winter approached, he marched his remaining 8,300 soldiers to Virginia and occupied Yorktown. At this point, getting fresh supplies and reinforcements was critical. The Americans, with help from the French, had other ideas. While the United States did not have a navy, France joined the fight with a fleet of warships commanded by the Comte de Grasse. They battled 19 ships of the British fleet’s ships for 2 days near Yorktown, finally disabling six and sending the rest back to New York. Next de Grasse blockaded the Chesapeake Bay, isolating Cornwallis on the Virginia peninsula. Meanwhile American and French ground troops began what would become the 3-week siege of Yorktown, relentlessly pummeling the British with artillery fire and mortars. Cornwallis tried hard to hold them off, even sinking merchant ships around the port to created a barrier to allied approach. In the end, surrounded, exhausted, with troops depleted by small pox, there was nothing Cornwallis could do but surrender to General Washington. However, on October 19, 1781, the actual day of surrender, he claimed illness and avoided looking his rival in the eye. What kind of commander sends his men to surrender without him?! It would be another 15 months before the preliminary Articles of Peace were signed, but the defeat at Yorktown certainly helped get that ball rolling. I found it interesting that, as a term of surrender, most of the British and German troops were prisoners of war, with Britain continuing to be responsible for provisioning them. Britain reportedly did not hold up that end of the bargain. Additionally, many Germans were among the POWs, and after the Treaty of Paris, about a third of them remained in the United States, eventually becoming citizens.

On October 29, 1781, Continental Congress ordered that a monument be built. It would take 99 years for the government to actually allocate funds for the project, though. The cornerstone was dedicated during the 100th anniversary of the siege. In July of 1942, lightening decapitated the Lady Liberty on top and destroyed her arms. She was replaced 15 years later, this time with lightning rods.

After checking out the museum and monument, it was time to go see what is still there of the redoubts used by the British. We did the driving tour, giving MW plenty of time to do his “battle whisperer” thing while I just looked at the pretty fields. LOL. The American and French soldiers started out in offensive redoubts, and dug trenches to slowly advance. Today you can see partially reconstructed portions of the British positions and signage showing who was where.

By the time we finished up the drive through history, it was time for lunch. We headed over to the waterfront and checked out Yorktown Pub, which was very good. We then finished up our visit at the Yorktown Bookshop and popped in at the grocery store on the way back to Priscilla. Later in the afternoon, we walked over to the activities building to meet our crew. Glenn and Tracy had set up a build your own sub station, which was pretty cool. Movie night was planned afterwards, but some wanted to play games while most wanted to just gab. We ended up sitting around talking with the movie (Midway) playing in the background.

On Wednesday MW wanted to visit another museum in Newport News, but honestly, I was a little museumed out! (NOTE: If you are a Civil War buff, there are seventeen sites along the James River and Chesapeake Bay here, all within driving distance of Williamsburg and Newport News.) He headed off to check that out while I stayed behind and got a little writing done. For a relatively small place, MW said that the Virginia War Museum had a really extensive collection of artifacts covering all aspects of American military history, with a focus on personal items from Virginia veterans. Founded in 1923, by the local American Legion post, most of the WWI artifacts were provided by the soldiers. There are over 60,000 artifacts in their collection ranging from the American Revolution to Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of the highlights include an ammunition belt from the Battle of Little Bighorn, Harry Truman’s WWI helmet, an M4 German Enigma Machine from 1937, and a Japanese propeller from Pearl Harbor. Outside there were a bunch of guns, both ground and ship-borne, and vehicles to check out, too. Unfortunately it was raining pretty hard, so he didn’t get to take advantage of that area. What he enjoyed seeing the most and had not seen before, is the recruiting/propaganda posters. They had a lot of them, mostly from WWI and WWII, including some from Germany, Italy, and Japan. This museum is definitely worth a visit if you like military history.

For our last evening with the Navy crew, we met the whole crowd at The Huntsman’s Grill in Williamsburg, which was pretty good. Afterwards a few of us landed at the Miller’s place for gabbing and a little bourbon tasting. Glenn is quite the connoisseur! I stuck with Fresca, though. I don’t mind a sip or two of Eagle Rare occasionally, but didn’t want to take any chances on bringing back that migraine!

American Heritage RV Park is located just northwest of the town of Williamsburg, Virginia, and within easy driving distance of all of the historic sites on the peninsula. You could also easily reach Norfolk, Richmond, Petersburg, and Virginia Beach. Amenities include an office/camp store, swimming pool, clubhouse, volleyball court, basketball court, game room, horseshoe pits, dog run, nature trail, pickle ball courts, mini-golf, a 24-hour laundry, and free wifi. They also offer golf cart rentals and on-site propane sales. Lodging includes a variety of cabins and a large campground. There are both pull-thru and back-in sites, and all have full-hookup, concrete pads and patios, and cable tv. Premium sites add outdoor furniture, an outdoor fireplace, and a larger site. For a private park, this is nicely laid out. There were lots of trees and good space between sites. The bathhouse was nice and very well kept, as were the grounds. Cell service was fine, and there were plenty of over-the-air tv stations, too. For this stay in May 2025, we paid a little over $448 for 6 nights.

Well, that’s a lot more stuff, so I’m going to cut this one short for a change. (I know that makes you happy, Mom! LOL) Next up…beginning the trek north. See you on the path!

Talisa

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