Lyra and Sammy

We pick up Kris at his house since his family won’t be joining us today. I forgot my water bottle and sunglasses, so we went back to get them before going to the hotel, where Jessi’s family and Robert are staying. I had oatmeal with scrambled eggs and helped Caleb with his cinnamon waffle. We get to Historic Jamestowne, and Caleb and I get stamps for the passport book. Jessi rented a car big enough for us to drive the loop tour together. We had the kids and adults take turns reading the informational signs. I enjoyed Jake’s voice impressions of the historical writings.

Twenty minutes away is Colonial Williamsburg, where we were given the military special, which got the family in for cheaper. There’s a free deal reserved for Memorial Day and Veterans Day, and everyone can get free admission on July Fourth. This saved us over $30. We explore the visitor center a bit before “leaving” the 21st Century. It’s less than half a mile to the historic area. I get to see an Eastern tiger swallowtail, the official butterfly of North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia. On the bricks is a brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive agricultural pest introduced to the region in the 90s.

This critter, in the order Hemiptera, is commonly called a true bug that shares its piercing-sucking mouthparts with cicadas, leafhoppers, bed bugs, etc. I leave his fate to the waiting spiders, assassin bugs, and passing birds. No flower is left to bloom alone. We are greeted with anise hyssop (purple liquorice) and Joe Pye weed (pink clusters), a garden of orange marigolds and white globe amaranth, and lush greenery, with yellow and white daisies beside shades of purple globe amaranth.

We spend the day learning about the kitchen, larder, wine cellar, woodworking, bookbindery, mercantile, and apothecary of the 18th-century. We walk through a house, and a toy store, and we find modern ice cream, too. We stop for lunch at Chowning’s Tavern, tour the courthouse, watch the blacksmith, and hang out in the grass while getting to see the Fifes and Drums Marching into Evening. We get back to Kris’s house twelve hours later. The big kids pillow fight while Jordan cuddles with Uncle Caleb. I show him my photos from the road trip here while we wait on laundry to finish.

Fifes and Drums Sammy, Boompa, Lyra