21 Nov

America’s Historic Triangle

Navigating America's Historic Triangle

On our trip last year, Garrett had scheduled a trip to Auburn, Alabama so we drove quickly through Virginia passing Williamsburg and Jamestown in the middle of a dark and stormy night. The Historic Triangle was my next required stopping place on our journey.

The Historic Triangle in Virginia consists of Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg, all key areas in the history of the United States, each with their own sites. Knowing we wanted to see most, if not all, the sites, it was back to the Internet to find any suggestions on the best way to do this. You could purchase all the sites separately or purchase a 7-day Historic Triangle Pass. The Historic Triangle Pass allowed admission to Yorktown Battlefield, American Revolution Museum, Jamestown Settlement, Historic Jamestowne and Colonial Williamsburg for seven consecutive days. The price for one pass in 2017 was $91 ($42.50 for children). Prior to our research we had visited Yorktown Battlefield so buying the separate tickets may have been more cost effective. However, we wanted the flexibility of being able to hop to each place whenever we wanted and not to rush through the experience. If it is your first time in the area, you enjoy American History and you have the time, I would highly recommend this pass. We spent every one of those seven days at Colonial Williamsburg and were able to squeeze in Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestowne, as well.

Colonial Williamsburg our favorite of the three

Colonial Williamsburg is the ultimate in Living History Museums...and we have been to many. It is like the Disney of Living History Museums in terms of the quality. From the people that worked there to the maintenance of the buildings, everything they did was to enhance your experience. You don’t need a pass to get into the recreated colonial city, admission is free (as is the shuttle that drops you off at different points along the outskirts of the city). The pass allows you to experience the interpreter talks and any of the buildings like the Governor’s Palace, Capitol or any of the tradesmen or smith shops. Every person working here had an understanding of colonial America that was astounding. There wasn’t one question regarding colonial times most could not address, be it personal or political. We spent an hour with the gardener with him showing us all the different herbs and plants they grow themselves and ending with him sending us home with a fresh cut Bay branch. What a fantastic momento!

The bridge to the past at Colonial Williamsburg

Date marking can't travel more than 70 miles a day.

We were able to participate in a debate regarding church and state between Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. Listen to the Marquis de Lafayette’s retrospective on the American Revolution and slavery. And since we were there during Thanksgiving, attend George Washington’s recitation of his Thanksgiving Proclamation. After each of these is a comprehensive question and answer period and, occasionally, we had opportunities to have one on one conversations with some of these interpreters. Each experience led to more questions and a thirst to learn more.

The interpreters were just one aspect. There were house and building tours, outdoor plays, shops, a drum and fife march, a candlelight Organ recital in Bruton Parish Church, I could go on and on… Every day was filled with different activities so there was always something new to see. We weren’t able to see everything but by day seven we had hit overload. We met so many people that had been going for years and now I understand why. Every visit has something to offer, something new to learn and reminds us how special this country is.