Garrett Tershel

Colonial Williamsburg Historic Trades

Colonial Williamsburg Historic Trades

Our favorite thing to do in Colonial Williamsburg was to watch the character interpreters as discussed here. Our second favorite thing to do was explore the historic trades and talk with the trades people.  Each cast member brought you back to the 18th century. They described in full the people doing the trades, the customers, and how each skill was vital to life in Colonial Williamsburg.

Silversmith

Learning to weave

Kids playing with the loom.

The level of detail is incredible. This guy searches out type styles and reprints actual replicas to 18th century newspapers.

A walk through the garden

Along with the trades CW has other activities. Another on of our favorites was walking through the garden. It was a wonderful experience. They have a large garden with many herbs and plants growing. We were lucky enough to start a conversation with one of the gardeners. He walked the kids around tasting different plants and flowers. He even sliced us off a 3' cutting from a Bayleaf Tree.  I was able to get it back to the RV and we tried to get it to root unfortunately after 2 months it died. So we dried out the leaves and kept it for Bayleaf.

We received a fantastic tour around the garden.

One of the first activities we saw at Colonial Williamsburg was a play about a comet and young woman who tracks the stars and comets. In this play a comet comes down and talks to the young astronomer about the universe and about her planet.  It was a lot of fun. It was the story of Karoline Herschel the first woman to find a comet.

The comet and Karoline Herschel

Hourly throughout the day court is held at the court-house and it is the public's duty, us, to participate in the decisions. So we went to court and Gigi was one of the jury.

The jury sat with the judge making the ruling of the court. Gigi purposely sided against the majority on all her decisions. Rabble-rouser!

We wanted some alone time so we threw the kids in the stocks.

Best babysitter ever. They were right were we left them when we got back. Then we fed them, with tomatoes and other vegetables.

Aurora wanted a picture with King George, since he wasn't around this had to do.

Even just walking the grounds are amazing.

At the coffee-house we received a tour and then in the basement they had coffee and a chocolate drink per the 1800s. The kids tried it but couldn't stand it so I put the coffee and chocolate together and had a great drink.

Lastly at the end of each day the Drum and Fife band marches through the grounds signaling the end of a day and the beginning of the evening festivities.

So much to be learned

The level of detail creates many experiences and never-ending fun at Colonial Williamsburg. As a result no matter how much time you spent at CW something new could be learned. Most noteworthy the genuine excitement brought by each person working at CW creates an authentic experience incomparable to any other living history museum. After seven days straight we had needed a break, but wished we lived closer and were able to experience this on a regular basis. Thank you Colonial Williamsburg!

Final Thought

"America is the only country in the world which pretends to listen to the teaching of its founders as if they were still alive. Political battles of today are fought with arguments based on the speeches of writings of men dead over a century ago. Most Americans behave, in fact, as if men like Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, and many others could be called up on the phone for advice."