First Day

August 26, 2009 -

First Day of school.

First Day of Bible Study.

First Day of our new niece in this world. We are aunt and uncle again!

A great first day!

181,705

That was the final mileage of our (almost) 10-year-old truck. After many great memories, it was time to retire it several weeks ago. Hubby got the truck shortly after I met him so I had always associated the truck with him. It was a little sad to let go.


Now, Hubby has a car (right) that is a few inches shorter than mine. It is funny that I am now driving the "bigger" vehicle in the family! :)

Lazy Day

It has been a while since Hanes is on the blog, so here is a cute photo of her sleeping on Hubby's shirt a few weekends ago. Enjoy!

Favorite Souvenirs

A flower from our niece A. She picked it in her front yard as we were getting ready to leave.

A cow from the Billy Graham Library, also the mascot of my car.
My sister-in-law named him Conrad.

T-shirt from Jamestown.

I studied history in both university and graduate school so I like this shirt very much! :)

Postcards!
I started this random habit of collecting postcards in college.
These are just a part of them from the trip.

This concludes the many posts on the vacation. Hope you have enjoyed them!

Great Signs

During our trip, we saw some great signs.

At the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was a good warning.
The next 7 miles were indeed quite a winding road.

Visitor Center, Colonial Williamsburg

Since all interpreters wore 18th-century costumes, the restroom signs at the Visitor Center also featured signs in costume. Brilliant!

Jamestown, Virginia

I am not sure if I have seen this speed limit before.

Passing through Virgina and North Carolina on our way home. As Hubby said: "we are going north and south at the same time."

Virginia - Jamestown

After Colonial Williamsburg, we made a quick stop in Historic Jamestowne, about 10 miles away.

We toured the exhibit at the visitor's center before going to the site (James Fort) by the James River, where Captain John Smith made the landing and established the first permanent English settlement in America in 1607.

The James River

The monument commemorating the 300th anniversary of the settlement

The church

While it had little information to replicate life in the 17th and 18th centuries, the way Colonial Williamsburg does, Jamestown featured an Archaearium which housed the archaeological findings of colonial life (Queen Elizabeth II visited it in 2007). My favorite part of the site, however, was the cross beside the Archaearium.

Virginia - Colonial Williamsburg

After North Carolina, we visited Williamsburg and Jamestown of the Historic Triangle (the other leg was Yorktown).

We spent a day and a half in Colonial Williamsburg, where interpreters wore 18th-century costumes to explain the colonial way of life in the thriving British settlement.

From the luxurious Governor's Palace accented with an elegant garden, to the house of George Wythe (Virgina's first signer of the Declaration of Independence), to the many businesses and public facilities along the Duke of Gloucester Street, we went back in time and enjoyed the experience.