Visting the Colonies

Last month I traveled to Virginia, and soaked up some early American history.  This looks like a weather picture, and indeed there are some nice towering cumulus.  But the field in the foreground is near Yorktown; it's the spot where Cornwallis surrendered to Washington, effectively ending the Revolutionary War.  

This is the courthouse in Colonial Williamsburg, where the Virginia House of Burgesses met in the 18th century and decided to rebel against the British.  People like Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry hung out here.

This is the Governor's house in Williamsburg.  The British governor ran VIrginia from here, til he was forced out at the beginning of the Revolution.  Seems he had a thing for firearms.  How American!

An elegant reception room in the Governor's house.  Dancing was done here.  Imagine doing a minuet in several layers of clothes, in sweltering summer heat, without fans much less A/C, having not had a proper bath in a while.  No?  I can't either.  Even the rich folks had it hard compared to most of us today.  

A portrait of James Madison, painted from life around 1804 by Gilbert Stuart, who painted the picture of Washington on the dollar bill.  Shoutout to my old high school in Portland!

A famous Charles Willson Peale portrait of Washington during the Revolution.  This and the pic of Madison are in a museum at Williamsburg.

The museum also has a lot of other artwork, like this porcelain plate.

This is Rock Creek, in the heart of DC only about three miles from the US Capitol.  It's in a vast, peaceful park of the same name, with a similar vibe to the West Hills parks in Portland.

The Governor's house in Williamsburg.  Like most of the buildings here, it's a reconstruction done during the 1930s.