The Historic Triangle: Our 1st Official 250 Stop

50×50 is embarking on round two of our USA tour, and we have taken aim at history and pure Americana. Think the History channel meets The Sandlot.

What better way to kick off this focus than with an official America 250 stop during Memorial Day weekend?! We started in the only way that made sense: by going straight to the beginning-ish!

It was my first visit to the “historic Triangle”—Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown—and it was fantastic! (Tip, get the Historic Triangle Tour package. You save so much money with the included tickets, breakfast, and coupon book, you can’t go wrong).

Typically I prefer going off the beaten path, avoiding the crowds and mass-market foods, but the path is well-worn for good reason, so its one of those things that you must do in your lifetime. We were not disappointed!

We drove the Liberty Trail traversing the same paths and battlefields once trod by George Washington and learned just how much the French helped us in our bid for Independence. We really had no idea, and I’m so glad to have filled that gap in our knowledge. Look up the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail. Its just so important.

We enjoyed Virginia wines, had more fresh vegetables than we anticipated (The Inn and taverns use veggies grown nearby!), ate more than our fair share of Chesapeake Bay Oysters, walked 8 miles each day without breaking a sweat, and were reminded that this country is here because some brave and honestly pretty young individuals chose freedom.

Inside the Capitol Building at the end of East Duke of Gloucester Street, our guide gave us a lesson on the Virginia Convention, May 15, 1776 where 112 men voted for independence.

Let that resonate for a moment, please.

112 — unanimously — deciding to commit a crime punishable by death.

It’s easy to look back now and say, “Of course they chose independence.”

We know how the story ends.

They didn’t.

May 15, 1776 - 5th Virginia Convention

They stood up against money, power, and a well established machine with no guarantee their rebellion was going to work. Death would be the punishment if it didn’t.

We were humbled.

Switching gears, because not only was this a learning experience, but also a celebration of 28 years of marriage, so we also had some mindless fun.

We made time for a haunted Williamsburg tour, toured the Governor’s Palace and were thoroughly fascinated and grossed-out by the fact that the very expensive, very unique green paint contained…blood…

Haunted Back Stairway of the Wythe House. Awaiting the lady in Blue…

We also drank a ton of Illy coffee, and that gave us the strength to get lost in the garden maze, thankfully avoiding any minotaur.

Seriously there is no way out. We cheated just a bit…

Jamestown was a joy, taking us further back in time, and we pondered what really happened to the lost colony. Could they simply have joined in with the local Paspahegh, who had already figured out how to battle the elements? You can’t really understand 1776 without remembering there was a whole lot of complicated history before anyone got to the point of declaring anything. Before independence, there was simply survival.

None of our stops were in chronological order, but History rarely reveals itself neatly. We began and ended our trip at Norfolk, which is an excellent and clean airport, full of honor for our military.

On the way to and fro, don’t miss Air Power Park. Its free, has kids play areas, and a lot of flight history focused on the equipment and the people that have made flight history.

Also, for those that sail boats, and don’t land on them (yes, that’s a Top Gun: Maverick reference) don’t miss the USS Wisconsin which is an amazing battleship (not aircraft carrier, but look closely and you can see an airplane on the forward deck). I still can’t fathom how something that large, that carries people, weapons, and even planes, can float on water.

I highly recommend everyone take this trip and remember, American history isn’t one chapter. It’s a very long, very arduous, very layered book.

So, America 250 Stop #1 is officially complete.

We got battlefields, treason, royalty, regular people, gardens, ghosts, ships, planes, and one very large reminder that independence wasn’t inevitable. It was a huge risk.

Each day, lets prove it was worth it.

~Safe Travels ❤️