1st Thanksgiving, Where? Plus, He Said He Can’t Take Anymore!

Travel Day to Virginia. We headed north from Oregon Inlet Campground in North Carolina, past Kitty Hawk, then over a sound and north again. The mainland has quite a few small farms. The grain is about 2 feet high in a lot of places. We saw farm sheds with smaller tractors, not the big Midwest ones. Tall trees but with a lot of opened areas of communities and farms. We like that. I got to reading out loud some funny HipCamp Better Business Bureau reports to Kevin and we totally missed seeing the North Carolina/Virginia state line! HAHA All of a sudden I look up and see a sign for Chesapeake. Hum, I said to myself, there must be a Chesapeake, NC because I haven’t seen a state line sign and I haven’t seen it on our Garmin RV 1090 either. Soon we were in Norfolk. Hum, again, I say to myself, I think we missed the state line! When I told this to Kevin we laughed so hard! He didn’t even see a state line sign…and he was driving! Maybe they don’t have one on this little highway? HAHAHAHA

Back on the freeway we get near Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, “a 4.6 mile-long Hampton Roads crossing. It is a four-lane bridge-tunnel composed of bridges, trestles, artificial islands, and tunnels under a portion of the Hampton Roads harbor where the mouths of the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth rivers come together.” (Wikipedia) We see signs that are red at the top and white on the bottom. The sign says “Vehicles with hazmat/gas bottles, stop for inspection.” I knew you have to turn off the propane going through the Chesapeake Tunnel. We were going through a different tunnel. Saw the sign several more times as we got closer to the inspection station then we pulled off. As we stopped at this inspection station I saw two different travel trailers blow right on by. The lady spoke into a mic and I knew they would get in trouble. She came over and got our truck and trailer license plate info. Then she had to watch Kevin turn off the propane tanks. We have one on each side. She was very nice about it and thorough with her clipboard. With the propane off and checked, we were allowed to continue on. Right as we came up to the tunnel entrance, we saw stopped vehicles and stop lights red. Sure enough, both of those trailers were having to cross two lanes of traffic and pull over to a pull off. I hope they got a big fine!

Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel, Newport, News, VA 04/24

Then we were able to continue on. 

George Washington, Richmond, VA 04/24

A few days later we went to Richmond, Virginia, which is about an hour away from our campground. The weather was warm but very overcast. We got to the city and to the Virginia State Capitol but had a bit of trouble finding a place to park. A lot of the area is under construction. The capitol was built in 1785-1789 and was planned by Thomas Jefferson modeled after an ancient Roman temple in France. In the rotunda is the famous Houdon statue of George Washington erected in 1796. It was made by using a mask on Washington’s face (like a death mask but he was alive) when he was 53 years old. This is the original and there are 2 copies. 

The Old House Chamber, So Much History In This Room! VA State Capitol, Richmond, VA 04/24

As we walked into the Old House Chamber and read about things that went on in this room, it was quite the feeling. The “It happened RIGHT HERE!” feeling was powerful. In this very room: * The General Assembly of Virginia first met here; they are “the oldest law-making body of America and the first in the world to function under a written constitution of a free and independent people.” *Vice President Aaron Burr under Jefferson, was tried for treason. He was acquitted in 1807. *Robert E Lee accepted the command of the Virginia armed forces in 1861. *The Confederate Congress met here 1861-1865. And more! Boy, if walls could talk, right?! On the back wall we saw a tablet that marks where a disaster happened here on April 27, 1870. On the floor above this Old House Chamber, there was an unusual number of people gathered to hear the decision by the supreme court on the case of Ellyson vs Cahoon, known as the Richmond mayoralty case. Too many people there and the court room floor fell into this room. 62 people died and 251 people injured. Terrible! 

We had a quick lunch at the capitol office building cafeteria, sitting among interns, visitors, and people in suits. 🙂 Next we decided to go to one of the two places on our exploring option cards for President’s plantations in this area. Along the narrow two lane road we see historical markers all over the place. Sometimes just a few yards away from each other and sometimes 5 in one spot. History here!

We picked Berkeley Plantation and it was a jewel to find! After we got our tickets we met outside and soon a lady in colonial costume gave a tour. The plantation is privately owned and even though the tour guide took us into the house, we couldn’t take pictures inside. That was a disappointment. The main hall that goes from front to back is the original flooring. I would sure have liked to have take a photograph of that. This original wood floor has been walked on by 10 presidents. 

I Love How This Picture Turned Out – With Kevin & I In Amongst The Settlers, Berkeley Plantation, VA 04/24

Where was the first Thanksgiving? Sign says: “Site of the first Thanksgiving. In September 1619, 38 settlers sailed from Bristol, England on the 40 ton ship Margaret to settle an 8,000 acre land grant to be called ‘Berkeley Plantation And Hundred.’ After a two and a half-month voyage, these settlers landed at Berkeley on December 4, 1619. On that day, Captain John Woodlief [Woodliffe on other monuments] and his men recorded that they held a religious service of Thanksgiving in accordance with the instructions given in the charter by the Berkeley Company. This was one year and seventeen days before the Pilgrims landed in New England.” What? The first Thanksgiving was here, it happened RIGHT HERE. Wow!!!  (Note: May 13, 1607 is when the English first landed at Jamestown. So this event was 12 years later.)

“Taps” Was Written & 1st Played Here At Berkeley Plantation, Charles City, VA 04/24

Read the history of this place – incredible https://berkeleyplantation.com/history/ Benjamin Harrison V was born here and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence! Also, 9th president, William Harrison was born here and there is a lot of family history here. During the Civil War, General George McClellan’s Union Army was camped here. 100,000 men here for several months. Inside the house, we saw a room that was used for surgery. While here, General Daniel Butterfield composed “Taps” and had his bugler, O.W. Norton, played it that night. What is thought to be the original bugle is in the basement on display from Norton’s family. Again, can’t take pictures inside. Sad. Also,  – see, I said there is a ton of history here! – a drummer boy, named John Jamison, with McClellan’s army returned to Berkeley in 1907 and purchased the house and 1400 acres. The house was in disarray but his son, Malcolm, and wife, Grace, did extensive restoration that we see today. Malcolm E Jamison family own it still today and Michael and Grace’s son, who is in his 80s, still lives here! He loves to greet and tell stories to visitors but we didn’t see him. Malcom and Grace are buried in the small cemetery out back. This place was fabulous to see! We didn’t go to the other plantation, where President Tyler lived.

A different day we went to Jamestown Settlement. (This is not the National Park.) After purchasing our tickets, we went into the gallery which was renovated in 2019 for $10.6 million, a 30,000 sq foot exhibition space. They did it so well. Wide spaces to read, great exhibits displayed, benches and films (captioned, This place gets an A) and a 4-D multi-sensory special effects experiential theater about Nathaniel Bacon and his rebellion in 1676. A sign says, “Unlike colonies in New England, Virginia was not a haven for religious freedom. Conformity to church ritual and beliefs and financial support of religious activities were required and enforced by colonial laws.” Interesting to learn that some of the people that ended up in Plymouth were actually sailing for Jamestown but a storm took them farther north. In reading a book I learned there were 5 or more generations between landing at Jamestown and the American Revolutionary War. Jamestown had 104 colonists in 1607 and by 1699 there were over 60,000. The capital moved to Williamsburg that year. Outside we walked to life-sized re-creations of a 1610-1614 fort, a Paspahegh Town, and the three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607. The ships were so much smaller than we thought they would be. And to think it took them 4 to 5 months to get from England, down to the Carribean, and back up to this area. I was surprised the ships could even hold enough supplies for a year for the settlers. By this time it was almost 2:00 p.m. – we had been there 4.5 hours. Not the 90 minutes inside and 2 hours outside that is recommended time. HAHA We had thought we could do Jamestown and Yorktown in one day. Not! LOL We stopped in at the cafe and had deli sandwiches for lunch. 

Jamestowne, Jamestown, VA 04/24

Next we drove the short way to the National Park side of Jamestown. Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park Virginia is the name. This is the true site where Jamestown was. I was so very excited to see some real archeology sites of Jamestown. There were quite a few students from Jamestown High School there. Some were doing colonial music and dances while others were scattered around and offered to answer questions and tell a bit about where they were standing. Very impressive. There are places where there are old bricks that show the outline of buildings. The signs and the students told us these are places that were excavated in the 1950s. The earth has been put back and these old bricks set to give an idea what was found below. Walking around Jamestown under our feet, we looked at each other and said at the same time, “RIGHT HERE! Wow!” 

When Nature Calls – Jamestown, VA 04/24

I have read quite a few books about Jamestown and feel like I have a great base. The Jamestown Experiment by Tony Williams and Hurricane of Independence by Tony Williams. He is a great author and I enjoyed both of his books. It sure makes the places more alive to me. 

As we drove through Gloucester, VA, we were stopped at a stoplight. I looked at one of the historical markers along the road and started to read it out loud. The light turned green and we started off. I teasingly said to Kevin, “Hey, I am reading history here.” And he had the best comeback…”I can’t take in another word of history! My head is full!” HAHA Oh my goodness, we were laughing so hard. He said of course he was teasing and it just happened that the light changed right then. Too funny.