We started towards Virginia on Monday with a short drive to Bella Terra Winery southeast of Pittsburgh. Had an early (very good) burger which held us till morning.

Next day, we drove about three and a half hours to Marshall, VA to stay at Barrel Oak Winery (BOW). The property is spectacular with several vineyards on neighboring hillsides. It was a warm day with a beautiful sunset.

We had a little rain overnight but sunrise was even better than last night.

We arrived at the Williamsburg KOA, got set up, tore down, and moved to a new site that will fit us much better. We had some storms come through just as we got re-established.

We visited Jamestown Settlement that was established in 1607. John Smith, Pocahontas, and Powhatan all contributed to the settlement surviving hard times. About 2/3 of the first settlers did not survive more than 2 years.

They came from England on 3 small ships. The Susan Constance was the largest and was crammed with 73 passengers plus supplies. It was a 4 month long journey.

The next day, history’s stage was Yorktown and the Revolutionary War. The museum told the story of the British trying to not only fund an army in the colonies but also, through taxes and tariffs, reduce taxation in England. The strain led to armed conflict. The colonials eventually learned the discipline and received aid to defeat the British army. In 1781, Cornwallis was defeated at Yorktown ending the war (for a time).

Today is July 4, 2020. This has been a history of America trip from settling the country all the way through WWII (thanks to the History Channel). We spent hours touring Colonial Williamsburg today learning how Virginia transitioned from Royal rule to independence.

The Royal Governor lived in a palace plus the first two Governors- Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. The palace was restored to the time of Royal Governor.

The surrounding gardens are beautiful especially for July. There was also a complicated hedge maze. Being able to see over the top of the hedges did not help me as much as I thought.

The capitol building housed the House of Burgois while the political center of Virginia was Wilmington.

On the way home, we spent the night near Shanksville, PA and took the opportunity to visit the Flight #93 National Memorial. We recommend visiting this memorial site that remembers the private citizen patriots who protected the US Capitol from attack.