July 4, 2013 - Happy Independence Day!!!

Looking back on today, all I can say is WOW!  The most amazing 4th of July ever! 

We began the day by trying to figure out a way to get to Yorktown so Greg could begin from there.  The Victory Monument is the beginning of the TransAmerica route with Adventure Cycling.  

This route will take him all the way to Colorado where he will then pick up the Western Express route to San Francisco.

Yorktown is where the allied American and French forces won the decisive battle of the American Revolution in 1781.

The town's streets were smaller then, and no way can they accommodate a huge RV! So Greg rode from the scary campground to Yorktown.  I rode to a local Walmart and asked them if I could leave the RV there for an hour or so. They said yes and I drove around in this one section for a while trying to find a spot for the RV where the jeep could line up straight behind me so it would be easy to disconnect.  Got the spot, near another RV and began "the process".   

Had seen this woman walking her dog nearby and all of a sudden she was approaching me with a big smile and a hello.  Barbara and her husband had stayed there two nights. They were from Palm Springs, California, (where the temperature was 115 yesterday!) She was glad not to be there right now!  They bought their RV - 36 footer - about three months ago and made their way here to visit their children.   She told me that Oklahoma had the nicest people she ever met...and some of the Walmarts there let you not only "camp", but also provide free hookups of electric, water and sewage!   We exchanged stories and laughs and then realized I better get going in the jeep to meet Greg!   

He beat me there and took some awesome pics...hopefully they will be up on his site soon!  

Then things got a little confusing (in fact I've asked Greg at least three times tonight...what did we do and who went where?)  We wanted to get to Colonial Williamsburg before 12pm because they were having a reading of the Declaration of Independence.  So we tooks some pictures of Yorktown...

...and then decided to both go back to Walmart and connect the jeep to the RV.  Drove it to our next campground - the KOA, where Greg had gone with his family when he was a kid.  In fact our campsite is about two sites away from where he had stayed!  



Realizing we were not gonna make it there by 12, we played a webcast of the speech.  It was awesome.  I've only heard pieces of the Declaration and never fully realized how vehement our soon-to-be leaders were against the oppressiveness of England and the king.  If you haven't read it, it's definitely an eye opener!  Plus the language Thomas Jefferson used was so eloquent.  Blew me away.  

We disconnected the jeep, grabbed a change of clothes, drove back to Yorktown, where he proceeded on the Colonial National Historic Parkway to Colonial Williamsburg!  

I drove the jeep on the same parkway and we met up, gathered our wits and began the next adventure of the day!.  (LOL - you following all this??!!- I'm amazed I didn't get lost!)



Although history was never a strong subject in school for me, I still love it.  As we walked along the path, getting a sense that we were going back in time, I day-dreamed of time traveling back for just a glimpse of this passionate time in our country's history.  

We followed the path...

...and came out onto a huge lawn with people everywhere gathered for the Fifes and Drums...

...they played Yankee Doodle and old time songs from different states.  Fantastic.

Afterwards we wandered over to the shops.  

Bought batteries from Ben...

We were getting hungry and the "taverns" in town were full, but one place had an outside garden area to sit and eat.

...and an alumni Fife and Drum group began to play as we waited on line - they were incredible!  But the best parts of our day were just unfolding.  After we ordered our food (BBQ pulled chicken for Greg and a huge turkey leg for me) we looked for a place to sit.

Greg and I are pretty shy when it comes to meeting people, but God just opened the doors for us today!  

We saw only one table open that already had a family on one side.  They graciously said we could join them.  We must have talked to them for over an hour!  Collette, Gary and Shelby had been living in California but were called to be missionaries and go across America.  Their website is OnMissionInAmerica.org.  They were so nice and we had such a wonderful time talking with them.  They are going to sell their RV and settle in Virginia for a while.  I'm hoping they find a real nice home.  Collette's a nurse and Gary is in advertising.  Shelby has been going to college online and will soon be attending the balance of her schooling at Liberty.  They have been traveling around America for some time now and have dedicated their life to spreading the Word.  Their devotion just amazes me.   

As we were hanging out and chatting, a man in Colonial garb walks up and asks if we'd like to see some "magic" tricks.  He entertained us for a while and after the pleading of a young girl at another table he brought out...!

We said our goodbyes and headed over to the field to find out where to go for the fireworks.  We see a group of people with chairs around in a big circle, and tables with food and think, oh yeah, they know how to celebrate here, they must know, and start walking over to ask them.  

We are greeted with a smile by Anne, and spent a wonderful time talking with her! Another highlight in our day!!  A lot of her family were there today, including three sweet granddaughters of hers.   

She and her husband had recently been to NYC for the first time.  They stayed for a week and saw four Broadway shows!  She just loved the city and the food and had such a good time there.  It was nice to hear that.  I told her next time, if she likes museums to visit the American Museum of Natural History and the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art)  It is home to many impressionist paintings including Starry Night by Van Gogh (and my absolute favorite The Channel at Gravelines by Seurat).  She wished us well on our adventure and even took our card with the blog names on it.

I could have gone back to camp at this point and skipped the fireworks!  To meet such warm, friendly people was such an incredible blessing - Greg and I were both on cloud nine.

Another really cool thing we found out earlier in the day was that if you buy the Colonial Hat beverage containers, you can get free refills not only for the day, but for all of 2013! And that includes ice cream sodas or even just filled with ice cream!  That was great! - especially on a hot and sunny day like today!  

There was an orchestra playing patriotic music as we made our way over to see the fireworks...and as they played the Star Spangled Banner, all of a sudden there was a hush everywhere, and people stood still...patriotism is alive and well...

We saw Gary and Collette again, having fun, celebrating the 4th...

The sky finally began to darken, and as they finished 
the 1812 Overture, we knew fireworks were imminent!

They were wonderful and it was neat to hear the crowd "oo and aw" as the really stunning ones exploded in the air. (Hopefully videos to follow soon!)

But that was not to be the end of our night here.  We notice crowds of people winding their way down the main street, instead of towards the exit to leave.  We start to hear drums, then the fifes.  We follow the crowd.  The sound gets louder and louder and we see torches...

the young and old "soldiers" marching, 
and then the red coats...
After they pass, people join in the march!  And so do we!  It was unbelievable!   

They begin to gather in the square.  We thought it was going to be a stand off...but instead, they stood, side by side, red coats and colonists.  And continued to play song after song!   Very emotional.  It was just too much (in a good way!).

We finally make our descent back to the main visitor center entrance, I'm eyeing the stores for one last look, and Greg is guiding me away from them - I think it's because he's being funny.  But all of a sudden I hear this beautiful sound...there's a man, Timothy Seaman, playing a hammered dulcimer..it was so incredibly beautiful.  

The first time I ever saw one was in Bar Harbor, Maine, at a store called Song of the Sea. As the owner played it, I just welled up in tears.  Next thing I know Greg is buying me one for my birthday!  I have yet to master the instrument, but today I am re-inspired.   

So we stand and listen, and he starts playing "Give Thanks", a song we know so well!   How perfectly the evening comes to a close, so grateful, giving thanks, for this blessed day...