Monday, December 23, 2013

The Rest Of The Trip

Hello Friends,
Thanks for traveling along with me and for your kind comments. I hope that it inspires you to explore some.
So to pick up where I left off with more pie...



Rich and I headed off to the Botanical Gardens to see the lights. We arrived early and had no problems with parking or traffic.


The entry area was decorated with this amazing garland.


This was one of the beautiful trees that was decorated with a summer theme.


After dark the gardens came to life. Isn't this peacock great?


Here is that first view again after dark. It was a lovely evening. The weather was crazy warm, about 65 degrees so no jackets were required.
When we left the traffic coming in to see the lights was backed up about a mile. After that it was back to the hotel for an early evening.
Rich and I got up early and headed down the road towards Williamsburg. First we stopped here for some donuts and a couple of eclairs to take home to my Mom.


We got to Williamsburg by 9:30 and people were just starting arrive so it was easy for us to park.
Williamsburg is lovely this time of the year. All the buildings have wreaths made with natural items, greens and fruit.


This wreath adorned the building below. See the floss bobbins? It is a fabulous wreath.


Here are some wreaths for sale at the garden market.


Look at this one, dried flowers are the froth in the tankards and cotton is the smoke coming out of the pipes. Perfect for Chownings Tavern.


My main reason for heading to Williamsburg was to see this exhibit. Threads of Feeling, the London Foundling Hospital's Textile Tokens 1740 to 1770.


What a touching exhibit and so interesting. When a child was brought to the home the person surrendering the child would have to draw a black or white ball out of a bag to see if the child could be taken in. White meant yes, and the white balls were scarce since there were few places available.
After the child was accepted in there was a sheet filled out that was almost a checklist of what clothing items the child had.



Can you see the printed list? There might be a couple descriptive words after the type of clothing and check marks on the left
side showing what the child was wearing. Then a piece of fabric or fabric ornanent( ribbon, stitched piece, sleeve) was added to the list and folded into an envelope and numbered and stored.
The pieces of fabric served to identify a child if the family ever reclaimed the child. The fabric samples are the most comprehensive record of every day fabrics from 18th century Britain. Wow.
There was also a wonderful exhibit of Early American Southern Portraits.

Then it was time to go home. So we headed over to the Jamestown Ferry. At this point of the day the temps were in the mid to upper 70's. Crazy weather, this is December right?



Boat ride!


Here is Zips... Ready to go!


On the other side we stopped here for a couple of sandwiches for lunch. Yum.


The blue skies didn't last. We hit heavy rain which has continued all through today. It is good to be home safe and sound.
It was a great weekend!
Thanks for traveling with me!

Merry Christmas!

Chris
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

12 comments:

Sue Robinson said...

I saw the Threads of Feeling exhibition at the Foundling Hospital in London a couple of years ago. I didn't know it had 'gone on its travels' and am delighted that many more people will have the opportunity to see this moving testament of British social history. One can only imagine the desperation of those poor mothers who gave up their children and wonder about the fates of both mothers and children who were unlucky in that draw.
Sue in Normandy.

Barb said...

The Threads of Feeling exhibition was so interesting and yet very sad! I LOVE Williamsburg. We went there right before Christmas our last December in KY. We took the tour of homes and wreaths. I still love to look at the many pictures we took. It was such a fun trip. Thanks for sharing your pictures. They brought back some happy memories!

Ann said...

What a wonderful trip to some of my very favorite places--including the ride on the Ferry. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas--see you in the New Year!

Erna said...

And thanks again for sharing Chris. This is all so wonderful ...perhaps I will be visiting Williamsburg next year, as my friend Tammy is from Lynchburg. She has been living here in Holland for more than 30 years but her daughthers still live in America....
Hugs
Erna x

Mouse said...

love the wreaths and wow that was such an interesting exhibition but sad as well ....
glad you had a wonderful time and wishing you a Happy Christmas and a very Merry Stitchy New Year:) love mouse xxxxx

Cath said...

Thanks for sharing your trip Chris.
Hope you and Rich have a wonderful Christmas x

Shirlee said...

A lovely trip ... thanks for sharing : ) Have a Merry Christmas!

Vickie said...

Oh Chris!What an exhibit. Oh my!
Such weather you are having! Geesh!It is currently 1 stinking degree outside here. I am gonna freeze tonight going to church.

Andrea said...

Thank you for sharing the photos of your trip. Beautiful holiday decorations.

Have a very Happy Christmas.

diamondc said...

Wow what a great trip, I love any kind of history.

Merry christmas

catherine

Beedeebabee said...

I can always count on you for the perfect little escape! Looks like a fun time Chris! I love all those pretty wreaths. Merry Christmas to you and your hubby, and all my very best wishes for the year to come! xo Paulette :)

Catherine said...

It is always fun to travel along with you in your adventures! Thanks for sharing! Hope you are having a Merry Christmas!