Heavy storms rolling through tonight after a sweltering day with temps in the 90's, humidity > 90% and heat index > 100. Internet not cooperating at all tonight, so was lucky to get the one title picture and one other picture uploaded, but that is going to be it for now. Today we visited the first leg of the Jamestown / Yorktown / Williamsburg triangle.
The Jamestown Settlement
The Jamestown Settlement is beautifully run by the State of Virginia. It includes a visitor center that has an awesome museum with an introductory movie and displays covering the 1600's time period when the English colonists first landed and settled the Jamestown area. They talked a lot about how difficult conditions were, the starvation and the disease that claimed many lives. The featured display in the gallery was all about the local Indian tribe and the relationship, good and bad, with the colonist. To summarize the colonists arriving here was a business venture funded by the English and it basically failed. The visitor center displays were extremely well done and very interesting. Staff was very informative.
We then moved outside through an interactive area that represented the Paspahegh Indian village, complete with re-enactors. They were using period-correct tools and implements to build axes, arrows, etc. The living huts were very interesting.
Next was a visit to the shore where there were three ships that were replica's of the three 1607 ships to colonists arrived in. There were staff on-board to explain what life was like as the ships departed England and sailed south through the Canary Islands and then west through Bermuda arriving at Cape Henry and further up the Chesapeake to Jamestown.
Lastly was a replica of the James Fort which included thatched roof houses, a storehouse, court of guard and church inside the triangular palisade. There were re-enactors there also such as a blacksmith explaining his trade.
I am disappointed I cannot share some of our photos here because this was really a great place to see.
Historic Jamestowne
We then traveled less than a mile down the road to the National Park Service Historic Jamestowne area. We processed through the visitor center with our access passes and then outside, across a long foot bridge to a monument that resembled the Washington Monument in Washington DC. It paid tribute to the London Company of England that settled here from 1607-1624 and colonized Jamestowne.
We then proceeded to the archeological preservation of Fort James and Jamestowne. One of the most exciting parts of our visit was to see archeologists actually digging right in front of us and processing the dirt in search of artifacts. There is a church there with the actual footings visible, the cemetery with wrought iron crosses, archeological digging at the sea wall area, footings of the barracks and other buildings were exposed. 
We then walked to the Voorhes Archaearium Museum which houses over 2000 artifacts that have been unearthed here. Interesting note, many of the artifacts were found when they excavated the water well. After the well ran dry, not unlike other wells, was used as a dump for "trash", but the trash found here was artifacts!
Doreen with Pocahontas
It does not sound like much here but we were exhausted from the heat and humidity and made our way back to the campground for the afternoon. Doreen measured just above 9000 steps so far. The rain moved in relieving some of the humidity, at least until tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, we are supposed to have heavy rains again so we will visit Yorktown, the site of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War and the site where Gen Cornwallis's men surrendered to Gen Washington. It seems like Gen Cornwallis did not personally bother to attend the surrender..! So we plan to go to the visitor center and then an audio-guided tour of the battlefield. If time and weather permit, there is also a maritime museum not far away.
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