Today was a beautiful day, in more ways than one. It seems that the cold fron made it through and this morning was very nice. The afternoon high was in the low 80’s with beautiful, clear blue skies. It was a perfect day to be outside and that’s where we were almost all day. This morning we were deciding whether to take the girls to Williamsburg, Yorktown or Jamestown. Lisa hasn’t had a chance to take them very many places since moving up here. I have been to all three, but the hard part was trying to figure which would be the best for an almost four (going on 15) little girl. We really wanted to keep Anna Roan occupied. Julia is just along for the ride at her age. It turns out that she is happy anywhere, as long as it’s outside and she is moving.
Well we finally selected Jamestown. I remember that Julia and I had been there a number of years ago, and I remembered they had people dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians. There were ships and buildings. It sounded great for a 4 year old. So we looked it up on the GPS and started out. All three places are pretty close to Lisa. I think they were about 25 miles away. It only took about 40 minutes of driving to get there. I was really a beautiful drive, mainly along the bay. Anna Roan is fascinated with boats. She said that she wanted to tide in a Kayak. I told her that she would have to paddle in the Kayak. Her answer to me was classic: No, Papa, you can paddle and I will tell you where to go. That’s Anna’s attitude in a nutshell. If anyone needs any directions, she is always ready to give them. After a good laugh, I said that she was probably right.
We wound up at Jamestown, but it was not like I remembered at all. This was the national park, which included the actual settlement. There were no Pilgrims or ships or Indians. But it really didn’t matter. It was a beautiful day and there was plenty to see. We put Julia in the stroller. Anna wanted to walk so we left her out of the stroller to start with. Jamestown was founded on an island surrounded by water and marsh. We had a long walk over a footbridge to get out there. Anna really loved the footbridge. She was constantly running ahead to see things and them come back and report. There is something about that age. Maybe it’s the excitement or enthusiasm, but it’s contagious and we were all having a great time.
We probably spent three hours just walking around and exploring. Well we did stop so Anna could have a “picnic”. We hadn’t brought much food, and she was getting hungry. So she ate what we had, and I munched on some nuts. In fact, I think we had two “picnics” while we were out there. Finally we had seen enough. However, Lisa had seen a sign about a glassblowers cabin when we cam in to the park. It was about a mile outside the visitor’s center where we parked. Luckily we had brought Lisa’s jogging stroller. It is a double stroller with big wheels. So we loaded both girls and started walking. It was such a beautiful day. Well, there was a guy there blowing glass. Anna got to watch him make a vase. He had the stone kiln all fired up. It was really neat to watch. I’m glad that Anna got to see it. We were all getting hungry by now, so after we walked back we decided to try to find something to eat in Williamsburg.
Lisa has never been to Williamsburg, and she couldn’t believe it when we drove into the city center. After we parked, we walked around the shops and looked for a place to eat. There are many good Restaurants in Williamsburg, but today it happened that we wanted to sit outside. Didn’t I say what a beautiful day it was? So we finally chose one. It was “The Trellis” restaurant. This restaurant happened to be one of Julia’s favorites. In fact the first time we ever came to Williamsburg, we ate there twice. At home there is a book of recipes from the Trellis called “Death By Chocolate”. The really do have great desserts. Anyway, as I sat there this afternoon, and as I walked around Williamsburg today, my mind and heart were never far from Julia. I know that she would have enjoyed the day so much. We had a lot of fun today, but I really missed her. It wasn’t a hard day, it was just that I was having such a good time; I just wanted to share it with her.
It’s still hard to believe that she isn’t with me. Why it was last October we were walking the same streets that I walked today. Julia and I came up to Williamsburg and Washington with John and Biddie. It was such a short time ago and yet so much has changed. So yes, today was a great day. It is so good to be with family. Life is such a joy, and I enjoyed every minute of it today. At the same time, the nostalgia of remembering such good times with Julia was there too. I guess that is the way it will be sometimes. You know what? I can live with that. I just thank God that I had those times with her and I can remember all the good things.
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