What to Do in Williamsburg When It Rains

My parents recently moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, and this past week-end was a mini-family reunion, where my spouse and me and my sister and brother-in-law and nephew came to see the new house.  The torrential rain on Saturday wiped away any thought of going to historic sites.

What can you do in Williamsburg when it rains and you've got a 5 year old to entertain?  Plenty, it turns out.

You can use the piano in so many ways.  Above, with enough blankets and chairs, it become a great fort.  Below, we see my mom playing the piano with her grandson--even though he doesn't have any training, and she's got a graduate degree in music, they sounded great together!

Below:  when you've got Legos and action figures, you'll never be bored!

Below:  playing card games is always a good way to pass the time.  Uno works well for us all.

Below:  we got a great deal on wooden eggs on clearance price:  10 cents each.  We should have bought the whole basket.  But we only bought 3.  My nephew loves to paint, and wooden eggs are no exception.

Of course, one can only remain house-bound for so long.  So, while Nana and nephew napped, the rest of us went to tour the Williamsburg AleWerks. 

I was expecting something colonial and handmade (like Dave Bonta's posts on beermaking).  But no, they're a small scale, industrial operation.

Above, you can see the vat of pumpkin beer (look for the jack-o-lantern!).

My Lutheran family wouldn't miss Reformation Sunday, even if it was raining.  Happily the sun came out, and off we went to church.  Beer and church--two Lutheran traditions!

This church is based on a sketch that Thomas Jefferson made when he was a student at William and Mary (the college in Williamsburg).  He designed a chapel for a small college campus--and that's what this church built.

Ah, to be in Williamsburg, where history goes back hundreds of years, where history hasn't been paved over!

And yes, I should point out that I'm talking about history from a European settler's eyes.  An English European settler.  Yes, I know that the Spanish had already been on the continent for several centuries when the English arrived late to the North American party.  And yes, I know the Native Americans had been here much, much longer.

But in the South Florida area where I live, we simply do not have much in the way of historical artifacts from anyone.  It's refreshing to be in a place that values history of all perspectives and works to recover it.

Above:  I love this door.  The writing around the frame:  "So the word became flesh, he came to dwell among us."  The handles are wrought iron fish shapes.

All in all, it was a great week-end.  We got to relax and have good family time and do some shopping and eat good meals together.  A preview of Thanksgiving!

And here we are at November.  Hard to believe.  I should probably post some goals, but they'd be simple.  I have some writing deadlines fast approaching, some proposals and book reviews and an article for The Lutheran.  I have a trip to Mepkin Abbey where I hope to rework my book length manuscript of spiritual-themed poems.  There's Thanksgiving.  If I can meet my writing deadlines and my manuscript hopes, I'll be happy--even if I don't compose many new poems or send all my poetry packets out into the world.