We got a twofer today! We headed out towards Hampton Roads on I-64. Our first stop was at a good Mexican Restaurant in Williamsburg. Best Mexican we have had since we left Texas in March. Next we went to the Colonial National Historical Park. There are actually 3 units to this park; Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown. We both had been to Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg previously but had not been to Jamestown. Jamestown was founded as the first colony in Virginia in 1607. First thing they did was build a triangular shaped fort because they feared attack by the Spanish. The colony only survived because of help from the local Indian tribes which were friendly at that point. The colony was abandoned in 1699 when most of the government functions were moved to Williamsburg. Only the church bell tower is left from the original colony. The rest of the park is recreations of what they believe the fort and colonial structures were like based on excavations and written historical accounts. After exploring the exhibits and recreated fort, we continued to Hampton Roads. In Hampton Roads we went to Fort Monroe National Monument. The Fort is the largest masonry fort in the US. Built after the British Invasion of 1814 to protect the Chesapeake Bay from a similar future attack. They started construction in 1819 and it was completed in 1832. The fort never saw action. During the civil war, it was a Union bastion and supported the blockade of Confederate ports in Virginia. It was an active military installation until September 2011 when it was decommissioned. It was made a National Monument in November 2011. There has not been a lot of development as a park yet. There was a few exhibits and we could walk around the top of the walls, but not much else has been added yet. The old Point Comfort Light house was built in 1807 and is still operational and run by the Coast Guard. After completing our tour of the fort, we found a nearby restaurant with views looking out over Hampton Roads for an early dinner and to watch the sunset.
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| Entrance Sign to Jamestown |
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| Reconstructed Jamestown Fort |
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| Model of Jamestown Fort |
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| Foundations of the first church in Jamestown |
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| Church tower from the 1929 Church |
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| View from Jamestown |
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| Moat of Fort Monroe |
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| Moat of Fort Monroe |
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| Gun bases on top of Fort Monroe Walls |
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| More gun bases on Fort Monroe walls |
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| Looking over the wall down the moat |
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| Stars and Stripes flying over the fort |
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| Point Comfort Lighthouse |
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