Williamsburg

Oh the joys of the first night away from home...

For 8th graders this means staying up as late as possible -- no matter that your teacher begged you to go to bed, stating that a lack of sleep would absolutely ruin your trip! -- and of course, laughing all night long.

Then comes morning.

5:30 wake-up call.

More accurately, 2:30 (California time) wake-up call.

What does this mean for us? ONE VERY QUIET BUS RIDE!

The ride to Colonial Williamsburg is about three hours, but with a bus full of sleeping 8th graders it goes by pretty quick.

A tour guide took all of us, in three groups, around the little town. As we walked, men and women dressed in authentic colonial apparel meandered around the streets. Some spoke in quiet accents, others played flutes, while some carried long scary looking weapons around...

I must, of course, not forget to mention the horses ... and the horse droppings of course. Nothing screams authentic like the smell of horses! With all these people walking around, the students couldn't quite figure out why someone couldn't stop and pick it up! (I don't know if any of them realized they might just be echoing the words of their parents...)

Wandering the town, we went to the "palace" of the governor -- where there was an incredible amount of weaponry lining the walls. Mr. Orr and I are not sure why, with all these weapons, the governor of this English colony didn't win. Apparently they were for decoration only.

The students were also given a lesson on rolling hula hoops with a stick -- I am pretty sure that is not the correct terminology for this game, but I can't be sure of what it is, as I wasn't listening... (you start to pick up dirty little habits when you spend a lot of time with jr. high students). This game, which somehow reminds me of little European children, is much more difficult than it looks. The pictures in the slideshow from yesterday's blog may clue you in on the skill level required for this game -- ahem ... not all of the students had quite as much skill as little European girls apparently do.

After lunch we walked over to William and Mary College where the students went on a scavenger hunt all over the campus. It was fun to see Thomas Jefferson's alma mater!

And of course, there was shopping. Little tourist shops dot the main street and the students walked up and down it chatting, ducking into shops, eating ice cream and enjoying the afternoon.

After a little down time, and a fantastic dinner at the Golden Corral, we all piled into the bus and headed back to the hotel for devotions and bed.