Going back in time at Colonial Williamsburg.

Our big adventure this weekend was a visit to Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum about an hour away from our home. Neither of us has really seen any historical sites that have anything to do with the American Revolution, so we were really excited to discover something new. Although the tickets are a bit pricier (thank goodness for the military discount though!) there is a LOT to do there. Honestly, we easily could have spent an entire weekend just at the museum and I sort of wish we'd had that chance. The entire place is set up to be like a colonial town with many buildings original to the property. The employees are all in costume and talk to you like they really are from the 18th century. Many of the buildings on the museum property are actually private homes, so you have the unique experience of getting to walk around the town and admire the beautiful colonial architecture from the brick sidewalks. There's a historical church that holds services every Sunday and everything. 

While there we were able to visit the apothecary (like a colonial pharmacy), the brickyard (where we learned how to make bricks!), the blacksmith, the cooper, the town powder magazine, some gardens, the coffeehouse, the governor's palace, and more. We had lunch in a restaurant that was set up just like an 18th century tavern with servers in costume and everything. The food was delicious and our server often stopped by to give us a history lesson. We learned that I would be considered a spinster at 21 if I weren't married and that kitchen fires killed more women than childbirth during that time. That's why men wanted to keep their wives "barefoot and pregnant"--if they weren't wearing shoes they'd be able to feel the heat of the fire much easier and stay away from it. We met another military couple at lunch as well. They were so friendly and interested in our story. It's really cool that we can go places and instantly have some sort of connection with people just because we're military. 

Unfortunately, the heavens opened up around 4:30, so we ended our visit a bit sooner than we had anticipated. We did have an umbrella, but it's small and the rain was coming down so hard that it didn't help that much. Nevertheless, we had a great day. We even stopped by the gift shop to pick up more than a postcard, Mom! AJ bought a little cannon for his desk one day and I picked out a little decorative dish in addition to my postcard.

For some reason the GPS wanted to take us home via the back roads, so we enjoyed a beautiful ride through the Virginia countryside while listening to another couple chapters of The Heavenly Man. It was the perfect end to our day.

On Sunday we went to church and Bible study as usual and got to know the Bible study leader and his wife a bit better. He's also a quartermaster, and his wife interprets in ASL for the Deaf man in our study. I enjoy glancing at her occasionally and seeing what words I recognize. She's really talented. She felt really sad for us when I told her we'll have to live apart for about 8 months already, but then she just shrugged and said, "It's the Army life! Even though it stinks." And it is. It's much easier for me to think about the imminent separations when I'm standing before a woman who's endured multiple deployments and will probably be going through another one. I'm so not alone here when it comes to being separated from my husband, and that has helped me so much. It makes me sad to know that I'll lose this unique support system and environment when I have to go back to Illinois, but I know that I'll gain another great one--my civilian friends and family. I only wish AJ had the same, but being with other soldiers will help I'm sure. It's hard to think about leaving next month, but when I think about what other women in my situation have done and I trust that I'll be with my husband again one day, it's not so isolating or sad.