Day 132 -- August 10, 2003 -- Sunday

Williamsburg, Virginia is quite a place! I'd never been. BIG. Quite a story.

Colonial Williamsburg is an honest-to-goodness fully restored/rebuilt Colonial town. John D. Rockefeller provided the money to acquire, restore, rebuild, and establish Colonial Williamsburg as a non-profit entity. It was and is an amazing project.

I had never been to Williamsburg, but we had heard so much about it through the years that I was really anxious to see it. It was different than I expected. It costs $39.95 if you want to be able to go in the buildings and learn about Colonial life. I always imagined it was just a real town that you got to walk around and see. It is fairly real, and you can walk the streets for free, but you do have to pay to experience it all. It's quite expensive, but it must cost an awful lot of money to keep this place going. There are folks who just walk around as if they were working in the fields in Colonial time -- just to set the tone for the experience.

I met an especially nice lady at the Visitor's Center. She wants to take a trip like ours with her husband.

As you walk to the Colonial town from the Visitor's Center, you pass over a bridge that takes you back in time with messages about significant points in time, such as -- "At this point in time, you know people who own other people." It was really effective in getting you prepared for Colonial times, and it caused you to think about how many really significant developments have taken place in a relatively short period of time.

It was really hot and REALLY humid. I walked and walked and walked, and didn't even begin to see all the side streets. Boz and I will go back when it is cooler, and we'll see more. It was truly gratifying to see something that has not been commercialized and touristized at all (with the exception of the entrance fee).

Just off the Colonial Williamsburg property is a row of "modern" shops. But in Colonial Williamsburg, everything is really authentic.

From Williamsburg, I drove down to Virginia Beach. I met Chris and Al at the Visitor Information Office. Virginia Beach has a nice beach area, but not a lot to see. Typical tourist-oriented businesses and hotels near the beach. Riding surrey-like bicycles up and down along the beach seemed to be a big thing.

I didn't get a photo of them but there were "no cussing" signs all up and down the beach area. I'd never seen a "no cussing" sign before. Interesting.

I planned to visit the place that invented the ice cream cone, but I was unable to find it.

I met Delores and Judy at the Welcome Center just inside North Carolina -- really enjoyable ladies to talk with...and very helpful.

I noted once again that the roads changed the second I passed from Virginia into North Carolina. North Carolina has had the best roads in the country for at least 50 years.

Due to the heavy overcast skies and rain (and forecast for more of the same), I skipped the Outer Banks and drove until midnight to get to Myrtle Beach. It was an ugly day.

I passed through the town of Windsor -- chartered in 1768. I was sorry that it was dark and raining when I passed through Wilmington and the Cape Fear area. I saw a terrible traffic accident at 11:30 pm. At least one car had flipped.

South Carolina became state #49.

The Myrtle Beach area is really something for activities. There are more miniature golf courses than anywhere in the world, many golf courses, resorts spread out for miles along the coast. There are major dinner show theaters in Myrtle Beach...places where big country name performers come and perform. Lots of action in Myrtle Beach.

I checked into the Marriott Courtyard in Myrtle Beach just before midnight. Desk Clerk Barbara took good care of me at the hotel. Unlike a lot of nights, I never got sleepy tonight, so it wasn't a bad drive.

Random Comments:

I watched the movie "American President" last night. It is an excellent movie, and one that I have enjoyed several times. I thought it was appropriate since I was just in Washington DC.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we've been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we've seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this web site. Other pages of interest include the running report of "vital statistics" on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you'd like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest and the full itinerary is shown.

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from Day 132 -- August 10, 2003

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from Day 132 -- August 10, 2003