DESPITE our opinion of Smithfield ham, I am convinced that we should get one for Tom and Marnie, since they are very much into gourmet foods. We stop this morning at a "ham boutique" in Smithfield, where we learn a lot about hams. One of the things we learn is that, unfortunately, it appears one can only buy them whole. It certainly doesn't seem very efficient to spend over $60.00 for a ham with 30-45 servings for a family of four, especially since we doubt anyone will want more than one serving. Undaunted, I will search unsuccessfully throughout the rest of the trip, looking for a smaller portion of Smithfield ham to bring home.

As we drive through the rolling Southside farmlands toward the Jamestown Ferry landing in Scotland, Virginia, we take time out to stop at two historic sites. These are Bacon's Castle, where the American Revolution almost began a hundred years before the Declaration of Independence was written, and Smith's Fort, where John Rolfe and Pocohontas lived after their marriage.

Part three of our 'cruise' involves a short (½ hour) ferry ride across the James River to Jamestown. Linda sees her first pelican on this ride. Arriving on the other side of the river, we decide to put off seeing Jamestown until after lunch. Driving toward Williamsburg, we find no place to eat until we actually get there. We have a really great lunch at the College Delly (sic). This popular little restaurant is centrally located between William & Mary College and Colonial Williamsburg. In fact, it is very centrally located, as we are to find it nearly impossible to get from any place in Williamsburg to any other place without passing it. This situation becomes a constant joke ("There's that Delly again").

Although we had planned on seeing Colonial Williamsburg and not Yorktown, two developments have changed our plans somewhat. One of the books that I'd borrowed from the library to take with us, Fodor's Heritage Guide, describes the events which occurred at Yorktown Battlefield so vividly that now I really want to see the site. We both feel that we can afford to skip looking at old colonial homes, since we are really not all that interested. True, we will miss many of the displays of life in the 18th century, and it would be worth seeing if we have the time (it turns out that we don't), but for now we decide to go to Yorktown instead. At the Yorktown Victory Center, where there is an admission fee, we are confronted with yet another decision. It is obvious that there is more to be seen here and at Jamestown than we have time for, and we can get a discount on admission tickets to both places, which may be visited on separate days. After a brief (very brief, actually) discussion, we decide to extend our vacation by another day and spend the extra time in this area.

At the Yorktown Victory Center, we are shown one of the best of this type of documentary films we've seen, and a well-done multi-media museum display, all of which leads up to a reconstructed military campsite, complete with personnel in period costume demonstrating army life in the 18th century. We see a demonstration of medical procedures and another of musketry and drum commands. Both of these are given by enthusiastic people with a feeling for educating and entertaining people. This turns out to be unique, as we find this same sort of thing being done at other locations by people who act as though the visitors aren't there (which actually might be the idea, but we don't think that approach is as effective). Linda is especially impressed by the drummer's demonstration of drum commands on the battlefield.

There is a gift shop here (of course), and we buy a hand-made bonnet for Rachael and a colonial tri-corner hat for Ryan. It is hard to find meaningful souvenirs for young children, but they both love hats and we think they'll be happy with these.

Noticing that it is getting late, I make a phone call to our hotel to confirm our arrival. After that, we rush to reach the National Park Service visitor center before it closes at 5:00. We buy a cassette tape tour of the battlefield area and drive off to re-live history, playing the tape at first on the car stereo, then finding it more convenient to use the portable tape deck we had brought (and never used) to tape notes. A taped tour is an excellent way to visit a large area. We are able to move at our own pace, and the audio production makes the events seem real and exciting. In fact, at one point, we ourselves become tour guides. As we are walking along carrying our tapedeck and listening to the battlefield action and descriptions, other visitors ask if they can join us and listen, too.

It is almost dark by the time we are finished, and we travel on to the Ramada Inn in Williamsburg. Checking in, we find we are able to extend our reservation for the additional day, at the regular rate. (The original reservation was for a two-day package).

Also while checking in, we meet Beauregard. Beauregard represents the Powhattan Plantation, a condo-coop with a somewhat aggressive sales approach. (Their representatives are everywhere. They even stop us at traffic lights!).

Beauregard wants to give us free tickets to Busch Gardens...
Beauregard wants to give us free tickets to Colonial Williamsburg...
Beauregard wants to give us tickets to anywhere we want to go...
But mostly Beauregard wants us to come listen to a 90-minute high-pressure sales pitch on the wonders of buying into Powhattan Plantation, a wonderful community, as yet unbuilt, where all our dreams will surely come true. It occurs to us that this is probably not a whole lot unlike the way the original colonists were enticed to leave England and come to this area in the first place.