Thursday, October 16, 2008 – Day 7 –Williamsburg
Pictures to be added later.....
It really did sound like an alarm clock going off at first and it was at least 10-15 seconds before either of us realized that there was a light flashing indicating either a technologically advanced Great Wolf Lodge wakeup call or it was a fire alarm. It was about 6:15 am. Seth checked the front door and I looked out the back window and we were both thinking the same thing – surely it was a false alarm. Soon, Deborah knocked on our door to let us know it was a real fire alarm and that we had to leave the hotel. Flashbacks of elementary school fire drills went through my mind as we got the kids up and threw some clothes at them before going out the door. I later kicked myself for not grabbing my camera. We headed down the stairs and out of the hotel easily spotting our ABD group in the parking lot. We had a nice assortment of looks standing outside in the dark parking lot with some Adventurers fully dressed, some in their pajamas, and some were just somewhere in-between. I was honestly impressed that both Milca and Maria were wearing Disney pajamas – Grumpy and Mickey respectively.
We stood around outside for about ½ an hour when Seth and I decided to walk around the facility. The fire truck sirens had already been blaring but we were on the side of the hotel and could not see them. We made an almost complete circle around the hotel and saw nothing. By the time we reached the front of the hotel, there were 5 fire trucks and as many paramedic rescue vehicles parked in front. All of their county vehicles, I suspect. As Seth pointed out, it did not look like any of the firemen were moving with any real sense of urgency. We were soon updated by the hotel staff that there was an electrical shortage in the downstairs game room with a panel smoking and that we would be let back into the hotel soon. Breakfast in the café would be delayed by at least an hour so Maria was on the phone making alternate arrangements with our Williamsburg guide. To their credit (and something that I totally expected), Maria and Milca took this twist in complete Disney fashion. Our entire wonderful Adventure group also took everything in stride and joked about what a nice Disney surprise it was this morning marveling at how the entire hotel was in on the magic as well. The only thing missing was Mickey himself riding one of the fire trucks from Main Street USA.
At around 7:30, we were finally let back into the hotel. We agreed to meet in the lobby in about 40 minutes to board the SDACMC (super deluxe AC motor coach) to be taken elsewhere for breakfast. Milca gave us a rundown of the day’s plans and, in usual fashion, quizzed us on what the theme of the day was. “Fire drill!” everyone yelled. The word of the day was unanimously agreed upon to be “Alarm”. We also received our pin from yesterday. Gary drove us to a nearby Golden Corral and all 43 of us descended upon the restaurant which had not been crowded at all.
We re-boarded the SDACMC, met our Williamsburg guides and were given our tickets/stickers which allowed us into all of the various historical displays. We were divided up into 2 groups and headed first to the Capital building touring the various chambers where town business and trials were conducted by the Governor. Amina proudly pointed out that the Atlantic Ocean had been misspelled on the map (“Atlantick”).
The gunsmith was our next stop and it was very interesting to see the various tools used in the process of gun making. There were antique guns displayed and the gunsmith/interpreter explained that it was a working gunsmith and that it took about 400 hours to make a gun. Many of the buildings that we were visiting today were working/living museums producing their crafts in the same traditions as the 18th century craftsmen. We visited the apothecary next which would have housed the travelling physician as well as the various herbs and medications that he used. The practice of medicine was one of the few trades that did not allow girls/women to pursue at that time. The interpreter explained that most minor injuries or illnesses were cared for by the family who would come to the apothecary every so often to stock up on various supplies. The apothecary jars were interesting to see and a giant mortar/pestle sat on the counter as most of the herbs and remedies were ground up and compounded with wine.
The silversmith was next and the interpreter explained that, in lieu of a bank, a family’s silver money could be melted together and crafted into anything they wanted – usually something practical. She pointed out that a large silver coffee pot would have represented about a year’s worth of pay for a family. The silversmith was paid with the various pieces of scrap silver shaved off during the crafting process. Even the floor was covered with a wooden grate that could be lifted to sweep up the other smaller pieces of silver to be salvaged. Silver trinkets were for sale in the next room which were pretty pricey but understandably so given the amount of work that went into crafting them.
We gathered in front of the King’s Arms Tavern for lunch at about 11:30. Again, lunch had already been pre-ordered. I had the turkey sandwich which was actually a club sandwich with sun dried tomato and bacon. It was very good. We also had salad, curried cole slaw with raisins, and veggie chips. As we exited the Kings Arms Tavern we walked by the “Cure for the Refractory” which was the area where those who broke the law were tarred and feathered.
At this point, we broke away from the main group who continued on their walking tour with the guide. Amina and I went into the Barber and Peruke Maker shop where human hairs were imported to make wigs. The interpreter commented that our weather was too hot and dry to be conducive to nice hair so the hair was imported from abroad. We briefly visited a small gift shop and Amina hinted strongly that she wanted a straw hat and colonial costume to wear for Halloween.
At the blacksmith shop, Seth and Rhys stayed for a while watching the blacksmiths really working while Amina and I went to the DeWitt museum to catch the Fiddle show starting at 1:30 which was listed in the weekly program/map that Milca had given to us. The museum was a little farther than I thought it would be and we arrived just a little bit late. The fiddler was Dean Shostak who demonstrated various instruments including the hurdy-gurdy, the stroviol, and the saltry – none of which I had ever seen before. When we arrived he had just gotten done demonstrating the miniature violin (I forgot what he called it) which was a small violin with a normal sized neck, fingerboard, and pegs. He then demonstrated the hurdy-gurdy which was a giant stringed instrument resembling an oversized mandolin that was cranked with the right hand and played with the left hand. As an audience member pointed out, it sounded a lot like the music in the movie, “Last of the Mohicans”.
At this point, he told us that his favorite fiddle player was Davy Crockett and that he had been the one who restored Davy Crockett’s original fiddle in San Antonio and is the only artist to have recorded with the Davey Crockett fiddle. He didn’t have that fiddle with him but did play a few fiddle tunes for us on his regular violin. The next instrument he showed us was the cigar box violin which had only 2 strings tuned to D and A. The fingerboard was an old True Value ruler and the sound box was the cigar box complete with a hinge closing. No cigars, he told us after an audience member asked if there were any in the box. He then demonstrated a short tune on the cigar box violin.
Next was the stroviol which was a combination of a saxophone and violin on which he played a short tune that sounded like an old phonograph recording. The saltry was next which, he said, his daughters referred to as the “pizza box” instrument. It was played while resting on the right knee and both arms held a short bow which resembled more like the bow for an arrow rather than a violin bow. The sound was very delicate and sounded more like a music box. His last pieces were played on his regular violin and he ended, of course, with the Orange Blossom Special. The entire program was about 45 minutes long and we lingered a bit afterward to see the instruments up close. Mr Shostak also did a Crystal Concert on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays this month where he would demonstrate his glass violin and Glass Armonica – the instrument that Ben Franklin had invented with spinning crystal bowls threaded on their side through a spindle ranging from large to small and played similar to someone playing water filled glasses with their fingers. I would have liked to be able to attend that concert but our Adventure was sadly coming to a close tomorrow.
We browsed the museum store for a bit and I picked up one of Dean Shostak’s CDs of Celtic music, a small book with old fiddle tune music, and a book about the Willamsburg hospital for Seth. Amina and I then went upstairs to the hospital display. It was the Public Hospital of 1773 and was the first institution in America to be dedicated specifically for the treatment of the mentally ill. To be admitted to the hospital, you had to be deemed “A person of insane and disordered mind” by the court as the hospital was “For the support and maintenance of ideots [sic], lunatics, and other persons of unsound minds”. The displays were very interesting and we took a little time in the portion of the museum before walking to the Market Square.
We browsed a few shops and Amina was disappointed that I was not going to buy her a cape ($145) or colonial outfit (several hundred dollars) consisting of a top, skirt, and hat. We wandered into the Colonial shop where we picked up a Christmas present for Deborah. By this time it was almost 3:20 and we had to the Kings Arms Tavern where we were meeting the others to get back to the hotel at 3:45. We did have enough time to run into a small store where we picked up a red gingham apron for Amina for $24. She was satisfied with this and agreed to wear it for Halloween. I did promise to make her a ribbon decorated straw hat to go with her outfit.
We met up with the group in front of the tavern and watched for a short while the live performance in the street set at the very beginning of the revolution. We then re-boarded the SDACMC for the short drive back to the hotel.
We let the kids loose in the hotel when we got back – they were going to hit the arcade, Magiquest, as well as the water park for a little while but I made them swear to stay together the whole time, no running, and be back by 6 pm or suffer the consequences. Seth and I went for a run outside in the parking lot. One lap around the outside of the parking lot was approximately 0.65 miles. I was slow today running 5 km in about 29:30 – must have been all the yummy food on this trip.
At 6:30, we met with our group for one of the last times down in the lobby. Milca handed out small flags to each of us. I had already read about this part of the Farewell Dinner and knew what to expect. Soon, a flag bearer with a British flag and 2 Red Coat soldiers – one with a fife and the other with a drum - came up the stairs and a proclamation was made that the Adventures by Disney group would be escorted to dinner. We followed along behind, around, and in front of the parade snapping pictures and video along the way. Other people in the hotel were a little confused about what was going on – some of them joined in but soon realized it was a special event for our group. We marched together out the front door, turned left in the parking lot and headed down to the conference center while the band played. We were then invited to drop our things off in the conference room that had been set up with a buffet, bar, and nicely decorated tables, and return for family photos with the band. This time, even Milca and Maria posed for pictures.
The buffet included salad, corn on the cob, cole slaw, ribs, steak, salmon, and baked potatoes. The kids had a separate station set up outside with hamburgers and hot dogs. There was beer, wine, juice, and soda offered at the bar. While we ate dinner, one of the band members played his mandolin for us stopping for a little while at each table. After we finished dinner, we were invited outside to the courtyard to learn some dance steps. We were lined up with gentlemen on one side and ladies on the other and were taught dance steps that resembled square dancing. It was a lot of fun and very easy taking just a few rounds for some of the kids to catch on. Dessert was strawberry shortcake, brownies, and fruit.
We received our final pin: “Fare thee well” and went around to each person as we had that very first day sharing what we liked most about our trip. I really enjoyed the bike ride through the mall and knew that would be one of the highlights of our trip for me. I also really enjoyed the fiddle concert and expressed how much admiration I had for Milca and Maria. It was so reassuring to know that even after a long day doing what they do, doing the “Disney thing” all day long, that by the end of the day, they still put on Disney pajamas before going to bed. Now that’s a real belief in ones’ “product”. We also found out that 4 of our fellow Adventurers were actually Cast Members who were travelling with us to experience ABD. They each worked with the travel industry through Disney.
Our final portion of the evening was a beautiful slide show presentation that I had originally recorded with my camera but accidentally erased afterwards. There were many great pictures of all of us – surely ones that we will be purchasing when we receive our Photopass information later. We had also received a few more family postcards and an offer for a $100 per passenger discount on our next Adventures by Disney if booked by the end of November for 2009.
We each thanked Milca and Maria giving them their tip envelopes that I had filled earlier with cash from the ATM in the lobby and my business card in each one. I should have brought more cash with us for this portion and was just a little surprised that there was no option other than cash. Thank goodness the ATM’s cash withdrawal limit was just enough to cover the tips. Maria also passed out a form for each of us to enter our names and email addresses which would be copied and given to each family in the morning.
We said our goodbyes and I checked us in on our morning flight in the business center but the printer was out of order so we didn’t get our boarding passes. It was strange that we had free wi-fi in the rooms but I was charged for internet time in the business center ($3 for 30 minutes but it subtracted time when I tried to print out our boarding passes). We packed up our things and called it a night hoping we wouldn’t have another rude awakening in the morning.
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