Williamsburg Day 7: Yorktown Heat

A day that started out being as a blank slate ended up being jam-packed with events, happenings, and empty fields of grass. We spent the whole morning thinking of something to do, somewhere to go, and we ended up visiting the third (and final) historical town/site in the area: Yorktown.

It was a pretty good time, aside from the 100 degree weather accompanied by the 100% humidity level. Yorktown was the final showdown between George Washington and General Cornwallis. We got to go on two separate tours (one that involved us driving around in our car) and probably heard the complete story of the Battle of Yorktown at least four times.

After losing about fifteen pounds through pure sweat, we headed back to Williamsburg for an evening of culture. We went and saw a production of Howard Ginsberg’s play “Jefferson & Adams” at the Kimball Theater. The play is based on the real letters written between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams over the span of their 50 year friendship. The play was spectacular, and not only presented them as a historical “Odd Couple,” but also showed how today’s political climate has existed since the dawn of this Grand Experiment. Back in the early 1800’s, politicians had to deal with a corrupt media, there was a sharply divided opinion on the French, and the presidential candidates stood for the same issues that are debated today (God in government, size of government, military action, etc…) It was extremely telling, eye-opening, and comforting. Things aren’t so bad in politics right now when you find out that the founding fathers were having the same problems.