Saturday, August 27, 2011

Williamsburg, VA and Pennsylvania

Our first day, we went into Colonial Williamsburg.   Here we are in front of the Visitor’s Center.  A rare photo of the three of us.Imported Photos 02106

Kaitlyn made herself our navigator…100_0977

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Wandering around the town…     Imported Photos 02114

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We spent some time in the soldiers’ camp… 100_1009  100_1011        

Kaitlyn was very naughty ;0)Imported Photos 02116Imported Photos 02119

So she and Daddy spent some time in jail…Imported Photos 02147100_1022Imported Photos 02143100_1026Imported Photos 02144

That night, we introduced Kevin’s mom to Hooters…Imported Photos 02186

After dinner, Kaitlyn went back to the hotel with Grammy, while Kevin and I headed back into Colonial Williamsburg for a ghost tour.  By the time the tour ended, the buses had stopped running for the night, so the guide was nice enough to give Kevin and I a ride back to our car at the Visitor’s Center and pointed out some more of the sights on the way back :0)

The next day we went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg.  I feel a little disloyal, but I think I like that one better than Tampa!  Kaitlyn had a great time.  I think she rode every kiddie ride at least once and some more than once. 

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Kaitlyn riding…100_1046100_1049Imported Photos 02165Imported Photos 02212

At one point, when she was on a ride, Kevin remarked to me that the “carousel from hell” was behind us (meaning the swings).  Kaitlyn apparently saw it too, because when she got off the ride she was on, she told me she wanted to swing.  Thinking she meant the child version, next door I brought her to that one.  She looked less than thrilled and when she got off she said “No mommy, that one.” and pointed at the big version.  She is watching the big version in this picture…Imported Photos 02244

Making friends in the aviary…Imported Photos 02173

Playing in Land of the Dragons…Imported Photos 02215

The Busch Gardens version of the Glockenspiel…Imported Photos 02207

Of course we had to have lunch at the Festhaus…Imported Photos 02238100_1055

We put the huge piece of cake in front of her for a picture.  All she did was look at Kevin and say “fork!”…Imported Photos 02239

After lunch we headed over to the Sesame Street area of the park…Imported Photos 02256 

Kaitlyn got Daddy’s nose!Imported Photos 02257

I think the water area was Kaitlyn’s favorite part of the day.  She got soaked!100_1062100_1065

One of the shops made artwork out of your hand print.  This is Kaitlyn’s…100_1126

Making a new friend…Imported Photos 02275

Riding some more…Imported Photos 02277Imported Photos 02283Kaitlyn’s new light-up butterfly for Illuminights…

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Exhausted after staying awake for the fireworks.  She passed out before we got back to gates and barely moved until she got tucked into bed…Imported Photos 02289 Imported Photos 02291 Imported Photos 02292

On Wednesday, we went to Jamestown.  These are pictures from the State Park where they recreated the fort, an Indian village, and ships that brought some of the settlers over…

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Kaitlyn didn’t want to take pictures that day.  I think she was still a little tired from Busch Gardens the day before… Imported Photos 02293

The re-created Indian village…    Imported Photos 02301

Me in one of the huts…Imported Photos 02298

Kaitlyn and I in front of one of the recreated ships…    Imported Photos 02305

Kaitlyn and I on one of the ships… Imported Photos 02307

Kaitlyn looking overboard trying to see some fish…Imported Photos 02314

The outside of the reconstructed fort…  Imported Photos 02317

Kevin and Kaitlyn inside the fort…

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Kaitlyn in the fort’s church…Imported Photos 02322

After that, we headed over to the national park, which is the actual site of the original colony.

This is Kaitlyn running over the bridge towards the “town”…Imported Photos 02328

What the original fort looked like…100_1088

One of the sites being excavated.  It was the site of the church where Pocahontas married John Rolfe in the 1600s.100_1087

Our little historian…Imported Photos 02348      

When we left Jamestown, we headed over to one of the Yorktown sites.  We went to the state park that contained a museum and a recreated British camp.  While we were there, the “soldiers” mock fired a canon.  It woke Kaitlyn up, “Big boom!  Thunder?”…

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On Thursday morning we went to Yorktown Battlefield and the museum there.

Kaitlyn really loved the mock ship in the museum…  Imported Photos 02366 Imported Photos 02367 Imported Photos 02370

Checking out the battlefield….Imported Photos 02375 Imported Photos 02377 Imported Photos 02385Imported Photos 02411 Yorktown Victory Monument… Imported Photos 02412

On Friday, we started heading back north, but we took a detour back to one of our favorite places… Hershey!

We stopped at Chocolate World and stocked up on cookies and rode the “cow ride” as Kaitlyn calls it.  It’s really a ride about how they make Hershey’s Chocolate.  Then we headed to our favorite restaurant in Hershey…  The Bears’ Den. Then we continued on to Easton.

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All I can say about the picture below is… Go Red Sox!!Imported Photos 02416 

On Saturday, we took Kaitlyn to the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA.  She loved it!!!

 

The front of the factory…Imported Photos 02463 

And the back…Imported Photos 02418

  Kaitlyn colored…Imported Photos 02421 And drew on glass walls with markers…Imported Photos 02424 Imported Photos 02425   Imported Photos 02432

Then we made animals out of modeling clay.  Kaitlyn made a hippo.  I made an elephant and Kevin made a bear.  Imported Photos 02440

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Then we made sand art.Imported Photos 02443 Imported Photos 02444  Imported Photos 02445

Here we are making a spin art Frisbee…Imported Photos 02447

Here Kaitlyn is watching the demonstration on how crayons and markers are made.  Afterwards, she got one of the crayons that she watched being made…Imported Photos 02451

Kaitlyn is standing next to the World’s Largest Crayon in the Crayola Store.  Imported Photos 02465

Upstairs from the Crayola Factory is the National Canal Museum.  It is entirely geared towards kids and included in the price of admission to the Crayola Factory.

Kaitlyn is floating her boat through the canal and learning about locks…Imported Photos 02453 Imported Photos 02455

Learning how goods were brought to the canal boats…Imported Photos 02456

Learning how to steer a boat…  Imported Photos 02458 And playing in the water table…Imported Photos 02459

We had a great trip, now we just have to survive Hurricane Irene!