Larry Vaught Photo
Certainly I should be more mature when visiting a historical place like American Revolution Museum here than to get overly excited by an artillery demonstration.
But that’s exactly that happened Monday.
But in fairness, where else can one sit and watch a Revolutionary War cannon be fired immediately after another demonstration that ended with a musket from the same era being shot.
Those are just two of many reasons I enjoyed my 3 1/2-hour visit to his remarkable museum which opened in 2017. The last time I was in the Greater Williamsburg area I visited the Yorktown Victory Center. Now the Victory Center is the American Revolution Museum and has so many indoor exhibits to go with an outdoors living history area it’s impossible to mention them all.
The museum has several short, interesting films — including “The Seige of Yorktown” — and about 500 artifacts — including swords that you are encouraged to touch and lift.
he American Revolution Museum at Yorktown tells anew the story of the nation’s founding, from the twilight of the colonial period to the dawn of the Constitution and beyond. Exciting new indoor galleries feature period artifacts, immersive environments, interactive exhibits and films, including “The Siege of Yorktown,” with a 180-degree surround screen and dramatic special effects.
Maybe it was because it was a gorgeous, 60-degree day, but the living-history Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm occupied a lot of my time — and not just because of the artillery demonstration that I enjoyed so much because of the personal touch the staff added. That included a willingness to answer all the questions you wanted to ask as well as pose for as many pictures as you wanted to take.
At the farm house, you had a chance to learn about not only cooking but how those in that era had to make their own medicines — and how they did it.
If that’s not enough, we had lunch at the museum as well and the Brunswick stew was unbelievable. I got the biggest bowl they had — and loved every bit. It had a barbecue flavor that made it stand out even more to me than the burgoo we think is the best of the best in Kentucky.
The museum is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (9 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 15-Aug. 15), except Christmas and New Year’s days.
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Just the drive from Williamsburg to Yorktown on the Colonial Parkway is a step back in time and we started our day with a visit to Yorktown Battlefield, a national park. We took the six-mile driving tour that had plenty of stops and it was really inspirational to see several children roaming the battlefield portraying their own version of history and the battle there.
Yorktown also has a new Riverwalk Landing on the York River that features speciality shops and different restaurants. Several locals told me it was one of the best secrets in the Greater Williamsburg area. I might add that we think the Yorktown Pub — and its fish and chips — falls in the same category.
I even got to watch a local fisherman pull out a huge striped bass fishing off the pier. He let out a loud yell and told me he could see it for “at least $30” and said if I didn’t believe him, just go order a “striper” sandwich at any local restaurant.
