The threat of rain seems to have gone away on this day, July 15, 2026. This means the heat is returning, not that yesterday was all that cool. Today, I think I will visit the aquarium and insectarium followed by a bit more shopping. I’m still trying to find the store that was selling this via garlic forward hot sauce. I’m starting to get the idea it was one of the regular shops that sells NOLA merchandize since the 2 specialty shops I’ve looked at don’t have it. I guess it is possible that it is no longer being made or they changed up the label.
Breakfast this morning was at Majoria’s Commerce Restaurant, on Camp Street. This is a small dinner open for breakfast and lunch, which the menu says you can get both all day. I swear it’s bar had a better selection of whisky than most of the bars on Bourbon Street, but it’s 9:00 AM and too early for me to be drinking anything stronger than coffee. So, breakfast today was shrimp and grits.
One thing I want to remember for my next visit is the number of places there are to eat in this area. Now most of them are only open for breakfast and lunch and if they server dinner they close by 9 PM, which for me is perfect. There is pizza, old fashion diners, an Indian restaurant oh, and a Mediterranean one called Olive. I had thought about Olive, for dinner one night but for some reason thought it was multiple blocks from hotel, but it’s only a few, just in the opposite direction of the French Quarter.
After a nice breakfast, it was a short walk down to the river and the Aquarium. I bought my ticket last night so I was able to skip the ticket line an go straight up the stairs to the first exhibit.
— Insects —
These exhibits were amazing. If you could have heard the excitement of the children I was having to dodge and wait patiently to clear away, you would have gotten excited too. I don’t think I heard any of them say, “that’s gross”, even if I heard a few adults say it.
To enter the butterfly garden you first are ushered into a closed room with a door behind a plastic green chain curtain. Once everyone is in the room, the usher closes the door and a short video plays. Once the “push here” button goes from Red to Green you can enter the exhibit. It was fun having butterflies all around you. I did notice most were near the plants near the windows and direct sunlight.
— Fish —
You maybe wondering how much did it cost? This experience cost me about $50. I’m not sure it was worth the price, but I do realize the upkeep on these exhibits is expensive, so I was willing to pay the fee. For an extra $10 you could also get a ticket to the Audubon Zoo in town, which is located about 40 minutes up the river. The best part was the butterfly garden, followed by walking through the underwater tunnel. Guess you know why those were videos and not pictures.
I had to get a picture of the river boat on the Mississippi River. I did this 75 minute tour the last time I was here in New Orleans, and I recommend doing it at least once.
I continued along the riverwalk, down and past Cafe Du Mont and long the sidewalk leading to the French Market Area. Here you will find many different vendors selling a variety of items along with a variety of food or drink take aways. I wanted to give this place called Meals From the Heart Cafe, which had a complete vegan menu, a try. I selected the vegan gumbo, which had okra, mushrooms and zucchini with rice. It wasn’t bad, but I’ve had better. I felt it lacked the “punch” other gumbos have. Being vegan shouldn’t limit you on the spices.
With some food in my belly it was time to wander off and find some good hot sauce and maybe some tea. My path did happen to take me past Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar. It claims to be the oldest bar in the United States, being built between 1722 and 1732; however, I doubt that claim. I’ll give it that its and old building but it didn’t start out as a bar.
With my drink in hand, I got back on my quest to find tea and hot sauce.
If you wanted, you could sample everyone of the hot sauces, salsa and marinades the Pepper Palace makes. Be prepared for some of them to make you regret that choice. They do offer a flat fee of $5 shipping for mail orders and if you buy 3 your get the 4th bottle free. I’m stocked up now for a good amount of time.
I wanted to get back to my hotel room before 2 PM to watch the England vs Argentina game, but I did want to get something else to eat and why not get another daiquiri. Last time I was here I tried Voodoo Chicken, so this time I went for Willies Chicken. Comparing the two, I do prefer Willies over Voodoo, and I think Willies daiquiri was better, but I didn’t get the same type, Willie Colada this time. It was pretty good, but it is made with 151 rum so it packs a kick.
So, that ends my adventures for today. I took it easy this afternoon, watching the game, and a few movies in my room.
On to tomorrow and my cooking class, followed by another museum – this one is free.
As I’m sitting here this morning, drinking some coffee and watching the local news, I thought would give anyone visiting New Orleans an option to prepare most of your meals in your own room so you can maximize at one meal eating out. For me I’m opting to do breakfast, Quaker Oat’s microwave oatmeal in a cup, I could do more since my room here at the Holiday Inn Club Vacation Resort has a full kitchen. As I mentioned I stopped at a Walmart before checking into the hotel; however, I knew check-in can sometimes take a bit of time, so I limited my shopping to items that didn’t need refrigeration.
So what if you don’t have a vehicle because you took a train, bus or airplane to NOLA? Here in the French Quarter you have a few options. One is the chain grocery store, Rouses Market. It is located at the corner of St. Peter and Royal street, just 1 block off of Bourbon street. If you read my previous post, I was thinking of walking to the river last night via St. Peter, that is wait reminded me of this option of grabbing groceries.
Let’s say you don’t want to get eggs, milk, etc. well, you could grab snacks and drinks at either Walgreens or CVS on Canal Street. CVS is located on the corner of the Carondelet and Canal, (Carondelet turns into Bourbon St.) and Walgreens is just one block north at Baronne and Canal.
It’s now 8 AM and I’m waiting until the rain stops. It’s down to drizzles but I really don’t want to get wet, plus none of the shops will be open until 10 AM. I need to restock some hot sauces, and visit a few book stores. My plan to go visit the Irish Channel changed when I realized this is just a residential area portion of the Garden District where Irish immigrants settle in the 1800s. Hence the shopping and I’m considering visiting the aquarium.
I took a walk down to the river and then along its river walk toward Jackson Square. I watched that ship navigate up the Mississippi, in my mind feel they are going down river, but zooming out on Google maps, the river does turn down but it turns back up heading to Baton Rouge. This means the Gulf of Mexico is the other direction.
Finally Cafe Du Monte wasn’t busy and I was able to get a table. Be sure to have cash since table service is cash only. I enjoyed an iced coffee with my benigns.
Next I walked up Royal Street, looking in on shops and art galleries before heading back to the hotel via Bourbon Street. I walked far enough that I was in the residential area. Some of the streets have no cars parked because the street gets cleaned on Tuesday while other streets get cleaned on Thursday.
I’ve been relaxing in my room since I got back. I thought about getting a to-go meal but opted for a bag of popcorn
I’m now watching the French vs Spain World Cup game before heading out to today for an early dinner before my jazz show
Dinner was at Oceana on Conti, just off of Bourbon Street. I had the Po’boy fried fish sandwich but switched out the French fries for jambalaya. The fish was very good, but the sauce is what made the sandwich. Cost $42 for meal, a beer and tip.
When planning this trip a month ago, I bought front row seated tickets to the Tuesday 8:45 PM jazz show at Preservation Hall. It’s located across the street from The Vampire Apothecary, so an easy 15 minute walk. The Preservation Hall has been a jazz music venue since 1961, and one thing they didn’t have in 1961 was cell phones (no pictures or video of the band while performing) They were very entertaining and the venue was very small. With my front row seat I felt like I was in the band. They have different shows during the week, and it seems Tuesday night this is a smaller portion of the band and are a bit more loose in their playing. I tried to find some YouTube videos but it seems they only posted the full band’s Christmas songs recently and then the videos are 3 or more years older. So this is differently and experience worth having because its one of a kind. It was a good evening.
After the show I was tempted to grab more food, but I’m not really hungry. Maybe it was all the second hand pot I inhaled walking down Bourbon Street. I’d risk one of the side streets, but they are dark at night and all the homeless people make me nervous enough with them on Bourbon Street. So I went straight back to my room.
I’m going to read a bit from the book I bought the other day and rest for tomorrow. I’m not sure if I’m getting smarter with my travel and moderating how much I do and see or if I’ve just been here in New Orleans enough that I don’t feel a need “to see it all”.
Ok, on June 18th, I broke my new rule of taking it easy. This ended up being a 13 hour day. I got back from the 1 hour 30 minute ghost tour and thought I would right up the daily blog. I messed up loading the images tonight, so I’m just going to call it a night and fix the images and write the blog in the morning. It’s supposed to be rainy here in Williamsburg tomorrow, so I’m going to have to make plans for inside activities. There will be no need to rush to get my day started.
It’s the next morning and I have energy to put my thoughts together in a more coherent story.
Just to keep with the pattern here is the fit check for the day. A Hawaiian style shirt called Toucan Tropica at Geek Tropical. If you use the link, you will get 15% off and I will get a discount the next time I purchase. Thanks for checking them out.
Colonial Williamsburg was found 1638, but it was called Middle Plantation until 1699 when the governor of Virginia decided to more the capital of Virginia from Jamestown to Middle Plantation. But it needed a better name, a prestigious town needed a prestigious name, so they called it Williamsburg after King William III, the current king of England.
Williamsburg is a planned out town, well Colonial Williamsburg is. All the streets run East to West or North to South. The main road were all the businesses and inns called Duke of Gloucester Street, runs East to West with the capital building sitting at the eastern end of the road. We will get to the capital later. I’m going to start at the western end of the street and a few blocks north at the Governor’s Palace.
Oh, now is also a good time to mention, not all these buildings are the actual buildings. In 1924 a restoration project was started to save the 18th century buildings that were still standing. This project extended into a fuller restoration, by rebuilding long lost structures using historical records and archaeology to bring Williamsburg back to life in its Revolutionary War stage.
The Governor’s Palace was the seat of the King’s authority in Virginia. The governor was appointed by the King, and governor then appointed local male, Virginian land owners to important positions in the community. The Governor’s Palace was destroyed and one point a school was build on top of it. The building in the pictures is a complete reconstruction on the outline of the original footprint.
Backside of the Governor’s Palace
Inside you will see portraits of King William III and Queen Mary along with lots and lots of muskets and swords. In fact there are 540 muskets all hanging from the walls. No they are not just ornamental, they could all be used in the service of the King to defend the town if called to muster by the governor.
An interesting fact about living in Colonial Williamsburg, if you were a male over the age of 16 you need to own a musket, an edged weapon, and a set amount of gun powder and shot. The guns at the Governor’s Palace were used to make sure everyone had the same type of weapon to make it easier to supply in a long term siege.
The rooms of the Governor’s Palace have been recreated to the historical time frame. I’m amazed at how the rooms are all interconnected. The kitchen and servant quarters are on the west side of the main house, but they were closed due to renovations, along with a few of the paths.
As you exit out of the Governor’s Palace, you enter the garden. It is very symmetrical which I’m guessing must be the trend for the 1700s. One each side were this tree/vine covered tunnels you could use to walk in the garden out of the sun. Just watch out because birds do nest in them.
If you could leave the garden by the back exit, you would be lead to a stage were actors tell a story of the historical figure they are representing. This morning it was a speech from Martha Washington giving the Revolutionary War story from her perspective.
Now since you have to walk outside the garden wall and around the back, you get a good view of the wall and I wondered what these windowed corner rooms were. Inside was a bench. I’m guessing it was a place to have private conversations.
Entrance The center The Hedge Maze
Leaving the Governor’s Palace area you have the option to walk down 2 parallel streets with various houses and businesses. Reenactment actors can be found along either road. If you have questions just approach them and they will start up a conversation. I only took a picture of the gentleman on a horse.
Between the streets is a wide open area.
Walking down either of these streets will get you to the main street, The Duke of Gloucester Street. Turning to the east or your left if you have left the Governor’s Palace will take you to the Capital. This road is about 1 mile long.
I forgot to ask, but I’m guessing the street was actually this wide between the housing and businesses to allow wagon traffic to move both directions.
On the left, or going west, you will find Bruton Parish Episcopal Church, one of the oldest active churches in the United States. In it’s steeple is the sister bell to the Liberty Bell, just without the crack.
Now it wasn’t opened when I was there in the morning, but I came back later and found it to be opened so I took a short walk through. This would have been the church George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others that signed the Declarations of Independence would attend when in town on a Sunday.
Sister bell to the Liberty Bell in the Bell Tower
Across the street is the Peter Scott House and Shop Archaeology Project. Peter Scott rented this house and was one of the prominent tradesman in the town know for his cabinet making skill. Now, there is an interesting connection to the owner of this house and the first, first lady of the United States, but you will have to visit to learn that story.
Moving along the street to the east, toward the Capitol, you will have the opportunity to visit a variety of different homes, businesses, or taverns. To know if they are open, each building will have a flag flying outside. Some of these buildings require the same ticket you used to visit the Governor’s Palace and later will need to visit the Capitol while others are free to the public. Check you map to know which is which.
Pathway to the blacksmith shop
Blacksmith
Reminder that some of these are the actual buildings while others are recreations.
Some of the buildings that were mercantiles in their life have been revived and continue to be places were the public can buy goods.
When you reach the Capitol This was the seat of power for the colony of Virginia after it was moved here from Jamestown. Both the upper (Governor’s Council) and lower (House of Burgesses) legislations met here. Many of the future signers of the Declaration of Independence were members of the House of Burgesses. This was also the location of the highest civil and criminal court. Blackbeard’s pirate crew was sentenced to be hanged in this court.
After all this walking and still some more to come, FYI, some of the pictures of the street I posted above are through out the morning and early afternoon. I just decided to lump them all together because the narrative was the pretty much the same. Now, dinning was something that was unique.
There are a variety of places you can eat to experience dinning in the 17th century. You could eat at the King’s Arms Tavern if you want more of an upper class take or your could pick the Shield’s Tavern with a middle, lower class dining. Regardless which tavern you pick, the menu is limited. Just like in the 17th century there was not a great variety of dishes and the kitchens were not stocked with a large variety of items. Remember, there are no refrigerators or freezers. Now if you want to plan your dinning and not wing it like I did, be sure to check out the official dinning website linked —> HERE.
I opted for the Shield’s Tavern and the groaning board option, which is a salad, beef and chicken main dish, with 3 sides. The day I visited the drink menu was limited to water, lemonade, ice tea or soda. The adult beverages were not being served. So I didn’t get to drink a pint of ale in a tavern.
Shield Tavern
Now I still did a bunch of walking around 18,000 steps including the 8 PM ghost tour. I lumped the street views together in one big gallery. During this wandering I a visited print shop, a linen clothing shop, the blacksmith (picture above) and then a bakery, the Raleigh Tavern Bakery. I sampled the ginger cake and had a spiced ale.
Now to really confuse the timeline, I’m going to post pictures I took in the morning at the visitor center and explain the parking / transportation situation.
So, you can buy your ticket at the visitor center and they will give you a clip on badge to make it easy for the staff checking for tickets to know you have access to the pay-to-visit sites. There is an option to go all digital, but you will frequently have to get your phone out and show staff your pass. In my opinion waiting a little bit in line at the beginning is better than having to keep showing your phone at each site.
Now at the visitor center there is a gift shop, because all visitor centers seem to have one, but there are also exhibits. For this year, being the 250th, there was a special The Great American Birthday Quilt Exhibition.
When you visit, be sure to check out the official site to know what you can see. The exhibit rotate and the re-enactors are not always open.
To help get around this large venue, the city of Williamsburg public transport provides a few bus that will help you move around from the big sites. I opted to park at the welcome center and take the bus to the Governor’s Palace and walk the rest of the site. If you chose, you could do a more hop on hop off way of travel. The buses are scheduled to run every 15 minutes, they do fill up quick. Each bus seems to have a different patriotic theme.
I didn’t want to drive back to my resort and then drive back for the ghost tour; however, I was very tired and didn’t want to walk around much more so I returned to the visitor center, drank a lemonade and relaxed for a bit of time and then moved my car to a closer parking lot for easier access after the ghost tour. Public parking is not free, you must pay using a special parking app. Once you set it up, it’s not that difficult to use. Parking prices vary. For example at the visitor center its $10 for 6 hours, that is your only option. Down near the shopping portion of Colonial Williamsburg, the price seems to be $2 an hour, with a max of $10. For today, parking cost me about $21 because you have to pay for parking and an annoying credit card fee.
I check out the shopping center that is at the end of Colonial Williamsburg and just before Williams & Mary college. It’s very much like an outdoor shopping center with a variety of shops and dinning options. I was just glad they had plenty of benches.
By now it was 6:30 PM and I wanted to eat before the ghost tour at 8 PM so I sat at the bar of the DoG Street Pub and enjoyed a pint of ale with a burger and fries.
The ghost tour was your typical tour. I still have not seen a ghost, but I have learned some interesting history. It was during the tour that I learned about the trial of Blackbeard’s pirate crew, because they are said to haunt the road leading to their hanging. Blackbeard himself was killed at sea and only his head was brought back to prove his death.
Now, I wish I could have captures an image or video of the bats that started flying round the tour as we move through the market area. It added an extra layer of spooky even if I didn’t see any ghosts. Personally, I was happy to see the bats, because they were eating the mosquitos that had been trying to eat me earlier.
And with that, my trip ends. If you plan on visiting Colonial Williamsburg, I suggest setting aside 3 days to experience the exhibits in full, a single day pass is $37.50 and a 3-day pass is $55. Well worth the money spent.
Tomorrow I head home after a few planes. I then return to reality were I need to do a few projects I’ve been putting off at my house. Until the next time, have a great rest of your day and thanks for taking the time to read my silly prose.
As I start the blog post its June 17th a little before 3:45 PM EST. I’m in my room enjoying the A/C and getting ready to watch the England vs Croatia.
Let me get my fit check out of the way. This time it is at the first site of the day, Yorktown Battlefield.
Bees and Flowers
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The Yorktown battle ground / fort is part of the National Park system so if you have your Annual Park pass you are good, if not there are QR codes in the parking lot so you can purchase your access. Inside the main building you will find staff that can help you purchase a pass and give you the run down of the site. There is a nice museum with a movie and a ranger talk. In the museum you will walking exhibits that explain the reasons leading up to the War for Independence and the roll the Battle of Yorktown played.
The main focus of the museum is on the Revolutionary War; however, there are some exhibits about the Civil War, because Yorktown did play a part in that war.
I tried to get a picture of the actual tent used by George Washington for the battle but the lighting is very dim and the glass is too reflective. You can clearly see holes in the material and rust stains from when it was stored. I found it fascinating that something that ephemeral is still around 250+ years later.
There is a picture of George Washington that seems to be full size so I had to get a picture standing next to it.
George and Me
Across the room is a to scale partial replica of a British warship that you can enter and walk through. Be ready to duck down, unless you are short. Inside you will find some cannons that were salvaged from the waters off the coast and replica hammocks. Walking through you get a good idea of the cramped life of a British Navy sailor.
This cannon is said to be from the battle because one of the French Generals at the fight recognized it years later from the damage it took from a hit by a cannon ball.
Outside of the museum the fort is currently not accessible because they are working the it. To be honest it is mostly just dirt embankments since most of the walls were built out of wood. You can download an audio tour and follow the map to drive to the various locations of the battle. I started to do this, but it was a bit too much to drive, spot the markers and locate the parking locations to walk up to basically a plaque that talks about the location. If I had a navigator I would have followed it better, but some of the tour is on regular the regular highway that goes through the battlefield. The only monument I took time to visit was the monolith erected to memorialize the victory.
The path leading the monument
Now you could stay parked in the parking lot at the National Park museum and use the free trolly that will take you to the waterfront in Yorktown.
Battle Field StopWater front stop
Or you could do like I did and drive to Yorktown and make use of the various parking lots.
Parking near the water front was hard to find because there are beaches along the walkway and the weather today was very nice so the beaches were very popular.
I opted to park near the historical main street of Yorktown and walk down to the waterfront.
Now, I realize I’m writing my story out of order, because I went to the Yorktown Museum after leaving the Yorktown Battlefield but does it really matter for my blog. I choose to say no, so you will have to live with my choice.
Now at the Yorktown Museum, you will have another opportunity to walk through the lead up to the battle of Yorktown from the Revolutionary War to the surrender of the British forces. One thing I found unique for the museum is the stories from people who remembered the events years later. The curators of the museum are really trying to connect the history to real living people, well at the time. The Revolutionary war was 250 years ago and only vampires and zombies would still be alive.
One other thing I wanted to mention that was true for the Yorktown and Jamestown museum was the interactive exhibits. Some were tactile requiring you to slide open a panel to reveal the answer, while some were digital allowing you to interact with the history. A good museum should have you walking away learning something and I found these activities to be useful.
I frequently had to wait for some kids to finish with the activities before I could try them out myself.
Outside of the museum they have a living history exhibits of a Revolutionary War camp and a Revolutionary time farm.
On the left is the kitchen building and on the right are the living quarters
Corn, squash and tobacco
Another view of the farm
Basket being made to catch fish
Path leading to the tents for the solidersTrench with a variety of cooking stations
It’s now past lunch, well in the timeline of the blog, so I headed back towards Williamsburg because I couldn’t get to the Pub on the waterfront I wanted to try. That annoying 2 hour parking or you will be towed really ruined my vibe. Next time I’m here hopefully there won’t be road construction.
Oh, here is the perfect time to really annoy my readers and jump back to the waterfront. I didn’t think the pictures were uploaded but they did so I have to tell you about this book store.
Yes that is a first edition
So this book store is full of old things, what I noticed were the first editions of the complete collection of Tolkien. If I had money to waste I would have bought them. To be honest if I had that type of money to waste, I would have already acquired first editions.
Ok, back to my stomach…
So if you noticed the title to the driving video, Sammy Haggard’s song – “You Can’t Drive 55” was playing on the car radio. You can’t hear it because I dubbed it with copyright free music.
So by now you are wondering were did you go to fill the hole that was in your rumbling tummy…
Pulled Pork Sandwich and Mug’s Rootbeer
Behind the building with the restaurant’s sign is there actual smoke house. They have a “viewing area” but I the inside is very dark and trying to take a picture through a screened window into a dark room just didn’t work.
The taste was very different than what I’m enjoy in Texas. The BBQ sauce was very heavy with cinnamon. I personally prefer spicy, but it was still good. The fact the place was packed clearly says that flavor works for the local community.
I’m enjoying limiting how much I do each day. In the past (last year) I would have done both Jamestown and Yorktown in one day. While yes, it is do able, I would have been miserable at one of the sites and having to sit frequently. I’m going to need to remember this going forward for all my future adventures. I’m still walking 10K steps each day, but not the previous adventures of 20k each day.
Today is June 16, 2026. I don’t think I’ve stated the date at the start of my blogs. I’m writing these mostly as a method so I can remember what happened when I look back on these posts. Ok, on to the post.
Today’s Shirt – DnD Hawaiian Shirt
If you are interested in any of the shirts I’m wearing during this trip, you can get a 15% discount on your order and I get a discount too on my next purchase. Geek Tropical
I started the day with a nice walk around the resort and then drinking a few cups of coffee while listening to the birds discuss their plans for the day. Since my villa has a kitchen, and I bought groceries yesterday, I cooked myself some bratwurst egg tacos.
bratwurst egg tacos for breakfast
With a solid breakfast and 3 cups of coffee consumed, it’s time for today’s adventure… Jamestown.
I started the morning at the Jamestown Settlement which includes a nice museum that tells the story of Jamestown as you walk through the exhibits. You get background on the Native American tribe, the Powhatan, the English settlers, and I was surprised to learn of the Angolans, from west central Africa. I was not aware that the first African slaves arrived in Jamestown in 1619, with two English privateers, the White Lion and the Treasurer, after they captured slave ships in the Gulf of Mexico heading to Vera Cruz, Mexico. You can learn more about all this history here at the website, Jamestown Rediscovery.
After leaving the museum, you will head outside to the reenactment settlement, ship dock and the Powhatan reenactment settlement.
Blacksmithing Building
English Flag flying over the fort walls
Clay oven being heated to make bread puddingStorage building with tobacco dryingCan you find the green dragon fly?Can you find the bumble bee?Example GardenCannons for fort defenseCostal ships in dockTobacco plant?MustardCostal Fishing BoatInside a Powhatan hut
I didn’t take a picture of the church, but I do have a funny story. While I was waiting my turn to look at the altar area, a mom was trying to get her son to climb the pulpit and pretend to give a sermon. He finally got in the pulpit, ok I need to let you know this kid was like 8 years old that is important if you are up with current silly trends in 2026. He didn’t know what to say, so his mom suggested the Lord’s prayer which he did start but ended it with six-seven. He came off the pulpit laughing and giggling, repeatedly saying six-seven, while his mother just groaned. I was laughing. It was just so perfect.
If you wish to visit the reenactment site and museum you can purchase tickets and learn about which reenactments are happening the day of your visit here at Jamestown-Yorktown website. Oh, and yes those are live chickens that are wandering around the reenactment site. Don’t try to pet them, they don’t like to be touched, but they don’t seem to mind humans that don’t try to touch them.
After a quick visit to the gift shop I left the museum after spending about 3 hours and headed down the road to the archaeology site of Jamestown.
Let me explain the next site. At this site you will have to purchase 2 tickets, one is to access the Federal National Park, (if you have a National Park Pass it will cover this fee), and a 2nd ticket good for 5 days from the private archaeological site. I was a bit confused but I was happy that I bought my National Park Pass back in June 2025 because it was still valid until the end of this month. On with the tour.
After purchasing your tickets, head to the right and you can tour the first of two museums at this site. The first museum is very similar to the one at the reenactment site I visited first, so I skimmed through this one. The history is the same history, yes there are some different artifacts so it’s worth a look.
Walking from the entrance to the archaeology site, you will walk down a long board walk over some very swampy looking water. You will see why turtle shells were found in the refuse heaps of both the Jamestown colony and the local Powhatan community.
Turtles
Now this is the site if you want to stand in the actual location of the Jamestown fort. During my visit there were 4 active archaeology digs happening. I only took pictures at 2 of them.
The first site pictured is close to the church with is being rebuilt. They are excavating an area that will soon be covered by a walking path. The great thing about all the digs, is one of the archaeologists will come over and talk to you and answer any questions you have. At the first site, those of us standing by the boundary rope were shown a rock that had been split by extreme heat, most likely as a stone that was heated in a fire and used to heat water.
The second site is withing the boundary walls of a Confederate Civil War fort that was located here. The archaeologists are hoping to find evidence that will help them date the bricks and let them know if they found part of a barracks from the Civil War or something else. The hole in the left, that is partial filled is a post hole that they believe is “modern” and probably used as signage for tourist visiting the site.
If you want to keep up with current finds, the try to post an update each month here at the JamestownRediscovery YouTube page.
Scale model of the fort here at Jamestown
The second museum is down along the water front around the church. There is a large glassed museum built on top of the Jamestown great hall.
Something I do want to make you aware, there are skeletons of 2 of the colonists on display and a few skulls. The first picture above is history of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold. He was one of the captains of the ships and died from illness. In the picture you can just make out the edge of a glass display case. If you guessed that his skeleton is there, you were right. Now, the skeleton is labeled with an archaeological ID number but using evidence from records of the colonists they are pretty sure the skeleton is his.
I had another picture, but it came out all blurry. So I didn’t upload it, but it was of an artist’s facial recreation of another colonist, a 15 year old boy, with you guest it, his skeleton right there in the glass case.
I personally found it a bit creepy, but these displays really connect you to the reality that the history you had been reading and walking through was lived by real individuals.
The last picture is just something I found interesting and helps explain why people were willing to risk their lives to settle in a very limited explored world. Yep, the chance to get rich, and one of the commodities that could make you lots of money was tobacco. Look at the variety of clay pipes and you can see the opportunities.
Also, I need to explain the QR Code in picture 2. Throughout the exhibit there are QR Codes that will link you to a video allowing you to hear about the discovery in the case from one of the archaeologists or historians that worked with that artifact.
As you follow the path back around the church you find this very modern looking house with an interesting garden. According to the plaque, the garden is a recreation of the herbs one might find. I found the use of the oyster shells as borders to be very practical.
Tomorrow, I think we will visit Yorktown and save Williamsburg for Thursday.
Oh. I almost posted this before I uploaded one video; however, me that is typing at 6 PM is going to have to wait until the sunsets and it gets dark. To you reading this it’s just going to be a click. I think it will be worth it. I enjoyed hearing it last night as I was unloading and moving into my room.
Well, I was up at 4:30 AM (Vegas time) because my body thought I had overslept (6:30 AM my regular time). I’ve had plenty of time to think and solve my “no shorts, no fun” dilemma. There are a bunch of shops here in Vegas, I’ve settled on Macy’s because A. It’s closest to me and B. it opens at 10 AM. This “extra” shopping has me changing my plans, basically I’m switching my Tuesday and Wednesday. I will be keeping my quest for the perfect Guinness pour, I will just now be including Downtown Las Vegas to the plan.
A good question you should ask, how will you get around? Downtown Las Vegas is a good walk (1.5 hours) from The Strip. Well, I’ve been researching and found a few options. The best option is probably buying a 3-day bus pass and using The Deuce route. This route takes you from The Strip to Downtown Las Vega; however, it is a bus so it’s not the fastest. I provided links to these options, you will need to navigate the websites, but they aren’t hard to find the correct purchase option and the interactive map.
Another option if you are just staying on The Strip is the monorail. You can purchase single or daily passes. I opted for the 3-day pass.
There is a free bus that takes you from The Strat (Northern Hotel on The Strip) to Downtown Las Vegas, but it has only daily hours, from 11 AM to 6 PM Sunday through Thursday. If you are in Downtown Las Vegas, it looks to be a good way to move around. Just be ready to find another way to return to The Strip if you stay past 6 PM during the week. The weekend hours run until 10 PM.
My hotel’s coffee isn’t too bad. I’ve had 2 cups since starting today’s update. I’m just waiting until 9 AM so I can get discount tickets for my show at the Sphere on Wednesday.
My shopping adventure was a failure for finding shorts or jeans my size. I did only check Macy’s. Glad I can do laundry in my room, I’m washing my clothes now at 4:30 PM local time.
So, what was I up to all day you ask?
The new Hard Rock Casino
Looking North
Looking South
The Sphere from the other side of The Palazzo
New York from the MGM
Looking North from the southern most crossover
For all that walking, I explored some shopping centers, some resorts and some casinos. I tried my luck at Treasure Island Casino, and I watched my luck run away from me. I won the first hand, but then the dealer hit Blackjack once and then a second time, and poof there went my daily gambling budget all but $5.
Bar in Nine FineInside Mandalay BayInside W Las Vegas Bar 1 in Ri RaLuxorLuxor Luxor Outside Luxor Entry to Luxor from tram
After all the walking I finally found a spot to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. With food, music and Guinness. The Shepard’s Pie was pretty good at RΓ RΓ‘ Irish Pub. It was a very full pub, but I got lucky and found a seat at the bar near the Guinness pouring station. I lost track of how many pours the bartenders did. According to the Seatle Times, 13 million pints of Guinness are served worldwide on March 17th.
The number of people dressing in green was crazy. I only had my socks. There was an older gentleman play slots that dyed his beard orange and wearing a leprechaun costume. I’m still amazed at the number of children I had to dodge. Guess Vegas is losing its Sin City vibe… NAY!!!
Check out these lovely ladies I met. PSA they request a payment for the picture.
Now back to my room to type up this blog and relax from my adventures. Don’t think I will do anything else tonight, but eat dinner, plays some video games, and watch some TV.
12.3 miles and I even rode trams and monorails.
Tomorrow, it’s off to Downtown Las Vegas to try my luck at the Golden Nugget. Until tomorrow.
The bartender at my resort was celebrating St. Paddy’s.
First, last night’s arrival… The drive up was just as Google maps predicted, this is a first.
Check-in at the campground was quick and efficient, now finding a site wasn’t so much…
I arrived just a bit after 11:30 PM and quiet hours start at 12 AM, so I was rushed to find a site, in the dark. Why, yes the moon was nearly full, but other than one or two street lights on the dirt roads it was very dark, and the street signs didn’t really glow in my truck’s headlights. I did find an open area and someone was setting up their RV across the road. I decided to gear up with my head lamp and pitch my tent. I should have aired up the mattress first, since I completed the tent placement a few minutes after the bonfire revealers headed to their abodes. The ground was hard, oh yeah that moon… Seems my tent’s back panel is all darkened mesh, so the moon light shows right through. Glad I brought my eye mask. π
Ok, on to the real reason you are reading this… The renfaire..
SunriseMy castle
The other travelers started to awaken from their castles around 7:30 AM, and everyone in my eye sight seemed to be up and moving by 8:15. As I type this, I’m smelling someone nearby cooking bacon. I personally am saving my appetite for some food from the vendors. I chose at the last minute to leave my portal stove at home and just make sandwiches if I get hungry because I ran out of my food allowance. Don’t worry, I plan on eating as much as I can. πππ₯¨π§πͺπ»π½οΈπ·
Well, I think it’s getting close to time to dress to meet the King and his court at this year’s 51st Renfaire.
To start the morning off right..
You need a pint of Black Death, an imperial stout, some Scotch eggs and a breakfast juggling show.
Signs of food options Scotch eggs Juggling fire
After the show I visited some shops.
This is the shop that sells bottles of mead that you can take home after you leave or you can open a bottle can carry it around and sample as you walk.
I had a schedule of shows I wanted to see, but I skipped the next show for more window shopping.
My next pre-purchased event was mead tasting.
Renmead
This new brand is a combination of 3 meadries that individualLy couldn’t meet the demands of the festival but together they could. Thus 3 became 1 and the juggling fools became their logo.
Time for lunch… which was fish and chips. Sorry no picture.
I wanted to make sure I knew where my final booked class of the day was, so I again skipped my planned schedule of shows and went to find the glass blowing shop.
In this class you are guided by the artisan in the process of glass blowing while you make your own pumpkin. The artisan manages the heating in the furnace and does most of the important shaping but you do feel a part of the experience.
I’m hoping to pick my pumpkin up on Sunday, but if they will mail it to you as part of the package deal when you book the class. This was the best thing of the day.
Speaking of the day, sleeping on the ground, and all the mead I had been drinking, started to get the best of me. So I headed back to my camp site, err castle, to take a short nap with the intention to return for the final events of the night at the arena…
My nap was 4 hours, and I probably would have slept more if the fireworks show that concludes the evening hadn’t awakened me at 8 PM.
I was still very tired so I just made a sandwich and went to bed for real.
It’s the next day, for real this time, and my body didn’t get the memo that I’m in a different time zone. I was awake again at 4:15 AM, at least I don’t hurt as much as I thought I would. I should have brought my new shoes instead of an older pair (I’m using them for hiking later, still need to replace my hiking boots after last summers issue.) And good news, Red Rock Canyon has a scenic drive loop with parking at the easy trails, so that’s today’s plan. I should even be back before Weather.com says hiking is bad.
Red Rock Canyon is beautiful and is designed to be driven with set parking locations and trails branching from them so you can get better views. I tried recording a video driving the route but my setup didn’t work. If I really want to record a drive I’m going to have to buy a dashboard camera. Here are some pictures. I only hiked one trail and it was short, 0.2 miles out and back.
Since I got back from Red Rock, I’ve just been relaxing. I baked a pizza while my laptop did some updates. I’m tempted to take a nap before heading out again.
Seriously, I think whoever designed Las Vegas and how the casinos connected worked for Elder Scrolls Online and learned the “you can’t get there from here” principle. The signage in the casinos is no help either. Now I do admit, once you figure out the system I think you can go from the north to south via casino lobbies and shopping areas. Now learning the pattern probably takes a life time π
Sherwood Bar
Well, I’m in The Excalibur drinking overpriced old fashion, but at least I’m not walking and in the sun anymore. My dinner and show starts in about 2 hours. I just signed up for the MGM Rewards and guess I’ll figure out how they work playing slots.
Gave slots a try.. didn’t go well. I saw people all around me with small wins, but I bust each spin. The odds are not in my favor.
I did watch a bit of black jack play and there was a lady killing it. Never changed her bet just kept winning and banking the win. Tempted me but the odds are not in my favor. So off to drown my sour in $6 draft beer. At least I have the show to look forward to. Before we chat about the show, I want to mention it’s worth looking for happy hours that are near the casinos. Was able to enjoy a few beers and even had a bartender originally from El Paso.
I’ve been seated for the king’s tournament.
The Tournament of the King was cool. Be prepared for indoor fireworks and the evil wizard has a flame staff.Β Wow you can feel the heat. But why did they only give me 4 baby potatoes? Seriously, half a chicken but only 4 baby potatoes?
The meal (I ate a potato)
After the show, I tried my chances at 2 for 1 blackjack table… OMG.. I only lost 1 hand. Risked $20 and walked away with $70.. $50 profit. I so wanted to go back and keep trying; however, the King’s Mule kicked in and I couldn’t math… So walked, no ran away… π
Looking north from the Skybridge by the MGM
Every wonder where the MGM live happens well here it is
And no, it isn’t one way glass. These people are doing their job with us, average Joe public, watching them. How I know, one of them smiled at me when I asked out load if it was one way glass.
Off to bed now, well maybe going to take a bit to come off the winning high.
I started typing and taking photos on June 2nd while flying the first leg of my flights to Vegas. Leg one was to Houston. Leg one is almost always to Houston, sometimes Dallas speaks in but Houston is the main step one.
I normally fly Southwest and this trip is now different. I collect points during the year and spend them on flights. On this flight I booked business class and forgot you get a drink voucher, it’s still the morning, but it’s 5 O’clock somewhere and I can’t let the drink voucher go to waste.
This is an India Pale Ale brewed with spice. It’s not too bad. I’d ask for it again.
As we start the descent into Houston, I’m really enjoying the clouds out the window.
It’s so interesting how the clouds are gathered up into lines, at least from my view above them. The pattern may mean I Google why. So many things start with that question, “why?”. Don’t worry I’m not going to go all philosophical on you. I’ve only had one beer. π
Leg 2, as they say.. I wonder why it’s called that? (see what I did there? still need more beer to wax philosophical π)
So it’s now today and I’m going to check out things you can do in Las Vegas. There will be some shows, there will be museums and there may be a wee bit of gambling..
The only trouble is I’m awake at 4 AM and last night’s short drive around, I just don’t feel safe to walk around this early. I wasn’t nervous when I was in New York City, but that city is more pedestrian friendly. Once my watch charges I’m going to walk around the resort a bit. Should be closer to sunrise by then.
View from my room’s patio at 4 AM
Ok, my opinion of Vegas has changed with the rise of the sun. First, there is no traffic, and second I’m not the only tourist up at the crack of dawn and taking a walk down the Vegas Strip. I even saw people jogging, so my plan to walk/jog a 5K is back on for Thursday or Friday morning. Oh, it’s also in the 70s in the morning not the 90s like in the afternoon.
On my way back to the resort I found a shopping / restaurant area between casinos. One other thing.. these casinos run blocks. Cesar’s is at least 2 blocks long. Makes it hard to find cut streets to get you around like in normal cities.
The view at 8 AM. Look at those mountains in the background π₯°
The Sphere watching over Vegas.
Today’s adventure is either starting at the Natural History Museum or the Van Gogh exhibit that I’ve tried to see twice in Texas. I’ll probably do both but not sure which will be first at least both are in doors.
Only ended up going to the Natural History Museum. It had some good exhibits for kids. I personally enjoyed the recreation of King Tutames Tomb.
I was hungry after and headed back to the Strip to try one of Gordon Ramsey’s places. It was a take away fish eatery and I wanted a sit down place, so off to Virgil’s BBQ only a few doors down.
They have a really good pulled pork sandwich.
My phone had been sending warnings about rain and I like last night it would just pass by. That was not the case so another round of beer.
If you are going to get caught in the rain, a bar is a pretty good spot to wait it out, and it’s happy hour. π
My only plan for the day is to see Cirque du Soleil – KA (Trailer ) at 6 PM, it’s 3:40 PM at the moment so plenty of time.
Had a walk through a few casinos, saw a poker tournament and a movie scene being filmed. It looked like Elle Flanning.
Elle Flanning?
I may just have to play one round of Blackjack at a $5 table. I’m such a big spender π.
The show starts soon back when it’s over. Here are the only pictures I’m taking; going to enjoy the moment.
That was an amazing show… The secret supporting actor was the person controlling the stage floors, they moved… At times the performers were jumping and swing around on a vertical stage. It even had a story, but it was a bit hard to follow because there were 2 heroes that went on separate hero journeys in magical realms. Everything concluded with an epic battle, on a vertical stage between our heroes and the main villain. In the end, the heroes won, the world was made right and we we got to see a dancing crab, turtle and starfish. (You have to see the show to understand.)
At the end of the day, well what I’m calling the end I walked 13.1 miles and earned an award from my Garmin fitness tracker.
Now, I’m tired but not ready to go to bed. I’m pretty sure something is going to hurt in the morning. If things go to plan, I’ll have an early start for a hike in Red Rock Canyon and be back to the resort before 1 PM.
I’ll close with some more pictures of the Las Vegas strip.
I’m currently sitting in the airport lobby waiting for the ticket agent to go on shift. Seems Southwest Airlines or maybe some new TSA rule doesn’t allow you to check in 2 hours before your flight and the airport I’m flying out of is too small to have multiple flights back to back. I learned about the 4 hour rule when I traveled to Utah ( https://maethar.com/2023/06/27/utah-final-day/ ) but this 2 hour thing is new to me.
Now that I got checked in, I asked the ticket agent and found out it’s a local airport policy. The annoying thing is the kiosk self-checks are also turned of π€·. Oh well, got my boarding passes and drink vouchers π… I’m off to my adventure. Check back tomorrow for details of where I am and what I’ve done so far.
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