Here we are in...well you can read this...in Jamestowne.  A dog friendly adventure!
After the "Lost Colony" failed to get a foothold at Raonoke a few years later, the British Crown sent over another group of settlers led by Captain John Smith.  This group was successful because they were successful in establishing the local Native Americans as allies (Pocohantas)?
As the this plaque so succinctly says..Jamestowne and it's settlers were the founders of Virginia and the United States!
Sooo...it was the Native  Americans that worked with Capt. Smith's settlers to insure that the Jamestowne Colony survived and by extension, America. Yet 200 years later it was the government that determined that Native Americans were a threat to our progress as a nation and ordered them displaced to reservations that were sometimes thousands of miles from their native lands (there are examples of treating ethnic groups like this throughout history...recently with Germany during WWII).
I know that there are two sides to every story but it seems to me that the government has been shafting people almost from the beginning of our country and that maybe they should begin treating all of the peoples as they would want to be treated...not what their money guy is whispering in their ear.

The settlement had natural features that helped place it in an extremely defensible position....miles of open water in front and a swamp to the rear.

I couldn't help but not to include this picture
 
This is a group of school kids on a field trip with a working archeologist explaining the excuvation that he was working on...the thing I love about this picture is the expressions and body language of the students listening.
When I was looking at this I realized that when I was their age I had someone in my class that was doing the very same things as every one these kids.  One girl right in the middle taking notes and pictures, others tying to pick up what they could, some only interested in the boy or girl next to them and others trying to figure out where they would really rather be at this moment!
Take yourself back to when you were their age...which one of these kids were you?

We also went to Yorktown, the site of the British General Corwallis' surrender of his army to General George Washington.  This battle marked the end of the British aspirations to control the Colony's.
These are the French cannons that were used day and night to shell the British position that surprisingly to me anyhow were only about 150 yards away

The hill in the background was the British positon, the hill in the forground the Colonists position...150 yards?..maybe less!

Daisy's are my mom's favorite flower and by extension mine!!
These are for you mom!

Ruby checking to see if General Washington might have left some food for her!

I didn't have the strength to go through historical Williamsburg (maybe to many tours)?
We instead elected to go to the tourist Williamsburg.  It's funny that the National Parks Service runs the actual location of these historical places but being the enterprising peoples that we are, there are tourist re-creations of all of these sites right next door.
The charge to get into the touristy places is extremly high, yet the parking lots are always jammed?  I guess that we would much rather learn about history the Hollywood way, as opposed the acedemic way...another example of the dumming down of America?

Last night as is the case most nights we struggled to find a place that accepts dogs..whats the big deal?  They all charge from $15 to $50 extra so it's not like they aren't covering their cleaning costs!
Last night we stopped in Richmond Va....same story...stopped at 5 or 6 motels and turned away at each...is this how Joseph felt?  We finally found a place on the outkirts of Richmond.  The wrong outskirts!
I think that they saw me coming when I checked in because if I had done what most of the other guests have done...rent by the hour, I probably could have saved some money!
Last night at America's Best Value Inn were the worst sleeping accomodations we have found since leaving CDM 3 weeks ago!  Everything in the room was filthy, hair on the sheets, stuff in the sink, a shower that turned on and off 2 ways.  I could go on.  Whenever I touched something in the room I felt compelled to wash my hands...I'm not normally like that!  It was so bad that even Ruby didn't want to touch anything (remember this is the dog that the day before was clenching a sqirming rodent in her mouth.
I was afraid to sleep on the sheets so I stripped the sheets off the bed and slept in my sleeping bag, it was that BAD!
We have stayed in 3 really shitty motels since leaving...Ozona Tx., St. Augustine Fla. and now this place.
My ranking of these 3 (worst to not so worse) would be:
1. Americas Best Value Inn...Richmond Va.
2. Quality Inn...Ozona Tx.
3. Quality Inn...St Augustine Fla.
I'm still not sure where I'm going to drag Ruby off to today..maybe Mt. Vernon and Montecito or out to coal mining country in West Virginia.  I' trying to decide if I want to do the whole D.C. thing!  Maybe start moving north further, who knows?  Maybe it will hit me while I'm in the shower where I'll be afraid, very afraid of what might come out of the shower head or the drain...wish me luck!

Have a great day and smile and say hello to everyone you come into contact with today...you'll be amazed at how good it makes you feel and will only brighten the day of the the person that you meet.
Try it you'll like it!!!
Promise