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Williamsburg Presbyterian Church on Easter morning . . .
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After the service, flowers decorated the cross out front
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Inside the Williamsburg Museum, Al listens to a recording of this 1816 Grand Piano
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We call it a stove. They called it a "warming machine".
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The displays of china and porcelain were most beautiful
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Judy dearly loved the display of old quilts
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Nestled among some teapots was this bulb starter, made to look like a pagoda.
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For some reason, somebody built a small piano into this chest of drawers.
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Not all cigar store Indians were Indians . . .
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We like carousels, even the simulated ones
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Harley was an eccentic artist from Michigan - his only four surviving works are of the Pacific Northwest
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This one of Mount Hood was our favorite . . .
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More amazing quilts . .
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Fraktur is what the Germans called those marvelous illuminated documents and certificates . . .
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They were common in the German-settled parts of America
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This fiddler has lost his bow . .
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One gallery had an extensive display of historic pianos, most of which are playable
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This is called a chamber organ. Play it standing up - on one foot. Note where the pedals are.
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Talk abut a dollhouse . . .
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The detail in the miniature rooms is amazing . . . .
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Inside 300 year old Bruton Parish Church, set up for a harpsichord recital
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The central chandelier is lit by hand for every event . . .
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Here the church hosts a high school concert choir from North Carolina.
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The village of Colonial Williamsburg is a wonderful trip back in time
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The cobbler shop makes and repairs authentic shoes and boots worn by Williamsburg reenactors
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The shoemaker was good at explaining his work
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A wedding is about to happen at Bruton Parish Church - a very popular venue
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Green was a particularly expensive paint (it contained real copper), and thus demonstrated affluence
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The "servant girl" explained the workings of a colonial home . . .
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Inside the arsenal - gunpowder is stored on the ground floor
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The weaponry is all upstairs. It's lighter than gunpowder and easier to haul up and down
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The period coaches and wagons add to the ambience (and sometimes the aroma)
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Each afternoon, actors stage mini-dramas. This one's on the plight of slaves . . .
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This lady did a good job of explaining the apothecary, cleverly bridging the centuries to compare then to now
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When gathering a militia, you work with what you have . . .
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This is the gunsmith's shop, and he's explaining how you rifle a barrel
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It takes this gizmo - the barrel's at the far end.
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The trees and the tourists were just starting to emerge for spring
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At the brickworks, we see how a wall is built . . .
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All the bricks are hand-made on site and fired in kilns like these
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At the coopers shop, we learned about barrel and bucket making
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This was outside a private home. Not sure what it originally meant . . .
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Most of the buildings are authentic, and meticulously restored
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The printers shop was interesting . . .
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And next door,the bookbinder explained his trade . . . here, embossing a book cover
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Inside the blacksmith shop, forging an axe head
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Axe heads start out flat, and are then folded
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Mostly iron, they get a piece of steel at the tip for durability . . .
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We happened upon an archeological dig, looking for the foundation of an old porch outside an old tavern.
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The "wigmaker" had a lot of fun staying in character as people asked questions
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The cabinet maker was building a wheel for the bell
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These are copies of George Washington's folding camp bed, being made for Mount Vernon . . .
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When Williamsburg was the colonial capitol, this was the capitol building . . .
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In 1765 this Presbyterian meeting house became Williamsburg's only non-Anglican place of worship
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It wasn't as fancy as Bruton Parish Church, but to some degree that was the point of being Presbyterian in those days
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All kinds of things bloom in the spring
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These are some of the cutest
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Not everything is old . . .
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We made a day trip to Hampton VA and the Virginia Air & Space Museum
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They have a few interesting artifacts including space capsules
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This is the command module from Apollo 12, the second lunar landing mission, and it was autographed by the crew
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Al checks out a prototype of the Orion, NASA's next space capsule
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There are several NASA research planes displayed, but not a lot of information on what they were used for
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This "flying fortress" was impressive . . .
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This is a model of the International Space Station
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A replica of one of the Mars rovers
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It's a three-story building, and the upper levels provide good views of the whole place
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The view from the museum roof is of Hampton Harbor. The Navy yards are lost in the haze on the horizon
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We don't know what this building is, but it's impressive . . .
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The centerpiece at Jamestown is this huge monument
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The fascinating things were the ongoing archeological digs
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This is where the original church stood . . . a prize archeological find of the past decade
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Our tour guide explains the dig at the settlement food warehouse
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He would have talked all day, and Al would have let him . . . .
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Inside the reconstructed church at Jamestown, built several years after the colony was established
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The redbud looks like this close up
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Suppose it's time for a new sign?
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It's the US Army's TRADOC Concert Band. They were very good
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They even had two exceptional vocalists . . .
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One last dogwood, outside Williamsburg Presbyterian Church
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The museum and visitor center is new since our last visit
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And the Gettysburg Cyclorama has been newly restored
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Gives you a just a taste for being in the battle
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This photo shows the artist working on the massive painting
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Accommodations for the soldiers were pretty basic . . .
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Most of the casualties of the Civil War were from disease . . .
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That's some gun . . .
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Outside, one of many Lincoln statues in Gettysburg
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On the battlefield itself, lots of monuments to various fighting units
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The battlefield drive roughly follows the timeline of the 3-day battle
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The first skirmish of the battle started when Confederate troops charged from behind that barn
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The Eternal Light Peace Memorial was dedicated by 1,800 Civil War veterans in 1938
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Everybody wanted the high ground, and had to cross the low ground to attack
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There are monuments almost everywhere
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While most are stone, this one for North Carolina is bronze
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That's pretty much how a defensive position was established - behind a low stone farm wall
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Another impressive bronze memorial - the Louisiana State Memorial
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Little Round Top, where the Union forces successfully held off a Confederate assault - the first taste of a Union victory
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There were more tour buses and visitors at Little Round Top than anywhere else we stopped
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Pennsylvania has the largest memorial - it's their state, after all
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Holey Joes makes donuts to order. Neat place, but the donuts were sub-par (and free, because the machine malfunctioned).
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Snyder's of Hanover makes 2.5 million pretzels a day, in a highly automated plant
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It's almost mesmerizing to watch them cascading into the packaging machine
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In contrast,Renovah Pretzels makes about 12-15,000 a day - all by hand
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They mix the dough by hand
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They twist and form the pretzels by hand
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The pretzels then "proof" until ready for baking
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Once proofed, they go into the oven a dozen at a time
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After baking, they "cure" in a climate-controlled hot box. And the fresh ones are delicious
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The entrance to Utz Potato Chips is unassuming, next to the potato dump
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Utz Potato Chips are widely believed to be the best tasting chips in the US
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Some of the original equipment used to make chips by hand in the Utz family kitchen
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Today, they make all these products and more in several massive factories around Hanover
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We found this picture on the internet showing a river of chips exiting the fryer
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We spent 12 days here . . .
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And we're always enchanted by the animals, which have the right of way
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Spring has indeed sprung
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The alpacas are adorable
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The llama is kind of aloof
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Old Tom was kind of belligerent
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The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
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And finally, the donkey checked us out.