Yorktown and Washington

Today was another day of fun and education! We started out by visiting Yorktown, the site of the final battle of the American Revolution. The Yorktown Victory Center includes a museum dedicated to telling the story of the Revolution, including the roles of the American patriots, loyalists, women, Native Americans, and slaves. It also features a reenactment of the battlefield and encampment at Yorktown. We saw the camp surgeon's tools and heard the gory details of how illnesses and injuries were treated during the war. The interpreter explained that there were significantly fewer amputations during the Revolution than during the Civil War due to differences in weapons technology. We then toured the laundry, kitchen, and storage tent before Victor and Andy went to the cannon demonstration, while Kismet and Kala, having learned from yesterday's ordeal with the muskets, went inside the museum to protect Kizzy's sensitive little ears.

We briefly visited the 18th century family farm before heading north to Washington, D.C. A few hours later, we arrived at Hains Point in East Potomac Park, where we enjoyed climbing around on "The Awakening," a huge statue of a giant man bursting from the earth. After that, we circled around the city for awhile looking at the various landmarks and finally found parking at the Marine Corps War Memorial. Driving around D.C. is crazy, so tomorrow, we're taking the Metro!