June 29 = Day 3

Synopsis:  281 miles driven; 5 hours on the road; Richmond, VA to Stafford, VA; Visited Jamestown, Yorktown and Chancellorsville

We had another good hot breakfast at our hotel before starting the day. We left Richmond and headed for Jamestown. We considered going to Williamsburg and the price wasn't bad but the time commitment would have made our three weeks become more like four weeks (decisions we had to make for some places). Here's a hint for those of you looking to visit Jamestown. The Visitor Center is a commercial endeavor that includes a museum and replicas of boats from that time. It would have cost our family about $100 to visit. The Visitor Center is not at the site of Jamestown. We showed up there first but then got directed to Historic Jamestowne (which is a National Park). {Picture is of the old fort site.}

We went on a 45-60 minute Ranger tour and went through the museum and watched a 15 minute movie while there. We spent about 2.5 hours there and could have spent 4 hours or more investigating more of the new town and taking a drive around the island. We then went to drive from Jamestown to Yorktown on the Colonial Parkway but a portion of it was closed for repairs so we only got to drive on a part of it - very nice and shouldn't be missed. {Picture is of monument at Jamestown.}

At Yorktown, we watched the 20 minute movie, went through the museum (including a great walk-through replica of a ship), and then took our own auto tour of the battlefield. We also took a short walk into the historic town including the victory monument (see picture). We spent about 2 hours at Yorktown and wished we had another 1-2 hours for it - there is a lot more to do and see than you would think. Once again, Jariah and Jedi completed the Junior Ranger programs (at all three national parks we visited today).

From Yorktown, we went to the Chancellorsville battlefield park. We watched the 22 minute movie about the battle (which was an additional cost but was well worth it for understanding the events and timeline of the battle). We visited the museum and then visited the memorial to the site of Stonewall Jackson's wounding.

We got to our hotel (after going to the wrong one - Dad wrote down the wrong address for our map directions but we did have a reservation at the correct hotel. We got some pizza from Papa John's for supper and the kids got into a pool for the first time on the trip. All in all a very good day.

Hotel Deal of the Day: 1 night at a Marriott for $0 by using Marriott points given for signing up for a no fee credit card,