A snowy visit to Colonial Williamsburg

As noted in my blog entry, I got lucky in arranging a winter trip to Colonial Williamsburg, a site in southern Virginia that does not often see snow. These photographs were taken both during the storm and also immediately after.

	It snowed all Friday night, and then some time in the morning I set out to take pictures. The door with the tag on it ("Please clean my room") is where I stayed. The dormer windows belong to the room above me, although I suspect the two levels were once a single unit.
	This is my "front yard," actually back yard of the Market Square Tavern.
	The road next to the tavern (Queen Street). By Monday morning, this was a sheet of ice some two inches thick. I got to skate to the Inn, where I checked out.
	This is the Chowning's Tavern, among others.
	View of my tavern from Duke of Gloucester Street, the primary road within Colonial Williamsburg. There are about ten units of various sizes within this tavern, and also a common room, which is cozy, cute, and wifi-equipped.
	I made this panorama from three shots. Essentially, it is the view out my window, said window being the last one visible in the tavern building at left. The fenced area to the right is where various military events are held (including cannon firing), during the normal tourist seasons.
	I saw more snow clearing equipment at Williamsburg than I ever saw in my 25 years in Seattle. I have mixed feelings about this stuff, because it sure makes a mess and ruins the view. Sometimes, the practical aspect is wonderful, but at other times clearly not worth the effort. By Monday, I came to appreciate the cleared walkways, because the roads had become compressed sheets of thick ice.
	The courthouse stands on a substantial piece of property, all by itself.
	This is a magnificent church, perfectly on the scale of the community it served. Bruton Parish serves not only as the physical center of the historic area, but was the center of the effort to preserve the entire area around the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries.
	This is the Wren chapel, part of the [Christopher] Wren Building, which a guide proudly told me is the oldest building in the United States still used for education. The Wren Building was the first (and for a long time, the only) building of the College of William and Mary. The guide said that only the exterior brick is original, there having been several fires over the centuries.
	The storm was over by Saturday night, and Sunday dawned sunny. I believe that the reddish building is the Randolph House. Many of the buildings are available for occupation by visitors to Colonial Williamsburg.
	Here's a look down Duke of Gloucester Street toward the Capitol.
	This is one of the 18th century houses I wouldn't mind having.
	By Sunday, the church had gained a nice collection of icicles. No one ventured under the eaves.
	A typical neighborhood view, off the main street.
	A garden along Duke of Gloucester Street.

Photographs by Michael Broschat, January 2010