Yorktown aside

    Sometimes its the adventures I don't plan that turn out to be the highlight of the day.  We decided to complete the historical triangle today and go to Yorktown.  Our drive to get there brings me to my second topic for the day - navigating in old towns on the East Coast.  In the Midwest many of our cities were developed on the grid system - streets running north and south, east and west.  When I learned to drive and navigate, I learned that an intersection usually has four corners at right angles.  Not so in Williamsburg (and many other east coast cities including Boston).  Williamsburg roads evolved from a series of heavily traveled paths that went between several rivers.  The road system looks like a lopsided spider web with many roads leading to the center and others around the outside edges.  In addition, the historic preservation folks have limited signs and put heavy foliage everywhere.  We met a couple at lunch today who said that they had decided not to drive after dark because they couldn't find anything.  We just retreat to the campground and only navigate on foot after dark.  But today as we tried to get to Yorktown the navigator (me) got completely turned around and we finally pulled over to "discuss" the map.  I was wrong and annoyed. Sigh.
     Rick figured out the map and we spent the morning at the historic Yorktown site. It was my least favorite of the three historic sites.  Perhaps because the emphasis was on the Revolutionary battle at that site and I am a bit battlefielded out.  There was a very interesting demonstration on loading and firing a musket done by a very entertaining young woman and another discussion of battlefield first aid and surgery that I found gruesome but fascinating.  Overall, however, it wasn't my favorite day.  UNTIL
   We left the historic site and drove to historic downtown Yorktown which is right on the York River near Chesapeake Bay.  About 10 blocks of old river front has been restored to nice museums, cafes, and shops.  There were several blocks of nice white sand beach along the river - perfect on this warm and sunny fall day.    We stopped at a little hole in the wall pub for lunch and ended up having a really great time.   There was a long list of fresh fish, a great selection of beer and wine, and it was just across the street from the beach.  We sat at the bar and ordered lunch.  Another couple joined us and told us it was their 53rd wedding anniversary so we had a fine time talking about traveling after retirement.
   After lunch we wandered onto the white sand beach and then we headed back to the campground for another wonderful couple of hours of relaxing in the autumn sunshine.  What a pleasant day.