travelin'....(Friday)

...through the Virginia countryside. We'd talked about going to a place down on the James River where there are a number of old plantation houses. Really Old. Like 1600's. History lesson: the first English Thanksgiving actually occurred here, on the banks of the James. When the first boat load of Anglos came ashore and did as they had been instructed: had prayer meeting and gave thanks for a safe trip across the ocean into the unknown. This according to the tour guide on the Berkeley Plantation.

He also said that it was a 'working plantation' that had been reassembled after being sold off piece meal over the years, and was back to nearly one thousand acres, where a variety of crops are currently planted. We saw large fields where corn and cotton had been harvested, as well as several fields of soybeans that had dried on the plants.

There are five plantations in a row, still with the huge, brick homes intact, facing onto the James along the north bank of the river. Situated on rolling farm land between Williamsburg and Jamestown. At Berkeley you can stand on the brick steps on the 'riverside' entrance and look down a series of terraces to see the flowing water. Our tour guide said that the grounds, down towards the water are available as a rental venue. Neither of us had the gumption to ask about the price: we assumed thousands. Which would be a nice source of additional income in the spring and summer.

We talked as we drove about how many people it would take to successfully operate a business of that size. And although slavery is an anathema would have been the only way to be successful in such a huge farming operation from year to year. Especially when you consider that every required manual labor, hands-on physical effort. Amazing to think of the size of the buildings, made from handmade brick, right there on the grounds, and built over a number of years, with every thing done by hand. All the ornamentation on the house, every piece of wood from trees grown on the property, cut, milled on the property. Every piece of furniture made by hand. Much of the upholstery done on location.

Too much information, too many fascinating details to take in and remember. We were told the  Berkeley Plantation was owned at one time by the Harrison Family, who produced Benjamin Harrison, one our Presidents. The Plantation also celebrates the First Thanksgiving on the first Sunday in November each year. With lots of good eats, costumed re-enactors to commemorate the arrival of the first Anglos, Native Americans, games, music, more good stuff to eat, vendors selling trinkets.