Chris, Yorktown, Kids and

The Grand Illumination!

Cousin Chris visits from Florida!

So we picked up Chris at the Airport on Tuesday and the next day went for lunch with Uncle Bob and toured a little of Yorktown.

The siege at Yorktown was the last significant battle in the Revolutionary War.

The bridge crosses the York River to Gloucester Point. If it had existed in 1781, Lord Cornwallis and his army could have scampered across it and, who knows, we could all be sitting around sipping tea and singing "Hail to the Queen" or whatever it is that British subjects do.

Later, over at Bob's we helped him decorate his tree and had a nice dinner with his friend Kay.

Then we hung around and looked at the Christmas tree lights with goofy glasses that made each light appear to be surrounded by jingle bells or Christmas candles.

The next day, December 4th, we had brother Bob over and convinced him the our "Charlie Brown" tree was the one that would take us through the holidays.

Friday, December 5th

Well we relagated the Charlie Brown tree to an upstairs bedroom and went out and got a real tree. Well, a real dead tree anyway.

Late that evening, Deb, Mal, Jake and Jake's friend Conner arrived from the Baltimore area. Jake brought along his X-Box 360 so he and Conner played a lot of NCAA '09.

On Saturday, the kids found Santa in Merchant Square and got him to pose for a photo with them.

Saturday evening we celebrated Jake's birthday.

Sunday, December 7th was Grand Illumination in Colonial Williamsburg!

But first, Deb, Mal, Lorri and I went to the annual open house at Williamsburg Winery, where for $5 you can taste the wines, go on a tour and partake in a cheese and fruit buffet. You will see that in the photo on the left that Mal is holding a glass of wine. That is MY glass!

The night of the Grand Illumination was bitter cold and windy so we bundled up and ventured forth.

We watched the great fireworks display and then ran home. We had a great weekend and the kids all left on Monday.

A Walk in the Woods, Sunday December 14

The Bassett Trace winds down through the woods that separate the Gold Course from the Green Course in Williamsburg.

It's a scenic and peaceful walk and ends up at the clubhouse for the Green Course. What better way to finish up a healthy hike than with a cold one at the clubhouse bar?

Supposedly the building on the left was used by the Rockefellers to store their watercraft.