Warm Today

Today it finally cracked into the 70s. It felt so good taking off a layer. We drove out to the Jamestown Settlement today and wandered around the fort and over the three ships they had at port. Ryan was thrilled to see the rigging and play with the tiller. There were lots of school groups so it was crowded. But they sky was blue and the sun was shining. The fort was a hit. We saw several types of buildings, Ryan saw a old school and church as well as straw beds which Charlotte called "scarecrow beds". She like being on the ships too, but didn't like the dark spaces in the holds. We also went to Yorktown and saw the earth works where the soldiers built hills and valleys against the British. I could live here. there is so much history and I am such a dunce with it. I can't wait to bring the kids back when they are ready for it. I remember as a kid being taken to museum after museum and being bored out of my mind. Now all I want to do is stop and read everything, and the kids just want to climb hills and look at the water, boats and flowers.
I learned how sailors figured out their speed today. The used a 30 second timer and a long rope that had a knot every 42 feet. They put a weighted end of the rope in the water, started the 30 second hourglass and counted knots as the rope was pulled off a reel. there is a mathematical correlation to those nmbers but I forget the innards of that. it was just cool learning where the term "knots" for speed came from.

Sara