Really going back to the Seventeenth Century

No, I don't have a time machine.

Baby Girl and I went on a day trip to Historic Jamestown yesterday, the site of the first permanent English settlement in the New World.

We're all history geeks in this family and Baby Girl majored in history as well, so this is one of our favorite places to tromp around. With an active archaeological site, there is always something new to see or hear about, so off we went.

The locations for many early structures have been discovered and marked by these wooden constructions.

When I was a child and visited Jamestown for the first time, we were told, very seriously and profoundly, that the original fort had fallen into the James River over time. In fact, I clearly remember the very regal gentleman who grandly gestured to the center of the river and declared, "There lies Jamestown."

Not so much.  The scientists who are currently excavating have found the outlines of the fort, and the river has claimed only one corner of it.

We met an inhabitant of Early Jamestown and her companion:

She was a most entertaining re-enactor!

Behind her you will see one of the areas that is currently under excavation. Due to the heavy rains, they weren't digging and had covered the area with tarps to protect potential finds.

And this is one of my favorite parts of the site, the church tower.  There is a fundraising effort in place to preserve the tower, which has taken hits from weather and age. As the oldest structure remaining on the site, it is worthy of reclamation.

And from the inside of the church proper, here is the arched window over the altar.

It is more than obvious, needlework from the 1600's always pulls me in. Traveling to Jamestown, seeing the artifacts that have been found, appreciating the craftsmanship of the work from that time which has survived to this, all of these things only make me appreciate the chance to stitch designs and motifs that people from that era could recognize.

So, did Martha Edlin see the light of day while I was gone?

She traveled in style in her padded tote bag to Baby Girl's and back. However, the zipper on the bag was not unzipped.

I plan to rectify that situation immediately.