The Jamestown Quadricentennial - Part 4

Here's the next blog post you've all been waiting for! Sorry it's been so long since our last post. The Jamestown installments are coming to a close, with only two more days to write about. I hope you've been enjoying them so far!

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Thursday, June 14

It sure felt good to sleep in this morning! After a leisurely hotel breakfast (and meeting a few more families attending the celebration!), we packed our day bags and drove over to the Jamestown Settlement. As we neared it, we drove along the James River.

The first thing we saw when we arrived was... a building! Yes, we did see a building, but there was also something I'd never seen before. Just outside the museum, the flags of all 50 states, lined up in two rows, waved in the breeze. At the base of each flagpole there was a plaque that gave a few facts about the state its flag represented.

We went inside, purchased tickets, and began our tour with a short, informative video about Jamestown's history. Then we looked around in the exhibit hall (we saw a few sleuths dashing around, solving clues!) and then headed to the outdoor exhibits.

A short walk brought us to the Indian village. There were several wigwams, each containing lots of furs, a few weapons, pots, and other things. One of the beds looked so comfortable that Mom wanted to try it out.

We checked out the different activities you could do, talked with an employee who was making arrowheads, and then we continued down the path towards the docks and the fort.

We caught sight of the fort before we reached the docks. As we rounded the bend, a large ship loomed into view. It was the Susan Constant, the largest of the three ships that brought the Englishmen who founded Jamestown. The other two are the Godspeed and the Discovery.

The Susan Constant was very crowded, so we decided to wait and see the other boats first. The Godspeed was out for a sail,
so the only other boat we could see was the Discovery. It wasn't too crowded, so we climed aboard and poked around. We worked the bilge pump and the rudder, and listened to a sailor tell us about the boat. As I recall, it held 21 people - 9 were the captain and crew, and 12 were passengers.

We we finished exploring the Discovery, we walked back to the Susan Constant to see if it was less crowded. It was, so we went aboard.
We explored up on the main deck first. The stairs leading to the hold were in the very middle of the deck. To the left side were the cook's and captain's cabins. The cook's cabin was tiny! It had a cooking fireplace in it, and it must have been boiling hot in there when the fire was going!

Beyond these cabins was the upper deck. There were lots of different ropes, and we wondered how the sailors remembered what each rope was for!

Below deck there were chests, cannons, ammunition, eating utensils, beds, and supplies. The beds were small, as the Englishmen back then weren't much taller than 5 feet, but they were pretty comfortable!
We discovered a shirt, vest, and pants hanging on some rope, and found a pair of shoes in one of the chests.


When we finished looking around the Susan Constant, we made our way to the fort. Just outside, we saw a canoe. Three girls were posing in it for a picture. When they were done, Julia and I hopped in and pretended to canoe!

Once inside the fort, we saw several houses. To our right was the large church, to our left was a large house (beyond it was the blacksmith's shop), and in front of us was a large open area that all the buildings were clustered around. We came to a bench that had some armor to try on. Nearby, you could try building a fence by weaving boards between poles.

We made our way around, looking in all the houses and shops.

The lumberyard

We passed the well, where several people were taking turns carrying buckets of water on a yoke. Each house had similar furnishings, but the smaller items varied. All houses had a garden, a few had writing desks, and one had a very ornately carved cabinet.

One house we came to had a couple of brooms in it. I immediately picked one up and started sweeping the floor - it felt great to be doing something! (Even if I was only stirring up dust!)

The church was quite large, with one long row of benches on either side of the aisle, a pulpit, and an area at the back in which the Apostles' Creed, The 10 Commandments, and the Our Father prayer were hung. This area also had a fancy chair in it. I'm not sure what this spot was used for.
We spent quite a while at the fort, but finally made our way back to the museum. We looked around in the gift shops for a bit, and then left.

The Jamestown Quadricentennial - Part 3

Wednesday, June 13

Early in the morning we received a text message similar to yesterday's: we were to be at the Marriott between 6:30 and 7:15. We didn't eat breakfast before leaving, because we knew we'd have plenty of time after the meeting.

This time we were fairly early, so there were still empty parking spaces. Several families had already arrived, and were waiting in line. This line began at the closed double doors leading to the entrance of the auditorium, and extended through the hotel doors out onto the sidewalk.

We chatted with a couple families while we waited to go in. Soon the door opened, and the line began to move forward. One by one, the families entered the auditorium. As people found their seats, the announcement rang out:

"Sleuths sit up front! You will find your name on your seat. Everyone else, please sit behind the designated seats. Again, we request that you be silent. When the moderator comes, there will be no talking and no questions. Thank you."

When the moderator came on stage, everyone held their breath. What was he going to say? Well, he said something like this:

"Jack is disappointed."

When this had sunk in, he went on.

"You were given the chance to prove that you could work on your own, but you showed that you could not. Many of you simply gave up. That is not what Jack wants in the fifth trustee."

But after that, he was a little more encouraging. He said that Jack was proud of those who persevered. I felt a little better. :o) Then it was time to separate those who were eliminated from those who would continue.

"When I call your name, please stand and remain standing."

Not hearing my name called, I figured that these were the ones who would continue. Good for them! However, I soon discovered I was wrong when I heard my name called. Bummer!

After a few final words, we were dismissed. As each family exited the room, their sleuth was given a Jamestown 400 T-shirt for being in the 100.
We chatted in the lobby, and met more sleuths and their families. Before long, the remaining sleuths filed out of the auditorium and headed out the door to begin another assignment. We congratulated them and cheered them on. They followed the rules, and said nothing about their assignment.

We left soon afterwards and went back to our hotel to eat breakfast. When we finished, we decided to go back to Duke of Gloucester street. We didn't get to enjoy it very well the day before, and we were also prohibited from taking pictures during the hunt. So, now we could explore DOG street at our leisure and take plenty of pictures! The pressure was off!

We did not purchase a ticket, so we couldn't go in any of the buildings except the stores. However, there was still quite a bit to see! We met a few more families from the Quadricentennial, and some of them were curious about this hunt, so we told them what it was about.

We saw a muster and watched a fife and drum corp parade down the green. We explored the stores (one was a replica of an actual general store from Colonial Williamsburg), and walked up and down the street. To our delight we found a Scottish store, and spent some time looking around there.

The wall decorations were neat!

We spent most of the day touring DOG street. Then we had supper and lounged in our hotel room until bedtime.

The Jamestown Quadricentennial - Part 2

Tuesday, June 12

Bright and early Tuesday morning, we received a text message instructing us to be at the Marriot no later than 7:15. Since it was only about 5:00, we stayed in bed and tried to get a little more sleep. We got up around 6:00 and prepared to leave. We had a quick breakfast, put on our nametags, grabbed our bags, and hurried out the door.

We were one of the last families to get there. The parking lot was nearly full, so Dad dropped us off at the entrance, and went to find a parking spot. Mom, Julia and I joined the long line of families waiting to enter the auditorium. Everyone was armed with books, papers, and other material for the hunt.

The line gradually moved forward, and we soon came to the auditorium door. As each family went in, a man made sure the main sleuth was there, and then admitted them into the auditorium.

In the auditorium, the lights were dimmed. People talked in hushed voices as they tried to find seats. I didn't know if there was designated seating for the sleuths, so I wasn't sure where to sit.
Shortly, the man up on stage began giving instructions.

"Sleuths sit up at the front. Families, please find seats elsewhere. Silence in the room, please!"

"If you are sitting in the front and are not a sleuth, please find another seat. There will be no talking and no questions. Silence in the room! Thank you."

I silently made my way to the front of the room, and found my seat. I picked up the folder laying there, which was marked 'Confidential'. I opened it, and saw a message from Jack! I read it, and then prepared to decode the clues at the end of the message, feeling the familiar excitement of a new clue to solve.

The moderator came out, and spoke to the audience. I don't remember exactly what he said, but he gave a brief overview of the previous phases, and then talked a little about Phase 3. Then he gave a roll call of the sleuths. I stood up when my name was called, and then sat down and continued trying to decode the clues. They were all Caesar Ciphers, but each clue was solved with a different letter. The first clue was easy enough, but I began to panic on the second one. "I hope we don't have to solve these by the end of this meeting!" Thankfully, I realized we had all day to work on it. Whew!

We were given strict instructions not to speak to any other families participating in the hunt, and then told to quietly exit the room. Everyone went out into the parking lot, many families heading to their cars. Some sleuths decoded the clues rather quickly and were heading out. I finally finished decoding them! We weren't sure where we should go after that, but soon we decided to try the visitor's center. Many other families were there, too!

We split up in the bookstore. Each of us took a clue to work on, and began looking at books we thought might help us. We were there for several hours, and then decided to hit a local library. We were there for a while, and finally we had to break for lunch. When we got outside the building and were heading to the van, I heard a sound from my pocket. "Oh! Maybe we got a text-message." Sure enough, we did!

The text message said that Eccleston Peabody was alive! "I knew it, I knew it!" I was so happy! I know most of you don't know who he is. He's a main character in the story of the Jamestown 400 treasure hunt, and near the end of the hunt he apparently was killed by the bad guys. Many of us treasure hunters were skeptical. Now we KNEW that he was alive!
The message also said that he was at DOG street, and if we saw him there we were to identify ourselves to him (by saying, "New history for a better tomorrow", the answer to one of the clues from Phase 2) and then he would give us a hint that would help us solve one of the current clues.

"DOG street? Where's that?" I asked. "That's Duke of Gloucester street! It's not very far from here." Dad said. I was so excited! We ate a quick lunch and went to find DOG street.
We found it, and Dad dropped us off at one end of it. We kept our eyes peeled for anyone who might look like Peabody. However, we did not know what he looked like. I was fairly sure that he would be dressed in a dark suit and maybe be wearing glasses or carrying a briefcase, but we had nothing definite to go on.

We walked all the way down DOG street, not seeing anyone who looked like Peabody. Dad joined us at the other end, and we walked back up the street. We did this several times. After a while, we decided to approach men who were sitting or walking by themselves and who looked like they could be Peabody, and say, "New history for a better tomorrow." (not the thing you'd want to say to a complete stranger!) Needless to say, we got very interesting reactions! Some people smiled, shook their heads and said, "No, but good luck!" Others looked very confused. Several said, "I've had lots of people say that to me today. What is this all about?" We gave a brief explanation, an apology, and moved on.

We never found Peabody, much to my disappointment. But we did meet several families from the Quad celebration! Many of them were involved in the hunt. After a few more hours on DOG street, we decided to go back to the library and do some more searching.

Hour after hour passed by. We didn't make much headway. The library closed, so we headed back to the visitor's center which was open a little longer. When that closed, we went to another library that was nearby. We saw a few other sleuths and their families there, too!
That library closed, and we still didn't have the answers we needed. We found a large bookstore, and spent a couple hours there. I received a text message, saying that the deadline was 10:05 pm. We were finally making headway on one of the clues (we were very excited!), and then I looked at my watch. "Well, we can stop now - it's after 10:05 p.m."

We packed up and went back to our hotel room. I was a little disappointed that we didn't make it, but I wasn't too surprised. I expected the clues to be hard, and they were!
Even though we wouldn't get to search for the treasure, I was still thankful that we made it into the first 100 and could come to Jamestown.

Scenes from Colonial Williamsburg

Hello again! Sorry we haven't posted in a while... we've been rather busy. The next post about Jamestown will be coming soon! Here are some pictures of the different places we went in Virginia. Enjoy!

Duke of Gloucester (DOG) Street, Williamsburg

This is the Capitol Building, when Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia.

Some of the merchant shops on DOG street. Scotland House was one of our favorites!

This looks like Thomas Jefferson, deep in thought!

Tending the garden.

One of the many carriages on DOG street. The horses were beautiful!

Looking down DOG street.

Some houses had beautiful gardens!

These men are on their way to recruit some tourists for the militia.

The fife and drum corps waiting to march.

The Governor's house. Later in the day, the fife and drum corps marched down the green. The clear fife music was so pretty, and the drums were almost as loud as thunder!

The Jamestown Quadricentennial - Part 1

We had a wonderful week in Virginia! We heard great speakers, met many Christian families, learned lots of history, and toured historic Virginia. This first installment covers the weekend we left New Hampshire to our first day in Virginia.

Saturday, June 9th, we packed our van, hopped in, and began the drive to Virginia! We stopped at the CBD headquarters in Peabody (pronounced Pea'-b-dy), MA and picked up some books we had ordered on the topic of - you guessed it - Jamestown!
We stopped in CT for Saturday evening and Sunday. After a friend's bridal shower Sunday afternoon, we once again began our drive! We drove for a few hours, and slept at a hotel for the night.

Monday morning (June 11) we hopped back in the car, and made the last leg of our journey. As we drove through Maryland, we saw the Washington Monument in the distance. We didn't actually visit Washington D.C., though.

When we arrived in Virginia, we headed straight to the Williamsburg Marriot to register. I was both nervous and excited. Finally, we were HERE! I noticed a few cars had signs like, "Jamestown or Bust" and "The Jamestown 400 - Go for the Gold!"

After we got our name tags, we looked around the hotel until the registration for the hunt opened. We chatted with some other families who were waiting as well.

Registration opened, and the line was formed. When it was our turn, we handed in the waiver we had signed previously. After showing photo I.D. and giving our birth dates, a photographer took photos of the family members who were participating in the hunt. Our whole family was, so he took photos of each of us, and then a group shot. Afterwards, there was a short cell phone text-message test, and then we were done until the next day! We chatted with a family we met from the forum, and then we left.

We wanted to get to our hotel - but we couldn't find it! We stumbled across the visitor's center, so we went in to ask directions. While we were there, we met two other families from the forum. Three families from the forum in one day! I couldn't wait to meet the others. :-) It was so much fun meeting people that I worked with over the last few months!
We explored the bookstore and gift shop, and then left.

We found our hotel, and settled in. In the evening Dad, Julia and I went to the opening night ceremony. Mr. Phillips gave an overview of the week, recognized the Jamestown 400 sleuths, led us in a song, and introduced the men who would be speaking during the week. They each gave a summary of what they would be speaking about. Also, we watched a short movie produced by the Botkin family about the founding of Jamestown, and why modern Americans don't want to celebrate its 400th birthday.

There was more after this, but we left during the break at 9:00. Tuesday was going to be a long day, and we needed to get to bed as early as possible.

Off to Virginia!

Don't fall off your chair - yes, we're finally updating!!! : )

We're going to Virginia next week for the Jamestown Quadracentennial. We would not be going except that I (Jessica) have been involved in Vision Forum's The Jamestown 400: Our National Treasure Hunt. Click on the link to read more about it.

I started the hunt because I heard about the codes, and I love solving codes and puzzles! After finding the secret website, I didn't want to stop! There was an intriguing story line, combined with learning history and cracking codes. Some clues were harder than others; I was practically stumped on some, but I had a lot of help! Mom, Dad and Julia all helped, and I found a forum where other sleuths helped each other (giving little nudges, but no direct answers).

I am very glad I could do this hunt; I learned so much! I learned much about the founding of our nation than I ever knew before! I also learned to practice patience, and to persevere even when the clues looked impossible!

It's amazing to see God's hand in the forming of America. Even though it is not a Christian nation, it was founded on Christian principles by Christian people. It's something that many people today don't want to acknowledge, which shows how far America has fallen. The purpose of this hunt is to show God's hand in history, and I think Vision Forum has succeeded in achieving that goal!

The first 100 to solve all the clues on the website by the deadline qualified to go on to the final phase: the physical search for the treasure! I finished minutes before the deadline, so I wasn't sure if I had made it. A few days later (it seemed like a week!) I got the news that I was IN!
Mom and Dad had said that IF I was one of the 100 (which seemed very unlikely at the time) we would go to Jamestown so we could hunt for the treasure. So, we're going to Virginia! I'm glad we can go, not just because we'll get to hunt for the treasure, but because I'll get to see the town I've been learning so much about!

Last weekend we visited a family we recently met, and they helped us sew costumes for Jamestown. They came out beautifully! Here are a couple pictures of Mom, Julia and I in our dresses.

(We were trying to look serious... which is very hard when everyone is laughing!)

We still need to add a few finishing touches on mine, but they're done for the most part! We still need to find a costume for Dad; then we can post a family costume photo!

We're leaving this weekend, and we'll be there for all of next week. I'll try to post some pictures, and a little more if I have the time!