By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers
A continuing saga, which I call ‘Micro-Blogs” …
From our campground at Hampton, Virginia, we walked the historic olde streets of Yorktown and visited battlegrounds. We took in Williamsburg, recreated to show what life was like in the days before American Independence. And we drove down to Jamestown, where it all began for Europeans arriving in the New World.
That was two days of being injected with American history, and, honestly, it brought to life what I had learned so many years ago about the founding of this country.
But, there’s more! Before hitchin’ up and movin’ out of Hampton, we thought we should take a few minutes to see the Town of Hampton. On our way over the scenic Hampton River Bridge next to downtown, we spied
Scenes from Hampton's International Children's Festival
something going on in town – looked like a festival. No way to pass that up.
That’s when we walked into a highlight of our trip – the International Children’s Festival. Dozens of booths manned by locals native to or who have spent time in countries around the world. The people dressed in the traditional attire of their countries were doling out information to children (and parents) about each of their countries.
Each child had a passport to get stamped as they learned at least a smattering about each country, its geography, culture, products and more. We saw native costumes and heard music from around the world, talked with people about lands they represented and reveled in the enjoyment on the faces of the youngsters racing from booth to booth.
Along the sides of the festival were dozens of wagons and tents dispensing a wide variety of food, plus booths selling typical county fair items, with several from other countries.
And at this point, it’s probably best that I mention that the International Children’s Festival, like so many other unexpectedly fascinating stops along the way, is a moment in time. The azaleas are at their peak in many counties we toured, but they won’t be around long. Fortunately, some other flowers will come to bloom. The Westport, Washington Blues Festival, Bannack Days in Montana, Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest in South Louisiana are all transitory happenings. When you’re on the road, if you are open to adventure, you stumble into these things. Don’t miss the Folk Music Capital of the World, Mountain View, Arkansas, where the moments in time seem to never end.
As the participants at the children’s festival were packing up for the day, we slipped away to our vehicle. We planned to head back to the trailer, but then Monique mentioned that someone somewhere suggested we visit Ft. Monroe.
Okay, another fort. We can handle it. This one, however, was above and beyond our expectations. Gracious. Beautiful. A war machine dressed in aristocratic clothing. This fort is notable in many ways, including being where Robert E. Lee served, where Abraham Lincoln stayed, where Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned, and where liberated slaves assembled.
The red brick buildings are an epic poem of our history. Now, though, it has been decommissioned and basically is for sale. Several of the structures have been bought or leased and are being used for various types of commerce. We cringe to think that some may fall into disrepair if not adopted by new occupants.
The RV Park at Ft. Monroe -- now open to all and offering many features
One more surprise. The former Army RV park, beautiful in is own right, is now open to all. When we visited, there was a Good Sam rally in progress with area RVers enjoying the many features of the park.
This is a park surrounded by history and bordering on much more. It’s these serendipitous discoveries that make us the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
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© All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved.