This morning we were in the city bright and early and got to watch Luke do some of his training. According to the CW blog.. Luke is their newest (and biggest) horse. He is going to play the role of being George Washington's horse, and as romanic as that sounds... there's a lot of trianing to consider before throwing a horse out on the streets of CW..as I horse person, I can certainly appreciate all that needs to be done.
The crowds were still fairly light, so I can see where this would be a good chance to train with him. But there was still muskets being fired off in the back ground and people and dogs walking by and just all sorts of things for this big boy to get used to. Never mind that when he's really on the job, he will be petted, and looked at and probably have thousands of pictures taken.. so steady, calm and happy is going to be a big thing for him to do. He began getting a little jumpy and his trainer wisely called it, "good for now".. I so wanted to get near him, but she was doing good job of asking people to stay back a bit for now. They'll have him in good order by the time the summer tourist arrive for sure.
The carriages were rolling out once again... and Ed and I watch in amazement how good these horses are. People are so stupid when it comes to horses... and it's not just because they don't know about them.. they're just plain clueless at times. I've seen the horses being stepped out in front of, dogs (on leash -- but none the less) charging them... people just walking up on them... and with all their training, they just go along...
Another new thing they have is an ice skating rink. While colonials probably did go skating, it wasn't anything like this for sure. I know they have to think of things that keep people coming back, and at least this rink is at the outer side of CW.. down towards Market square... but I do think that it takes away from the simple, peaceful side of CW...and people like it, because it was pretty busy.
We sat in on an auction for a while. They were selling off various items from CW... I would have liked to bid, but it was pretty obvious that people with way more money than me were there. The prices went high and fast, and there wasn't anything that I was going to be able to "afford"...
Bassett hall was open and I was happy to walk over there and take a look. This is the home that the Rockerfellers lived in when they were at CW. What I like is they have the house decked out in their time period... so it's fun to see.
Sadly I'm not sure if people know that you can tour this home... because there was just one other family that went threw with us. But, then nice for us, because we could spend as much time as we liked looking threw. The house is so homey, I felt like I could get a cup of tea and just sit and visit....
Again, I always hear something different when we take the tours. This guide told us that Mrs. Rockerfeller often invited veterans over for dinners around Christmas time, and how much the family was loved in Williamsburg when they would stay at this house. I asked if there really was a tree in the dining room and she said, yes, because she liked having them so close when she entertained.
The other nice thing about this house, is you really get to see most of it. They take you threw the bedrooms, and the formal rooms, and even the kitchen and pantries... I feel like you get a real look at the place.
And, if it hadn't been for the Rockerfellers, CW might not even exist today....
This morning we were in the city bright and early and got to watch Luke do some of his training. According to the CW blog.. Luke is their newest (and biggest) horse. He is going to play the role of being George Washington's horse, and as romanic as that sounds... there's a lot of trianing to consider before throwing a horse out on the streets of CW..as I horse person, I can certainly appreciate all that needs to be done. 
The crowds were still fairly light, so I can see where this would be a good chance to train with him. But there was still muskets being fired off in the back ground and people and dogs walking by and just all sorts of things for this big boy to get used to. Never mind that when he's really on the job, he will be petted, and looked at and probably have thousands of pictures taken.. so steady, calm and happy is going to be a big thing for him to do. He began getting a little jumpy and his trainer wisely called it, "good for now".. I so wanted to get near him, but she was doing good job of asking people to stay back a bit for now. They'll have him in good order by the time the summer tourist arrive for sure. 
The carriages were rolling out once again... and Ed and I watch in amazement how good these horses are. People are so stupid when it comes to horses... and it's not just because they don't know about them.. they're just plain clueless at times. I've seen the horses being stepped out in front of, dogs (on leash -- but none the less) charging them... people just walking up on them... and with all their training, they just go along...
Another new thing they have is an ice skating rink. While colonials probably did go skating, it wasn't anything like this for sure. I know they have to think of things that keep people coming back, and at least this rink is at the outer side of CW.. down towards Market square... but I do think that it takes away from the simple, peaceful side of CW...and people like it, because it was pretty busy.
We sat in on an auction for a while. They were selling off various items from CW... I would have liked to bid, but it was pretty obvious that people with way more money than me were there. The prices went high and fast, and there wasn't anything that I was going to be able to "afford"...
Bassett hall was open and I was happy to walk over there and take a look. This is the home that the Rockerfellers lived in when they were at CW. What I like is they have the house decked out in their time period... so it's fun to see. 
Sadly I'm not sure if people know that you can tour this home... because there was just one other family that went threw with us. But, then nice for us, because we could spend as much time as we liked looking threw. The house is so homey, I felt like I could get a cup of tea and just sit and visit....
Again, I always hear something different when we take the tours. This guide told us that Mrs. Rockerfeller often invited veterans over for dinners around Christmas time, and how much the family was loved in Williamsburg when they would stay at this house. I asked if there really was a tree in the dining room and she said, yes, because she liked having them so close when she entertained. 
The other nice thing about this house, is you really get to see most of it. They take you threw the bedrooms, and the formal rooms, and even the kitchen and pantries... I feel like you get a real look at the place.
And, if it hadn't been for the Rockerfellers, CW might not even exist today.... 
