Since 2006, every Memorial weekend, I have grown accustomed to visiting Upstate New York, a place where I have lived as student in the early 80s. New Paltz is a small University town, located 90 miles north of New York City – it is gorgeous and the main attractions in the summer include rock climbing and in the winter it’s a great place to go skiing (My 2006 New Paltz visit). This year, I decided to enjoy my Memorial weekend getaway in Williamsburg, VA. I chose this destination after I received an e-mail from travelzoo indicating that vacation homes in Williamsburg would be 70% off the regular price until may 31st, its close proximity Virginia Beach would also be an additional perk, but above all what attracted me most was the rich history of the area and at the end of three amazing days, I thought “Wouldn’t it be nice to share some of my trip’s highlights & some historic perspective of colonial America with Wardheernews readers.

Jamestown, Williamsburg & Yorktown

The historic triangle is located in the southeastern part of Virginia between Richmond and Norfolk – it is the place that gave birth to the United States of America. A huge country emerged from a tiny land in Virginia – that small place has been a home for Europeans, Indians and Africans. The Europeans displaced the Indians and enslaved the Africans; these early settlers arrived in Jamestown 1607. Williamsburg is where men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry started the idea of independence and revolution, Yorktown in 1781 was the epic center for the victorious battle of the revolutionaries.

During my sightseeing, my twelve year old daughter was our guide; she knew the history of this region more than me; she learned all of this at school and last year enjoyed a small field trip to the area. While we went through American history, Somalia was still on my mind. I thought about how our nation was conceived in the first place and after 40 years of independence fell into oblivion. The Somali heroes that I can remember, the ones that fought for the freedom of our nation were Mohamed Abdille Hassan and members of the SYL. The leaders after our independence took the nascent nation off on a wrong start. Somalia’s colonial heritage and tribal influence may have been the cause of our disintegration.

Day 1
Jamestown Settlement

The settlement features full-size replicas of the three ships that arrived in 1607 - the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and the Discovery.  We visited a reconstructed Indian Village, the Riverfront Discovery Area and an impressive outdoor museum.  We watched an introductory film that traces the history of Jamestown and how it originated from England and the first century of the Virginia colony. We have extensively watched costumed men and women perform 17th-century activities and crafts.

Day 2
Colonial Williamsburg

On this hot day, we spent some time walking around. The Historic Area is much more than buildings, museums, and artifacts.  It's a living community!  Here, merchants sell their goods, tradesmen practice their craft.  Located on 301 acres, Colonial Williamsburg is an outdoor museum with more than 500 reconstructed buildings which include homes, stores and it is sometimes called the historical village or living museums. Set in the backdrop of lush gardens and greenery, craftsmen practice 30 historic and domestic trades while interpreters and character actors play the part of colonial townspeople. 

Day 3
Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach is one of my favorite places that I visit at least once during the summer. With my family, we spent almost two days swimming at the beach. This city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia Beach is a resort city with miles of beaches and hundreds of hotels, resorts, and restaurants along the oceanfront, it is listed as having the longest pleasure beach in the world – at the north side of the city you have the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel, the longest bridge tunnel in the world.

While laying on the sand, reading a book, I received a call from one of my friends from Virginia, who was a little curious of where I have been and why I didn’t come to our weekly Saturday gathering (armchair wrestling) in Falls Church.  I told him that I sent a text message to all my friends, informing them that I would be out of town this weekend – he kept updating me with the latest news from Somalia and how Sharif  Hassan won the election of the speaker for the parliament. I told him the news coming from home is not news anymore; it is a hopeless situation full of suffering with no immediate end in sight.

Other places to visit

We unfortunately did not have time to visit these places located in the area that also are ideal for family trips:

-- Busch Garden: - Is a European theme park, little expensive, but with lots of fun.
-- Water Country USA: -This is the largest water play park in Mid-Atlantic and one
    of the America's best fun parks.
-- Go-Karts Plus: - A family fun park for all ages.
-- Yorktown: -   In 1781, it was here that General George Washington defeated
    England's General Cornwallis in the landmark battle of the American Revolution. A must see.

Abdisalam M Garjeex
Ashburn – Virginia
E-Mail:amabdulle@hotmail.com

________________________________________________________________

We welcome the submission of all articles for possible publication on WardheerNews.com
So please email your article today Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the views of WardheerNews
Maqaalkani wuxuu ka turjumayaa aragtida Qoraaga loomana fasiran karo tan WardheerNews 

Copyright © 2010 WardheerNews.com