In the winter of 1984, I visited my parents in Salisbury, MD. We then drove to Williamsburg, VA to visit the historic area of buildings that helped birth the fledgling nation of the United States of America. In addition to preserving those buildings, additional authentic replicas have been built using traditional methods. And now, employees and volunteers play the roles of colonial residents of the town. Here we see the entrance to the grounds of the Governor's Palace.

I don't recall the names or purposes of all the buildings that we saw there but I'll do my best. This view shows the Governor's Palace and Grounds — home to seven royal governors and the first two elected governors in Virginia. It was built to impress visitors with a display of authority and wealth.

Should the need arise, there was even a cannon to defend the governor.

To maintain the authenticity of colonial times, modern vehicles are not driven on the streets thus a traditional horse-drawn carriage and wagon were frequently seen.

Additionally, the teamsters and many of the re-enactors providing personal service are African-Americans as would have been the case in colonial times in Virginia. This may touch on modern sensitivity that our nation still has about its history of slavery but rest assured that these people are employees, treated well, and paid accordingly.

This is a typical street scene — only the modern clothes of the visitors give it away that the date was 1984 not 1776 (or so). One might notice the woman in the foreground with the bright red cape — even suggesting a character from "The Handmaid's Tale".

I do not have a record of this structure but it certainly looks like the resident of a well-to-do citizen — perhaps a banker or merchant. Note that the building is constructed of brick — many were because of the danger of fires.

This is a typical residence. Notice the blue ribbon signifying that this house had one of the best Christmas displays — as seen over the front door.

Here is a close-up of the same front door. Notice that they did not have tiny colored lights but instead used fruit to provide a festive display. Also, recall that pineapples were a symbol of hospitality — and were used even though they must have been quite expensive in colonial days.

This looks like a residence of a well-to-do citizen and perhaps, a matching style bungalow that might have been used as a residence for adult children, grandma, or just for visitors.

This is a close-up of the previous front porch. It reminds me so much of the tiny front porch of my grandmother's house in Maryland. Such structures provided protection of the element for guests arriving or departing. My grandmother's front porch was also, at one time, screened in to minimize mosquito bites.

And now we see another award-winning front-door holiday decoration. It is difficult to read the words on the ribbon but I enlarged it and it reads, "FLOWER SHOW AWARD — FIRST PLACE".