First Impressions: Virginia

I recently enjoyed my first trip to the South and although it was but a brief weekend in Virginia, that’s what first impressions are all about.

Right away, we noticed that people seemed chattier than they are in the Bay Area. At a late dinner in a diner, the staff started telling us their life stories, sharing jokes, problems, and family drama with two strangers who sat down to eat. They themselves had only been working together for two months, but seemed to already know everything about each other. That was the start of a theme on our trip, as people everywhere struck up conversations with us or with each other. It was very refreshing and most welcome after the often standoffish attitude of many in the Bay Area.

Another big change from the Bay Area was the general religiosity of the area. There seemed to be more churches than Starbucks. One morning at breakfast, a family of eight sat down to eat near our table, bowed their heads, and said grace before their meal in the middle of a crowded restaurant. No one but me batted an eye. I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time I saw something like that in San Francisco. And if the same thing had happened at brunch here, I bet there would be a lot of raised eyebrows and curious looks. It also seemed that many of the people we met, including one of those diner employees, attended church every Sunday, which they mentioned very casually in passing.

The thing that seemed strangest to two Californians like me and my husband was the architecture of the area. Sure, we know we’re on a totally different coast and in one of the original colony states, just a short drive from the first American settlement, but we had never so clearly seen how the English colonial style affected architecture. We’re used to the heavy Mexican influence of red roof tiles, stucco, bright colors, and wrought iron on houses and buildings throughout California, so Virginia’s proper wood and brick homes with colonial shutters and American flags took us a bit by surprise.

We endeavored to see what it all might have looked like back in colonial times and took a drive to Colonial Williamsburg. According to history.org, ‘’It was [in Colonial Williamsburg] that the fundamental concepts of our republic – responsible leadership, a sense of public service, self-government, and individual liberty – were nurtured under the leadership of patriots such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Peyton Randolph.’’ What’s not to love?

We spent the day wandering the few streets of the very quaint area, whose style doesn’t differ much from the rest of Virginia, until a horse-drawn carriage rolled by or a regiment of English troops marched past us. Actors dressed in period costumes stopped to offer us assistance if we stood around too long looking at a map and offered us directions in endearingly outdated language. At a local tavern, whose dining room is lit entirely by candlelight, we learned that a number of people actually live in the houses of Colonial Williamsburg, that the blacksmith’s shop, whose clanging you hear as you walk down the street, actually produces wares and that the gunsmith has a waiting list for the rare, period firearms he creates. Colonial Williamsburg is more than a museum, it’s a living testament to the early days of America.

Everything in Colonial Williamsburg offers a stark contrast to the Miami-esque hotels lining the beachfront of Virginia Beach, just an hour’s drive away. For two people who love exploring California mining and frontier towns, who love the history of the Gold Rush and the missions, it was all a stark contrast to what we’re used to, to what we in California consider ‘’historic,’’ but seeing where it all began and being there in person unlocked for us a tiny piece in the huge puzzle that is America.

Photos by Tatiana Sundeyeva-Orozco

Tatiana Sundeyeva-Orozco has gotten into the terrible habit of thinking too much about everything. She enjoys fantasizing about traveling, compulsively buying literature, laughing at her own puns, and consuming anything and everything that can be found in a bakery. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley where she got a degree in English. She can be found celebrating awesome female friendships on LadyBromance.com.

By Tatiana Sundeyeva-Orozco