About a week ago, I recieved an extremely exciting phone call from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation inviting me down to Virginia for a job interview. I had applied about a month earlier for an interpretive position that seemed exciting, especially with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown coming up in 2007. I quickly accepted the invitation and made arrangments to head to the Williamsburg/Jamestown area that coming Wednesday for a Thursday interview, only to drive back to Lansing the following day. Trace agreed to come with me to help share the driving and keep me company on the over 12-hour drive.
After working and such in the days leading up to the trip, I gathered all of my necessary resources, purchased a suit (at a fabulous discount, thanks to Ann Taylor...), and put together a basic portfolio. My family was really excited and helped me to get ready.
Come Wednesday, I left before 6:30am to pick up Trace and make our way out of Michigan, through Ohio and Pennsylvania, and into Maryland. We decided to stop at Antietam National Battlefield (Trace's first battlefield, and one of his first National Historic Sites) to break up the driving a bit. Then, it was back on the road, sitting in traffic for a while outside DC, and arriving at a very foggy Williamsburg after 10pm. (photos: Driving through the mountains in Maryland; cannon at Antietam; frolicking deer... one of the herd we saw leaping over the fence; the battlefield; and the most hilarious and disgusting collection of those stupid Christmas inflatables (there were about 30 in their yard!).)
The next morning, we were out exploring Colonial Williamsburg before my interview. I'd never been before and was very excited to see all of the historical-esque sites and people. We didn't buy a ticket (due to our limited time available) and wandered through the shops and streets, stopping to hear Patrick Henry discuss personal freedom and a slave talk about some of the codes in old slave songs. Around noon, we returned to the hotel so that I could get ready for my 1:30 interview at the Jamestown Settlement. (photos: Getting ready to "walk back in time" (cheesey, I know, but also exciting) at what we started to call "Walt History World" -- don't get me wrong, we still liked it!; Trace actually excited to be in the stocks because there weren't any at Michilimackinac; Christmas decorations; a street full of petticoats and powdered wigs; and Patrick Henry discussing comparing colonial embargoes and the PATRIOT Act.)
The drive down the Colonial Parkway towards Jamestown was quiet and swampy, but the visitor center for the Jamestown Settlement was enormous. I met the interviewing comittee and was escorted to a behind-the-scenes office for an interview that lasted for about an hour. I was very impressed by the site, the friendliness of the staff, and the flexible and exciting possibilities of the position. Aftewards, I found Trace and we explored the site, a living history reconstruction of the fort and ships of the Virginia Company's settlement and a Powhatan village. We chatted with interpreters and checked out the roving chickens. (photos: Me at the Jamestown Settlement after my interview; roving chickens; the gardens with the ships on the James River in the background; interpreter on "The Godspeed"; and more veiws of the ship... the position I applied for would require becoming certified to sail the ship and climb the rigging!)
After the interview and all, I phoned in some updates, changed, and we went to dinner before heading back into downtown Williamsburg for shopping, a ghoast tour, and a trip to one of the "historical" taverns. Chipper Chad, our tour leader that evening, was quite hilarious and we heard some "Myths, Legends, and Mysteries" from some first-person interpreters. Soon enough it was back to the hotel before leaving early on Friday for the long drive home. (photos: Swampy drive along the Colonial Parkway; hmmm... this kind of seems familiar...; ghost tour; and me and Chipper Chad.)
After leaving Williamsburg, we stopped at an extremely friendly Waffle House outside of Richmond before stopping at Washington, DC for a couple of quick monument visits. Then, it was back on the road, stopping only to get gas and food. All in all, I pulled into the driveway at about 10:30, completely exhausted. I'll update with details when I know them, as I'm supposed to know within the week about the position. (photos: Me and FDR; Jefferson Memorial; December in DC; and the reunion of best friends TJ (blurry statue in background) and John Adams (my thumb ring -- dorky, I know, but I found it hilarious).)
