A Visit to Washington Crossing State Park and Yorktown, VA

It’s  COOooooold here!  That was the perfect time to visit Washington Crossing State Park. That’s where George Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night (Dec. 25-26, 1776) and turned the tide of the Revolutionary War.  I told the kids they should take off their shoes and nice warm jackets for a real authentic experience. They weren’t buying it, but we did enjoy our visit and got a lot out of it!

Each Christmas, people re-enact Washington crossing the Delaware in the huge boats you see in the collage below. If you live in the area or can make a trip to eastern Pennsylvania, you can see that December 7th (full dress rehearsal) and December 25th (2014). See the Washington Crossing State Park website for more details.

There was a short film (about 20 minutes long) where they house a huge replica of the famous painting by the German painter, Emanuel Leutze. This was the first move in a surprise attack against Hessian soldiers at Trenton, New Jersey.

There was a small museum and then you could go out and visit the various buildings with a guided tour. The edges of the Delaware had a sheen of ice, but certainly nothing like the painting above!

There are so many fabulous learning opportunities here on the East coast. We talked a lot about our visit to Yorktown, Virginia earlier this fall. Life got away from me and I didn’t write about it on the blog, but this is the perfect post to talk about our experience and share our photos!

Yorktown, Virginia was the base of British General Charles Cornwallis during the siege of 1781. This was the last battle of the American Revolution. George Washington moved his army down south to Yorktown; meanwhile, the French fleet defeated the British fleet and cut off Cornwallis’ retreat. Cornwallis surrendered his army of more than 7000 on Oct. 19, 1781.

We toured the museum at Yorktown, but the real winner for the kids was the outside encampment where they really got to explore.

DD got to participate in the firing of a cannon too:

By far the best part of Yorktown was when we learned about the medical conditions during the Revolutionary War (1775-1781).  We learned how bullets were removed, how limbs were amputated (without anesthesia), and how they dealt with illness.  We were all very grateful to live in this day and age!

We absolutely love being able to travel and learn on the go. You might enjoy browsing through the “Trips We’ve Taken” category which highlights our adventures away from home (or use the Search This Blog feature if any of our posts are of interest)!

• Travel School: Homeschooling on the Go!
• National Museum of the American Indian
• Algonquian Indians (Powhatan Village in Jamestown, VA)
• What? A Safari in Ohio to see Rhino, Giraffe, and More? It’s True!
• COSI, Hands-On Science Center 
• Tecumseh! — An Extraordinary Outdoor Drama in Ohio
• Our Visit to West Virginia – Harpers Ferry, Adventure Ropes Course, Blackwater Falls
• National Aquarium in Baltimore
• A Tour of Jamestown, Virginia – Fabulous for Kids!
• Wild Horses and Light House Tour – Outer Banks, NC
• Fun in the Blue Ridge Mountains (VA)
• Garden of the Gods – Manitou Cliff Dwellings (Colorado Springs)
• Olympic Training Center and Ghost Town Museum — Colorado Springs
• Renaissance Festival – Fun Family Day (Maryland Season Opens Soon)
• Arches National Park — A Must See for Families!
• Back From Our Trip Out West! (Colorado at 10,000 Feet)
• Pretty Pacific Northwest (Washington State)
• Be a Weekend Paleontologist – Fossil Collecting Trips
• Traveling this summer? Here are some other trips we’ve taken…
• Antietam, Civil War Battle Site in Maryland
• Global Village, Heifer International (Maryland)
• The Tourist Town of Branson, Missouri
• Road Trip to the Smokies (Gatlinburg, TN)
• Aquarium of the Smokies
• An Amazing Nature Center in Nashville, TN
• Homeschool Week at Colonial Williamsburg — Hands On Experiences at Colonial Williamsburg
• The Mansion with 32 Secret Doors (Washington D.C.)
• Arkansas: The Plantation Agriculture Museum, Toltec Indian Mounds
• Baltimore Aquarium
• Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s Home
• The Liberty Bell (Philadelphia); Statue of Liberty; Ellis Island
• Tennessee: Grey’s Fossil Site, Davy Crockett’s Cabin, Parthenon (Nashville)
• Jamestown, Virginia, Powhatan Indians
• La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles
• Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO