Back from Williamsburg.
We had a great time in Williamsburg. We got to stay in a colonial house, the Richard Crump House, built in the mid-1700s. The Williamsburg Inn has about 30 of these houses in the historic area that they use as guest rooms. For us, it was the same price as staying in the Lodge, so it was an easy choice. We had to go over to the main building to get Internet service, which made things a little tricky at points, but we managed.

The conference went well. I met with the new archeology editor at the University of Tennessee Press, and am going to send him an interim draft this week (which means by tomorrow). I still have more work to do, obviously, but things are looking promising. I also went to a number of interesting sessions and made contacts with people, so overall I think it went well.

On the way back from Williamsburg, we decided to take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, which was a nice drive. We also saw these interesting diving ducks, and when I went to look them up found out they are Long-tailed Ducks. Apparently, not much is known about their wintering range, but mostly have been seen in the great lakes, maritime Canada, and along the northeast coast. They weren't mentioned for this far south. I sent a note over to someone at the Lab of Ornithology, but haven't heard back yet (which is not surprising). I may go over and talk with someone when I get a chance.


When I got back, amongst my throngs of e-mail was a note about the American Anthropological Association meetings this fall, which are in DC. The theme is Difference, (In)Equality, and Justice, and the Archaeology Division was asking for archaeological papers that touch on it, including such things as class inequality and colonialism. My dissertation looks right at this, so I'm going to submit an abstract.