Who Knew We Were Virginians..A Photo Trip report

[jenseib]

They've actually expanded that Wolf Haven show. It used to be a few wolves, and that was it.

 

Oh wow. Interesting to know.

[jenseib]

The show on the previous page looks like a big production, especially for a theme park!

 

It was pretty big, but i didn't find it as good as Disney ones. Though they did have some great acrobatic talent.

[jenseib]

Can't tell you how many times I've been to BGW and I didn't know they had a cool pottery place! I like the purple glaze Claire chose for the bottom. You've been very spoiled by all things Disney so anything else will pale in comparison. BGW really is a pretty park but doesn't put in anywhere near the amount of details in things like Disney does. The frozen lemonade slushies are my favorite thing ever. Did you end up riding anything at all?

 

She really enjoyed doing the pottery and we had fun picking out colors for it.

Yes, it's really hard to compare things to Disney...becasue they just don't usually. BGW was clean though and I liked that.

The frozen lemonades were really good.

Besides the boat, we rode one other thing. I wish there were more family friendly rides. They either had one extreme or the other.

[jenseib]

We next headed out and went to look at a few animals in the area.

 

 

Most of the cages were empty and compared to Busch in Tampa, the animal exhibits are very disappointing.

 

 

We kept moving and found the wolf valley. This is where I was thankful for my new camera lens (well I had been thankful for it most of the day), because they were pretty far out and I never would’ve gotten a picture of them with one of my usual lenses I travel with without changing.

 

 

 

 

We then stumbled onto the American Bald Eagles. Of course they were in a spot that was hard to see them.

 

 

 

Off to Ireland.

 

 

 

 

We decide to ride Europe in the air. This would be somewhat on the lines of Soarin’ …but not even close. The ride vehicle was set up weird so that there were walls on your sides and in the front row the ledge came up high. It was like sitting in a box. It did give me motion sickness too. This could be a much better ride if the vehicle was better.

It was nice and the line was nice and cool and I am glad we did try it.

We headed back out and looked through Ireland a bit more.

Claire was now starting to think about buying her Stuffed Clydesdale, but I told her we still had to do more looking before we headed out and that was one of the last things we would do.

 

 

 

 

 

We laughed at the name of this store. Claire has a friend who loves Shamrock shakes…but she calls them ShamROCK. We have no clue why, but she says it like that every time. So we took a picture and texted it to her mom.

 

 

We browsed around and it had all sorts of junk that little girls love, but luckily Claire was saving her money for her Clydesdale and she didn’t want anything in there.

 

 

We next ran into a younger Clydesdale out for some training. I swear she said he was 2, but I think that would make him much bigger. Maybe he was 2 months? I am not sure how fast horses grow.

 

 

 

 

 

I was fascinated with the little Clydesdale and loved watching him. It was so nice to just stand and take it in.

 

 

Claire on the other hand thought this was boring and a big waste of time. We could be buying one, instead of watching one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally Claire got her way and we headed on…only a few steps and I stopped again. She wasn’t too happy about that.

 

 

 

 

And then we moved on. Claire was ready to leave at this point, but I did want to look at the few areas we hadn’t seen yet.

 

 

We never went back in there. It looked too “kiddy” for Claire’s taste.

 

We entered Italy next.

 

 

 

 

 

Basically no one was riding this. It has started to cool down and who wants to be wet and cold.

 

 

 

 

 

Claire did a little map reading to be sure there was nothing else she wanted to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we had found Italy earlier we could’ve had lunch here too.

 

 

We were thirsty however and refilled our cup. I also ordered a vanilla gelato. Claire kept asking me why I was doing this, as we still had that free snack credit and she had every intention of getting popcorn with it on the way out. I told her she could, but this is what I wanted, which she firmly told me she wanted no part of it.

 

 

And yes, I got 2 spoons and she did eat half it and it was darn good!

 

After we finished up our treat we headed back towards the front. Claire was ready to buy her plush Clydesdale.

 

 

The train station was right there (and we never did ride that either) and Claire said it was freaky to be walking across the tracks with the train right there.

 

 

 

 

We made our purchase and then headed towards the exit, but first we had to find a popcorn stand to use our free snack voucher.

 

 

We got in line and made our purchase.

 

The line wasn’t very fast, so I took a few pictures while we waited.

 

 

At some point in time we also filled the big sipper cup I had purchased. I think it was something like 99 cents to refill it. We then took a seat to munch on some popcorn.

 

 

 

 

And it was now nearing closing time, so we made our way out to the tram.

 

 

 

 

And that is the last picture I took that day with my camera!

 

We got to my Dads truck and oh my! It just feels so big compared to what I was used to.

There was a car in front of me and they were getting ready to leave, so my thought was to wait till the moved and pull out that way. The parking lot was emptying out, but I wanted to be as cautious as possible.

The people were just sitting there like me and I think they were waiting on me, but then I realized they had friends a few cars over and they eventually drove over by them.

Amanda had texted me as well while we were waiting. They were starving and wondering if they should wait on us before they got dinner. Yep, we’re on our way.

 

We finally left and I was a bit confused on how to actually exit as it didn’t appear to be clearly marked, but I followed some cars and made it out and I had programed my phone to get us back. At one point we were going down a road with orange markers to mark the lanes. Being in the big truck I was sure at any moment I would see orange pylon’s flying out behind us, but I never hit a 1.

 

We weren’t back very long and we took off again.

We decided on Fridays tonight. Claire and I got an appetizer combo and shared it. It was very good and we had to fight the others off from stealing our meal. The bad thing was that is was freezing cold in there. I think we were seated under a vent and we sure felt it!

 

After a nice meal we headed back to the hotel and I took Claire for another evening swim and then off to bed for the night.

It had been a fun day. Very different than I expected, but it was still neat to see this park. I don’t think I personally would rush back there because we are not big on the roller coasters and there weren’t enough other things for us to do, but a 1 time trip there was well worth it.

[edrho64]

My family and I are disneyworld fanatics also but we love Busch gardens williamsburg also. My wife and I also can't tolerate roller coasters much anymore but really enjoyed the ones at BGW. They are all very smooth and fun. My kids were 15, 10, and 9 the last time we went and they loved the rides in the Sesame Street area along with meeting Bert and Ernie, Grover, big bird and the gang. Also they enjoyed the rides in the Italy area. I hate that you missed the train ride as it is long and the scenery is beautiful.

[jenseib]

My family and I are disneyworld fanatics also but we love Busch gardens williamsburg also. My wife and I also can't tolerate roller coasters much anymore but really enjoyed the ones at BGW. They are all very smooth and fun. My kids were 15, 10, and 9 the last time we went and they loved the rides in the Sesame Street area along with meeting Bert and Ernie, Grover, big bird and the gang. Also they enjoyed the rides in the Italy area. I hate that you missed the train ride as it is long and the scenery is beautiful.

 

I do wish we had done the train too. I think we would've enjoyed that. Claire wanted nothing to do with Sesame Street area, so we didn't even bother going back there. She has a 17 year old cousin who is Autistic and he watches muppets and Sesame street videos alll the time. He stays at grandmas house pretty much every day and she lives next door, so Claire goes over quote a bit. I think she has had her fill of that and avoids those characters like the plague when she can.

[jenseib]

April 15, 2013, Monday, Day 3

 

 

I was up early as usual! I got up and dressed and headed outside for a morning stroll around the property while I let my family sleep.

 

 

There’s one of the elusive Cardinals that would hide from me.

 

 

 

 

And a Dove, who also wasn’t too happy about me taking a picture.

 

 

 

Mr. Squirrel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This gave me an Alice in Wonderland feel.

 

 

 

Another gazebo I found.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family was in VERY slow motion today. No one would wake up. Well, Dad did, but everyone else acted like I was crazy to want to get moving. This was going to be our first day at Colonial Williamsburg and I was excited to see it.

 

At this point I vowed that if we ever traveled together again, I was renting a car for myself. I want to go when I want to go and I am not patient for waiting for others.

And Amanda…..she is so slow!!!!! Sorry Amanda! But she takes a shower, then primps her hair, then irons her clothes, and it all seems to be in slow motion….oh and she freezes us out while doing all this because she gets hot while getting ready, so she turned the air to sub-zero temperatures. I think we all snuck a turn at slowly warming the room up a bit.

 

Finally around 11 or so we headed out. This was a MUCH later start that I had planned.

Siri gave us directions to Colonial Williamsburg and the drive wasn’t too far and fairly easy to follow.

 

Soon we were pulling into the parking lot, which looked kind of busy. But in reality it wasn’t that bad when we saw the additional parking on the side was not being used.

 

We found a parking spot and made our way up to the visitor Center.

 

 

 

 

 

We made a stop outside the Visitor Center to check out a map of the property.

 

 

 

Walking in the first thing we see is the gift shop, so we stopped in there. My Dad was having a fit that we haven’t even done anything yet and were shopping ….but they had Clearance Racks…you have to stop and look.

 

 

And then we had to make a bathroom stop as well.

 

Yes, this was a productive day already. LOL.

We went to get in line to buy tickets and then noticed the kiosks to do it with a credit card. I stopped and said I would get mine there since there wasn’t a line and Mom said she would too. We each bought our 3 day tickets and I put mine in my lanyard I had brought with me. Amanda looked at it and asked where I got it. I told her I brought it from home and she wanted one too. They did provide free pouches with a clip, but she wanted a lanyard, and Mom did too, so back to the gift shop they went and bought some. I think Dad went with the clip pouch though.

At Colonial Williamsburg, you have to show you ticket for things like riding the bus or getting into many of the buildings to tour, so it is best to have some sort of lanyard to keep it out in easy reach.

 

So now you would think we would be on our way out to the city. NOPE! Dad saw that they had a movie to watch, and we had to stop and see that.

Actually it was probably a good thing. It has been over 25 years since I studied this era of American History and it was amazing how many things I forgot about it. This movie jarred some of the memories and throughout the touring it helped in placing the significance of different buildings.

 

Now it was time to head out to the City.

 

 

I quickly directed my family out the doors and bypassed the buses. I had read you must walk there at least once or you will miss some things. My family probably could’ve cared less, but I wanted to see as much as I could. About halfway there they commented on how far the walk was and that’s when I told them that they do have buses, but today we weren’t taking them. LOL

 

 

As we crossed the bridge we came to an area that was newer to CW. I forget what they actually called this area, but it was more of a rural area with a small plantation on it.

 

 

 

 

 

We looked around and listened to a few of the characters tell stories.

 

 

There was another family that had their picture taken in front of that thing. (Is it some type of wagon?) Anyways I jokingly said something like the boys should show their strength and pretend do pull it. And sure enough, Dad got in with them and they all lifted it and pretended to give it a pull.

 

 

One of the most important buildings on any property.

 

 

Claire was obsessed with it to. LOL

 

 

They had some farm animals around too.

 

 

And then we headed towards the city.

 

 

 

 

I can see it!

 

[jenseib]

Where were entered, which was the first …and last bus stop on the route (before heading back to the visitor center) is near the Governor’s Palace. It looked so beautiful, but we didn’t have time to look as a bathroom break was already needed by Claire.

 

 

We headed along the Palace, but I couldn’t stop because it was lunch time……and I get headaches and not so nice when I don’t eat, so food was the first thing I needed.

 

Of course I did still take pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

I found a building that was selling snacks and I got a cookie and water for Claire and I to share to tie us over. I asked for directions to find something more and she told us to go to Chowning’s tavern. So we headed that way.

 

 

The church was on the corner that we turned on and it was being refurbed on the outside.

 

A view of the Governors Palace from the other end of the street.

 

 

Another view of where we came from.

 

 

 

We found the Tavern and headed to the back Garden area where they were serving more of a fast food type of meal.

 

If you have followed me on other trip reports, you know Claire is kind of picky and this was not looking to be too great a meal for her. The choices were very limited. I ended up getting her a pulled chicken sandwich with chips and applesauce and I got a pulled pork with baked beans, chips, and coleslaw.

 

 

I took the chicken off the bun for her to eat and I tasted it and it was decent, but not great. She only took a few bites and did not like it. I tried my pulled pork and the first bite was good, but it had an after taste from the sauce and I only took a few bites and gave up on it and went and ate her chicken, which was slightly better.

 

Amanda got the chicken, but she liked it.

 

I think my parents got the pulled pork. And I think they liked it.

 

 

 

The coleslaw was ok, but I have had better and I am not a big fan of baked beans, but they were OK as well. The chips were the best part of the meal. But at least we had something in our bellies and my headache was going away.

 

Of course after you eat, you need to find a bathroom, right? Well when you are with Claire you do. I think we spent most of our time this day in bathrooms. LOL

 

Off we went to find one.

 

 

 

I really had a thing about taking pictures of the horses and carriages and you will see a ton of them throughout this report.

 

 

 

A bathroom was found and we all felt better. Let’s just say …the bathrooms are not the nicest things here at Colonial Williamsburg. They are small and not the cleanest.

 

We continued on then.

 

 

A resident of CW …who had several children trying to grab him.

 

 

 

 

 

Today we mostly just got our bearings and how things worked here. I was also amazed at how many private residences there were here.

 

I loved the people in character all over the place.

 

 

The houses were a little too close for comfort for this farm girl.

 

 

We continued walking down the main street and just taking everything in.

 

 

My family decided to go in the coffee house. I hate coffee. I hate the taste and the smell, so I decided not to go in. Claire and I walked towards the capital.

 

 

 

A look back from where we came.

 

 

See the lady walking with the red jacket on? She ended up being our ghost tour guide the next night.

 

 

This is a freaky looking tree.

 

 

 

Claire and I decided to tour the Capital. I texted Amanda to let her know where we would be. I will say that phone connections were very spotty all over CW and the whole are in general. Sometimes texts took a lot time to send and other times they worked like a charm.

 

 

We had to sit on some benches to wait for the next tour group to start.

 

 

 

 

 

Our guide was great. She came out and talked to us and reminded us to put our phones on silence, etc. We were also allowed to take as many pictures as we liked.

 

 

Now I do not remember the names of each room we went in, but the first was kind of like a meeting room where the House of Burgesses met.

 

 

I had a blonde moment and thought “Oh My Gosh, this looks just like it did in the movie!” Well of course it did…where else did I think they actually filmed the movie? It certainly wasn’t done in the 1700’s. LOL

 

 

We all had a seat and our guide told us several interesting facts.

 

We then headed upstairs into some kind of meeting area that I think was more casual.

 

 

Again we got more info and facts.

 

Look who we spotted out the window.

 

 

Dad, Mom and Amanda were 2 groups behind us.

 

Now I learned something interesting while in this room. A gentleman asked what area Virginia actually covered during this time period. Our guide said it was often disputed and it would depend on what map you looked at, but basically Virginia stretched straight across to the Pacific Ocean and also included what is now known as Ohio (my state) and parts of Michigan and Wisconsin. Who knew we were Virginians?

She pointed out a map on the wall and it was really interesting to see how different it was compared to today.

 

On we went and I took some more pictures.

 

 

 

Back downstairs.

 

 

Our next stop was the court room.

 

 

 

Again, our guide was fantastic. She was passionate about everything and very informative.

 

 

 

All too soon our tour was over and we spotted these guys outside.

 

 

We walked around the grounds a bit waiting for my parents.

 

 

 

 

But nature was calling for Claire and we went in search of another bathroom.

 

 

 

We found one nearby and all was good again. So we headed back near the Capital to wait for the family.

 

 

This is Christina Campbell’s restaurant across the street where we ended up eating later in the week and the food was fabulous!

 

 

After a little waiting we spotted someone that looked like Amanda walking towards us.

 

 

It was Amanda! And we waited for her to catch up with us.

 

 

Amanda had left the tour early. She has a nervous stomach and gets panic attacks if she thinks she can’t get out of a building with ease, so at the first chance, she decided to leave for fear she would be stuck somewhere. She decided to use the bathroom too, so we showed her where it was.

 

 

While we waited for our parents we walked around a bit more.

 

 

Another horse and buggy spotting.

 

 

 

We decided to tour the building we were near as a new tour was starting. It was a small place, so Amanda joined us. It ended up being the jail.

 

 

Obviously that is not where the inmates slept.

 

I couldn’t really get a good picture of the cells, but let me tell you, you would not want to be a prisoner!

 

Again we headed off and we found out our parents were touring the jail behind us.

We saw that a show of some sort was going to start, so we headed that way and told our parents to meet us there.

 

 

 

It was interesting, but a bit hard to hear as we were further back.

 

 

[jenseib]

After that guy left, another came out. Again it was really hard to hear and I could tell Claire was loosing interest fast.

 

 

I mentioned to the family that we were ready to leave and they said OK, so I grabbed Claire and walked out the back exit. I turned around to see that no one else had moved. Claire and I waited a few minutes.

 

 

 

 

We gave up and started walking. I texted them that we were on our way to find Claire a hat. She had seen the colonial hats for sale earlier and several kids had them on as well and now she was a mission to get one too.

 

 

 

This street ran behind a lot of houses and there really wasn’t anything on it. It was very pretty however.

 

 

 

 

 

We cut across back to the main drag.

 

 

We shopped for quite a while. It was important to find the right color bow and style of hat. Honestly most were pretty much the same except for a few options of bow colors, but we had to try on many to decide. Claire went with green. I was surprised, as pink is her favorite color and they had several pink ones. We made our purchase …and let me tell you, these hats are NOT cheap, and soon the rest of the family joined us and did some shopping of their own.

 

 

And then we headed out once again.

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped off at a Guest Service type area and scheduled a ghost walk for the next night. They had a couple to choose from, but we went with the family friendly one since we had Miss Chicken ….Um I mean Claire with us. Some things scare her so much and other things you would think scare her….doesn’t.

We also scheduled a dinner for Christina Campbell’s later in the week. One thing that was on my bucket list was to eat at least once in a Tavern. Christina’s actually wasn’t my first choice. I wanted Kings Tavern, but it wasn’t open for when we wanted to eat.

 

On we went. Isn’t this place so neat looking? It’s a private residence, so we couldn’t go inside…Darn it!

 

 

When we came to the end of the street we came into the car zone. Most of the area has restriction’s for when people can drive through there (which would making living there kind of hard in my opinion) and we came to the edge of that where cars were allowed. We crossed the street and there were some shops and restaurants.

 

 

 

The Cheese Shop! I had told my Mom about this earlier as a Dis friend (MEK) had mentioned this was a great place to get lunch. I wish I had known where it was today for lunch as I am sure it would have been better than what we had.

 

 

We did walk in and take a look and it had a nice selection and even corndogs, which would make Claire happy. We figured this would be a good spot for lunch tomorrow.

 

We browsed in and out of shops and I separated from Mom and Amanda and Claire sat outside with my Dad.

 

 

I went to the college bookstore and got a Starbucks hot chocolate and came back and offered some to Claire. She didn’t want any. I found out later she hadn’t realized it was hot chocolate.

 

Mom and Amanda had disappeared and I went in search of them with Claire. Finally we found them in some clothing stores.

 

 

At the end of the street is where the William and Mary College is. We didn’t walk over on that day, but we did later in the week.

 

 

It was a bit chilly out and we were getting tired, so we found the bus stop right near there and rode back to the visitor’s center. Let me add that Dad is not one to veer off a plan. A few times we said we were going to go to the bus stop but then got sidetracked and he would have a fit. The bus comes in a loop all day long and it wasn’t like we had a time to be on it. LOL

 

We made our way back to the car and then programmed Siri to get us back to the hotel.

 

Amanda was having some feet issues, so she and I went off to shoe shop. I can’t remember if Claire went with us or if she stayed with Mom and Dad. I didn’t take notes and my memory has faded on all the particulars.

We went to several outlet shoe stores and Amanda ended up getting the same exact pair of shoes I was wearing. They are pretty comfy for big horrible feet. In the end though she took them back later in the week because they weren’t quite big enough and they rubbed her toes.

 

Since I didn’t take notes I am trying to go by memory as to where we ate that night. I didn’t take pictures.

 

I think this is the night we went to Captain Georges Seafood Restaurant.

I know we arrived a bit late, but they said they were still serving and we should have plenty of time to eat.

 

This place is a HUGE buffet. My friend Jeanne told me about it and said it was a favorite of her families. I even bought a gift card prior to going just to be sure we would make it there one night. I had read mixed reviews of the place, but I was taking Jeanne’s word on this one.

 

It was really neat inside, with little bridge ways in areas and the buffets had nautical themes.

 

We got settled in and headed up to the buffet. This meal was AWESOME!!!!!! They had these wonderful sautéed mushrooms that I could eat by the bowl. They had the best clam chowder I have EVER tasted. Claire loved it too and had a good share of that. They even had enough to keep my Dad happy, as he doesn’t eat much seafood.

We finished up eating and they let us know that they would be closing down the dessert bar soon if we wanted some. No, we were too stuffed…..so we went up and got some! LOL

The people there were so nice, the food was really good and I highly recommend this place.

We did make a potty break before leaving and they had some homemade hand scrub in the bathroom, so of course we gals had to play with that and get our hands all nice and clean.

Mom and Amanda loved it so much they each bought a jar to take home.

 

We headed back to the Marriott and then I am sure I probably took Claire for a short swim before heading to bed.

I informed the family that tomorrow WAS going to be an earlier day.

That went over like a led balloon!

[jenseib]

April 16, Tuesday, Day 4

 

I got up bright and early, just like I always do. I went for a walk, but decided not to take pictures this morning. I also wrote in my journal a bit, but that didn’t last long and I never did get much further than the first 2 days of notes.

I also chatted with a lady in the gazebo who had been coming there daily as well.

After a while I headed back to try to get the family moving. No one was budging and I was getting annoyed. I hate wasting precious vacation time with trivial things like sleeping.

 

Amanda wasn’t feeling well today and after some debate, she decided she was not going to come with us. She decided she would drop us off and then come back for us later. She also wanted to do some shopping, so she thought she would take a relaxed day and hopefully feel better for the evenings activities.

 

I finally got Claire up and moving and around 10:45 she and I went outside to wait for the rest of the family to finish up getting ready. So much for the early start.

 

 

Yes Claire, I am tired of waiting too.

 

 

 

Finally the rest of the family emerged and we made our way to Colonial Williamsburg once again. I believe it was close to 11:45 before we had arrived.

 

Today we did take the bus to the first stop and got off there.

 

 

We came in near the Palace once again.

 

 

We decided to have a look around today.

 

 

 

 

 

This is where the stable boys slept.

 

 

I believe the nicer beds were for those who were coachmen and jobs like that and the lower jobs were lucky to even get a bed.

 

 

On we went.

 

 

Come on slow pokes!

 

 

The gardens were just beautiful.

 

 

 

Kind of like Alice in Wonderland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Palace Gardens were just so beautiful and huge. We tried to look through every area we could.

 

 

 

 

Looking back at the house.

 

 

Martha Washington was giving a talk out back so we sat and listened to her.

 

 

Something I did not know was that the Washington’s never had any children of their own. They did however help raise many relatives and friends children.

 

 

 

 

In case you couldn’t tell, I really loved taking pictures of Claire in her hat.

 

 

I also played with some shots while we listened to her.

 

 

 

After she was done, we moved on on the backside of the property and we found a maze.

 

 

Dad was the only brave sole to take the stairs up to the top of the hill to read the plaque. I think that was a smoke house at one point in time.

 

 

 

 

While Dad was journeying up the hill, we went through the maze. It was a big highlight for Claire.

 

 

This was in the middle.

 

 

 

We exited the maze after a few tries and headed back towards the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cfc]

The garden behind the Governor's Palace is probably the nicest place in Colonial Williamsburg. I've always liked the hedge maze, too.

[TBpony414]

The way you name your TRs is so clever and I always look forward to seeing where in your TR you came up with the title for it. Usually I have to wait quite a while (like the one about guys with guitars) but this one happened early! CW is a big place and the actors are all very passionate about their roles. It's neat to see.

[jenseib]

The garden behind the Governor's Palace is probably the nicest place in Colonial Williamsburg. I've always liked the hedge maze, too.

 

It really is beautiful. I can imagine at different times of years they change out the flowers too.

[jenseib]

The way you name your TRs is so clever and I always look forward to seeing where in your TR you came up with the title for it. Usually I have to wait quite a while (like the one about guys with guitars) but this one happened early! CW is a big place and the actors are all very passionate about their roles. It's neat to see.

 

I do try to make neat names to go with the trip. Sometimes I am not so clever though. This one came to me right away when i learned that Ohio was origionally part of Virginia.

[jenseib]

The area was landscaped so beautifully. To be a kid growing up here had to be so neat.

 

 

I loved the River right alongside the place.

 

 

Squirrel!

 

 

 

 

 

The garden.

 

 

 

We then entered the kitchen, which was a separate building.

 

 

 

It was 2 stories and someone asked what the 2nd floor was used for and they told us honestly they weren’t even sure if the original building had 2 floors or not. They assumed it did and would be for the servants that did the cooking, but they weren’t positive. It was built on the original foundation though.

 

We then moved on.

 

 

 

I liked this well. Remember, they didn’t have running water in the house, so they had to have a well nearby.

 

 

 

The cellar looked inviting.

 

 

It was dark and musty down there, so it was hard to get many pictures.

 

 

 

It was extremely cool down there though. I imagine on a hot humid day this would be the place to retreat to cool off.

 

 

We then decided we wanted to tour the house, so we went outside the gates and waited in line for the next tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to wait a little bit before we were let back in. There was a family in front of us with like 5 or 6 little boys. The older ones were decent, the younger ones were not. The youngest was HORRIBLE!

He kept running around and the parents didn’t seem to care and every so often the Mom would chase him. He needed to stay in the stroller, but he was bored out of his wits and he didn’t want to. This really is not a great trip for parents with young kids. I can see it getting boring very fast for them. I really think Claire was on the border with attention span. Of course some kids are better and more interested than others. This boy wanted nothing to do with being there. But the parents wanted to tour the Palace and we were the lucky ones to get them in our group.

 

We finally were let into the yard again and had a seat on the bench while we waited to be the next ones to tour.

Our guide came out and let me just tell you, he was GREAT!

 

 

He had a quirky sense of humor and we just loved him. He asked questions, like where we were from and things of that nature and then would give a little history. He also made it clear he was not a character or anyone special, just a guy who is telling us about the palace.

He asked some of the older kids in the bratty kids family a few questions and they gave some funny answers, but then they thought they were comedians and kept talking.

But we still had a good time and enjoyed him.

 

Soon we were allowed to go in the building.

 

 

I can’t remember what this room was supposed to be for, but he gave us some history of the palace and showed us a map of the US for that time period.

He also told us most of the Governors were crooked. They were elected by the King and usually it wasn’t a highly wanted job, though when they got here, they pretty much could do whatever they wanted and get away with it.

 

 

During out time in here, the family with the bratty kid had taken the front row of seats. For some really dumb reason, the parents sat together on one end and the kids all lined up on chairs next to them, with Mr. King Brat at the very end. How dumb was that. He talked the whole time, never sat still, climbed all over the chair and the floor and bumped into other people. The parents just sat there listening to the guide and didn’t even glance his way or tell him to stop. I believe at one time the guide nicely said that maybe he should go sit with his parents. This guy was so tactful, but sadly I don’t think the parents really understood that he was trying to say “watch your brat so he doesn’t disturb others”.

 

There was another room just like the one we had been in, so I think they alternate rooms for the tours.

 

 

We had to go outside to get into the main, middle building.

 

 

The Foyer had guns and swords all over the walls. This was to represent that the Governor and England had the power and the colonist weren’t not allowed to own guns.

 

 

 

 

 

Our guide kept talking and I kept snapping pictures.

 

 

 

 

Now there were chairs against the walls in the foyer that had a little rope across each one and I think maybe even a sign that said not to sit on them. The also each had a really cute red checkered seat cover on them.

Well you guessed it. Mr. Brat removed the rope, threw off the cover and had a seat on the chair and the parents did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! They just let him sit there. Again, our tactful guide made a nice mention to him that the seats were not allowed to be sat on and he got off and pouted, but the parents didn’t say anything to him. Seriously? What’s wrong with these people. I know kids are not perfect, I have 3, and believe me, my son could’ve given this boy a run for his money, but when we came into situations like this, we left, or I held his hand in a death grip.

 

We moved on again.

 

 

I am thinking this was an office type room?

 

 

 

Check out the paint color in here!

 

 

You will see several kind of loud colors throughout the Palace and he said yes, these were typical paint colors and carpets as well.

 

 

Back through the hallway.

 

 

 

Oh, and yes, some things were roped off and Mr. Brat went under the ropes. He also tried to climb on the banister to take a slide down.

[jenseib]

We next headed up the stairs to check out bedrooms.

 

 

The tile on the fireplace was very fashionable for the time.

 

 

We mainly got the story of the last Governor to live there. He was very corrupt. His daughters hated living here and felt the house was too small and something a peasant should live in. Basically they were spoiled rich girls. When the revolution started, I believe he sent them back to England in a roundabout way with his wife and then he went into hiding.

 

I was very proud that Claire found this all very interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really liked the red on the walls in here.

 

 

 

 

Claire loved the toilet.

 

 

 

 

And back down the stairs we went.

 

 

Mr. Brat was still putting on a show and I really have to hand it to our guide. He was so patient and tactful. Sadly the parents didn’t understand that their child (and at time children) was being unruly.

 

 

 

I can’t remember if this was the ball room or if the next room was.

 

 

Mr. Brat did try to open the door to the next room and he got another tactful scolding from our guide. I think the parents were now starting to get it as they held on to him more, which of course he absolutely hated.

 

 

 

 

While we were in here is when I started hearing more chatter from others who had just about had it with Mr. Brat and his siblings. We were enjoying our tour, but it would’ve been so much better if they had just taken the child outside, or at least one parent. Sometimes you just have to do that.

 

On to the final room.

 

 

 

 

 

In hear we heard more history about the Governor and the kings and about the people antsy to start a revolution. Some people asked questions and it was all very informative. At one point, Mr. Brats parents were now holding him as he was just going nutso and of course he started screaming. I think at this point they finally exited after a few minutes of blood curdling screaming. I think everyone had a sigh of relief when they exited and our guide even said something witty that we all laughed about.

 

Finally it was time to say goodbye, but we could ask him questions if we had any.

Well my Dad did. Mom said the whole time he kept asking her this question and she told him to ask the guy, so he quickly found the guy as we left and talked to him. I really don’t know what the question was, other than it had something to do with guns.

I found this kind of funny though. Remember, my Dad did NOT want to come on this trip, he decided last minute to drive? And now he’s all interested in everything and asking questions.

 

We wandered outside while Dad talked with the guide.

 

 

 

 

 

The tour was fantastic, even with Mr. Brat and family. I can only imagine how much better it would’ve been if they had not been there. I am sure by going in with different guides you will get different info as well.

 

 

Time to move on!

 

 

We were now hungry and decided to head down the market area (I think it’s called that) to get some lunch. The cheese shop was on our list to try.

 

I love this house …..someone actually lives there!

 

 

So we looked at the Cheese shop and it was packed. I believe they had people lined up to the door. We decided to head across the street to a restaurant on the corner that had both indoor and outdoor seating. The menu looked good, but the wait was really long. So we went next door and the place was empty. We were seated right away. I guess this should’ve given us our first clue.

 

We looked at the menu and it was basically all sandwiches, which is fine for me, but not for Claire who will not eat a sandwich unless it is peanut butter and jelly.

 

So we ask for a kids menu when the waitress comes and she says no they don’t have them and had a smug smirk on her face. Ok then. I ask for the soups of the day and sadly neither are ones Claire would eat. So then she walks away and we look things over and decide to order Claire a Turkey sandwich, but with no bread or anything, just basically plain turkey.

Miss friendly comes back and we ask about getting the turkey sandwich plain with no bread and she says no. What? You can’t get us just plain turkey? NOPE! Sorry we don’t allow changes to anything.

My Mom gives her a glare and says I guess we won’t be eating here then and we all stood up and walked out. That girls eyes got so big and her mouth dropped wide open. LOL

My Mom doesn’t cuss too often, but when we got outside she called that girl a B word! She laughed that the girl was shocked we got up and left. But she was just nasty. I am sure if I asked for a manager, we could’ve gotten plain turkey.

Oh well, we are still hungry and just decide to grin and bear it and went into the cheese shop. We left Dad outside to watch for a table to open up and us 3 girls went in and made our orders.

It was crowded, but it really didn’t take too long for the food to be ready. We shopped around the store while we waited. It was hot in there with so many people though.

 

When we came out, Dad had a table. He said not long after we went in a table opened up and he snagged it. He said he was waiting with a few other guys who all had the same duty…watch for a table.

 

 

Claire was in corndog heaven.

 

 

I got a turkey sandwich and it was wonderful. And I am sure it was much better than it would’ve been at the other restaurant.

 

We had a nice leisurely lunch. After lunch we headed separate ways. Claire and I were going to do some shopping and Mom wanted to look in different shops.

 

 

I think Claire and I bought a magnet or 2 and headed out and wandered a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to head into the church and take a look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

Into the Church we went. Even with construction on the outside, we could still tour the inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Claire had to try out a pew.

 

 

This is very different than the modern day churches. The politicians also had preferred seating here.

 

We wandered around a bit and listened to some of the history being given and then we headed back outside.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a good time just wandering around.

 

 

 

And another stop at a bathroom. Yes we used every single one of them there this trip.

 

 

Another residence. I just love all the houses.

 

 

 

The Armory.

 

 

Which Claire and I decided to tour.

 

 

This is not for the faint of heart as you had to walk up several steps to get there.

 

 

 

 

I found it all very interesting, but Claire didn’t, so after a bit, we went back down. Plus is was a bit crowded up there too with not very many spots to stand without blocking the stairs or being in someone’s way.

 

 

We left the Armory and found some people having some fun.

 

 

They weren’t very good at it and kept laughing.

 

 

 

And on we went.

 

 

I love the horses.

 

 

 

 

We met up with the family here. We decided we would leave and take a break before coming back in the evening for the ghost tour. We had a lot of fun today and explored quite a few more things. We really enjoyed the Palace tour (even with Mr. Brat and family.)

 

We called Amanda and told her to meet us and we would be taking the bus up to the visitor center.

We weren’t there long and she pulled up. I let her drive back to the Marriott and boy that was a thrill ride. She was a wild and crazy driver! I do think we got off track at one point too so we had to do a U-turn. Which is funny because Suri (on my phone) would tell us “Make U-Turn at Light” or something along those lines. I just found it kind of funny.

 

I believe I took Claire swimming again for a bit and maybe a little nap as well. Dad laid on his couch bed and watch the same thing he watched the whole trip, the channel that played Williamsburg info and history. He had to have it all down by heart by the time we left. I did watch it off and on and it was very interesting, but not updated. It had a segment about a plantation that has been closed for several years now ….which is sad, as it was a gorgeous place from what I have read about in the past.

 

 

Also, isn’t it funny how Dad never wanted to visit this place, yet he was hooked on learning the history of it?

 

After our afternoon break, we got freshened up and headed back to Colonial Williamsburg. We took the bus back to the historic area and got off at the 2nd stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way to check in for our ghost tour at Shields Tavern. We had to use the restroom, so they directed us to go inside and downstairs to use it and then we could go to the back of the tavern to wait for the tour to start. There was a group of kids checking into eat. We think it might’ve been prom or some sort of special dance because they all appeared to be high school age and dressed up quite a bit.

I am sure this tavern serves great food. (it was one we never did get to try), but it had an old smell to the place. Now a lot of places did, but this one seemed worse than the others for some reason. I just wonder why these places don’t get aired out at all with windows open and such. Or maybe it was just a bad night.

 

 

 

 

We had arrived early, so we had to wait a bit, but finally it was time to start the ghost walk.

 

 

This lady was very passionate about it and lots of fun. She told us some ghost stories about the Shields tavern. One being that one time a manager and dishwasher left one evening after turning off all the lights and shutting the place down. They took an underground tunnel out to the back and when they got out they saw an upstairs light was on. The manager went back to turn it off and came back through again, only to find the light back on. I guess she did this a few times and saw a figure in the window as well. They knew of one ghost in particular that liked to play jokes and she went back a final time and told him to please stop playing games with her as she was tired and wanted to go home and when she left the light stayed off.

 

 

After a few stories, we moved on.

 

 

One other thing our guide had told us was to check our pictures out later one and if we were still in the area, let her know if we got anything interesting. She says many people will get orbs, but some have had boots show up in a picture where no boots were at, things like that. Amanda quickly told me to take lots of pictures as she was hoping we would get something.

 

We headed out towards the Capital next.

 

 

She told us a story how someone had been taking her picture at this point one time, when it was a bit darker out, and the lady was flicking one picture after another and then showed her the pictures. There was an orb working its way towards the guide and then as it got next to her the next picture was completely white, like the orb overtook the picture and then the next picture was perfectly fine.

 

We then got a few Capital ghost stories. I don’t remember them exactly now, but one involved a lady who has been seen in the balcony of the court room several times and they have looked up her history of who they believe her to be and she was hung for a murder they are now sure she didn’t commit.

 

This was all so very interesting ….and not too scary …as this was the family tour.

[gisco]

So did you get anything interesting in all your pictures? Orbs? Boots?

[jenseib]

So did you get anything interesting in all your pictures? Orbs? Boots?

 

I did get orbs!

[jenseib]

Next we walked over to the front of Shields Tavern. Our guide had the cutest saying as we walked, but I can’t remember how it went. But it went along the lines of This is a ghost walk, but our Horses are real, so look down when you walk. We all had a good kick out that.

 

Now I will admit, I really didn’t look through my pictures till several months after I got home. I loaded them to the computer and started editing them day by day, but it takes time to do that. Plus I have been writing my Disney Trip report from last Nov. so I don’t devote a lot of time to these pictures yet as I want to get the other trips ones done first.

So about 2 months ago I started editing this days pictures. Lo and Behold…..I found orbs! I quickly emailed Amanda and let her know. We both were excited.

 

I do not remember the story told here off hand, but it was another interesting one. Look at the light by the door. Just above that are 2 small green orbs.

 

 

Now I know certain lighting can cause orbs, so I looked it up a bit when I was editing. The best way to get an orb (besides a ghost) is to use a flash…which I did not. Also sunlight glaring into the camera will also give orbs at times ….I don’t see any sunlight do you? Ok, now maybe the lamp by the door was giving me a glare, but as I go on, you will see more orbs that do not have any source of light to reflect off my lens. And in truth, it was slightly lighter outside than the picture leads you to believe. It was dusk.

And …OK…I believe in ghosts and orbs!

 

Each time we walked to another spot, the guide would allow the kids to carry the lantern. Claire was asked once, but she was too shy to do it. We moved down towards Kings Tavern now.

Now this next picture looks like it is daylight again. This was all in how I set the camera when I took a picture. It was dusk, but I was able to set a slower shutter speed at times to allow more light in.

 

 

 

 

We moved on again. Now look to the left and between the 2 sets of windows in 3’s. Right in the middle is another small orb. It is hard to tell in a picture this size, but you can see it clearly in the original.

 

 

About this time a family arrived and started walking with us and asking everyone questions. “Is this the family ghost walk?” …”We were running late”. “Do we need to check in?” I have to say it was a bit annoying. I understand asking, but they asked several people and were not quiet about it. I think after a bit the guide did talk to them and told them they could check the next walk that was later in the evening and start from the beginning.

 

As we moved on, I took more pictures. I believe that is Amanda’s silhouette in front of me and to the left of her head you can see another green orb.

 

 

More orbs! From the tree to the right, the 3rd window and 5th window have orbs next to them.

 

 

We next made our way over to the general store. See the orbs?

 

 

I don’t remember exactly why I took this. I think there was a door here before…..or something as you can see the different brick. I know there was a reason I took it.

 

 

We got some great stories here. The owner was very fond of his store and how neat he kept it. He was very offended if people didn’t feel the same way. Well ….one time some CW guests were walking through the store and a lady made a comment about the store being filthy and full of junk …..and………… Right after she said that, a checker board that was on the shelf behind the cashier went flying and hit the lady in the face.

So they decided it was a freak accident and they bolted the checker board to the wall so it wouldn’t fall off again. Once again a guest came in and made some rude comments about the store and this time the checker board ripped itself off the wall and flew and hit the person. Our guide did not tell us whether the checker board is still there or not, but the next day I went in the store and I did not see it. I did however want to say something about the store to see if something would happen, but I didn’t feel like having a broken nose for the rest of the trip. LOL. Plus I wouldn’t have really meant it, so it might not have worked anyways.

 

On we went.

 

 

More orbs!!! In the trees above Amanda’s head. I believe there are 4 or 5 of them.

 

 

I thought this looked pretty and kind of spooky for our ghost walk.

 

 

Mega green orb spotted!!!!!

 

 

We ended our tour in front of Chownings I believe. And another orb!

 

 

 

We were told a few more ghost stories of this place. One being of an employee who had to use the bathroom and they were not allowed to use the public bathroom upstairs. She figured she would run in quickly and use it as it would save her time. When she tried to push the door open to leave, she couldn’t get it to budge. It felt as if someone was holding the door from outside. I think she had to holler for help, in which a person easily opened the door. It was not stuck at all.

 

See the Green orb on the post for the sign?

 

 

Well it moved!!!! Hey dude!!!! You are being possessed right now!

 

 

Another sky picture.

 

 

I believe there is a small orb above the 2nd story window.

 

 

And 2 very small orbs underneath each window just to the left of each.

 

 

And a very big green orb.

 

 

And a couple of more of our friendly orbs.

 

 

Look at the sky! It is speckled with small green orbs.

 

 

It was time to end the tour and all the kids got to gather around to blow out the candle. Claire was not too shy for this.

 

 

And with that, we could go off on our own. We were hungry so we decided to see if we could get a seat in Chownings. Something was going on and they wouldn’t be seating anyone for another 45 minutes to an hour if we wanted to eat, so we passed on that and headed off to the bus stop so we could get back to the car and head out.

 

While waiting at the bus stop we took a few pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

We headed out again and once again I think we started going the wrong way, but we found a gas station and decided to fill up the car while we were thinking of it. Gas was pretty reasonable there and this car was actually getting pretty good gas mileage.

 

We then set off to find something to eat. We came upon a Uno Chicago Grill and decided to stop there.

If I remember right, Claire and I got a pizza to share and maybe soup or something like that for an appetizer. Once again I put my camera away for the night and didn’t take any pictures.

The meal was very good and I would go back there in a heartbeat.

Back to Fords Colony for the night. It sure is dark out there when you drive at night. The roads are not lit at all. Which isn’t a big deal to me normally, as I live in the country with no lighted roads either, but this had hills and trees and it made it even darker in my opinion.

I think I might’ve taken Claire for another quick swim before heading off to bed.

I believe this is the night we found “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” on TV. Amanda told Claire it was a good movie and she would like it, so I turned it on in our room and I passed out. I think Claire watched the whole thing late into the night. Thanks Amanda!

Since we have been home, Claire realized that we had that movie on DVD in a combo pack and has watched it several more times.

 

Once again I will comment that the bed was comfy, but the pillows were awful. If we ever go again, I will either bring a pillow along or I will go and buy a cheap one and just leave it there. Anything has to be better than those things.

 

Another wonderful day and once again we were reminded when we saw the map of the US in the Palace that we are Virginians, NOT Ohioans like we thought.

[cfc]

I took the ghost tour with a friend a number of years ago. It ended early when a HUGE thunderstorm went off right over Colonial Williamsburg, forcing everyone to run for their lives.

 

Seemed like an appropriate finish.

[jenseib]

I took the ghost tour with a friend a number of years ago. It ended early when a HUGE thunderstorm went off right over Colonial Williamsburg, forcing everyone to run for their lives.

 

Seemed like an appropriate finish.

 

My sister said she did it with my Aunt and Uncle many years ago and they too had a rain storm and the had to finish early.

[jenseib]

April 17, Wednesday, Day 5

 

Even though we still had a few more days left on our trip, today was the last day for exploring Colonial Williamsburg. I warned everyone the night before that today we WOULD be up early and leaving early. If you missed the ride, then you came later in Dad’s truck. (that was a threat, because no one wanted to drive it and he was only allowing me to drive it, which I didn’t want to either).

 

I got up and ready right away, even did some work on the computer and Claire was decent enough about getting up too. No one wanted to be left behind. I figured that CW would be less busy early on and we could get a lot done and then make our way back for a rest before dinner.

I also had a goal in mind. I was hoping to catch the guys in British Redcoats or Colonial soldiers. I have seen pictures of these guys in all the advertising and even in friends pictures, but they seemed to be nowhere around. I wasn’t sure if we were leaving too early or arriving too late. OR perhaps it wasn’t something that happened every day. Anyways, I’ll give you a heads up now…I never found them this time around either.

 

So off we went. We knew the drill now. We arrived, parked, headed to the Visitor Center, made our way to the bus and then headed off to the first stop. I think we were getting off the bus around 9:40. Not bad for a bunch of slow pokes.

 

Dad was on a mission. Ever since he found out that Claire and I had visited the church the day before, he needed to tour it himself. I told him that I probably wasn’t going to go in again, but I would meet up with them later.

So we started our power walk that way, passing the Palace as we went.

 

 

Amanda had not been with us yesterday due to not feeling well in the morning and as we passed the Palace, I suggested going in to look at the Gardens and she agreed. Dad pouted about it. We told him he could go on ahead, but he won’t do that. He found a bench out along the wall and sat down. We went in to take a look around again.

 

 

 

A few weeks or so before the trip I had decided I wanted a fisheye lens. I really have a hard time justifying the price of one, especially for as little as I would use it. I found an attachment lens for very cheap on Amazon and thought “what the heck” and ordered it. It would just screw on to the end of one of my lenses and I could give it a try without being out too much money. I pulled it out here to give it a try. It’s not like a true fisheye lens, but it gives a similar effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We worked our way to the back of the gardens again and another little show was going to start soon. We decided we wanted to watch it and I was instructed to call Dad and let him know that we weren’t coming back out anytime soon. He grumbled a bit and I told him he could sit out there and wait, or come back and watch it and he did decide to come back and watch it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had my fill with playing with the Fisheye attachment and put back on my other lens.

 

Here comes Dad, who is telling us how happy he is about coming back.

 

 

This guy was standing back by us waiting to do his part.

 

 

We were all settled in our seats and soon the show started. Basically this was a story about how slaves were sold and separated from their families. One of the ladies had had some issues and was now going to be sold and so were her children, and all separately. I will say…..that acting was not these ladies calling…..but still it was interesting to watch and it’s really hard to think that people could be that cruel back then.

 

 

 

I guess my eyes were wandering as it went on and I took a few random pictures at times.

 

 

 

 

After the show, we headed off on our way to the church again. Dad doesn’t do well when we deter from a plan.

 

 

 

 

Dad is exciting to be getting his way now.

 

 

 

 

We separated and I believe Claire went with them to tour the church again and I went off on my own.

 

 

I think I went in there and tried to make a lunch reservation for Chowning’s, but I found out that lunch is just walk ups and you couldn’t make a reservation.

 

I took a look back at the Palace.

 

 

 

 

I went in and out of a few buildings.

 

 

 

 

I believe this is the Church Steeple through the Trees.

 

 

[jenseib]

As I walked around I caught this guy looking out the window. I thought it was a neat shot.

 

 

He caught me!!!

 

 

That was the building he was in, which was a store.

 

 

So I decided to take a look inside.

 

 

 

 

 

I am so mad about this next picture. If I had gotten it in focus, it would’ve been such an awesome shot.

 

 

 

And back out I went to wander some more.

 

 

I zoomed down towards William and Mary College.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey look, the Oxen are out!

 

 

Let’s take a zillion pictures of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Oxen sighting, I then spotted some characters coming down the road.

 

 

I really loved this about CW, characters here and there and having a colonial conversation.

 

 

If course, that was when I was in earshot. For all I really know it could’ve been “Hey Frank, when is you break? Want to go to lunch”.

 

 

I then wandered over to the store …the one we had been outside of for the ghost talk. I was so tempted to say something negative about the store, just to see if something came flying at me, but A, I didn’t want to get hit, and B, I would totally be freaked if something actually did come flying at me.

 

 

 

The storekeeper was very nice, but pushy. He really wanted me to buy the book about Colonial Williamsburg. He went on and on about how informative it is. I told him I actually had one at home, but it was a few years old. He insisted this one was better and updated. And I should be reading about what I was seeing as I walked around the streets. That may be true, but I know I wouldn’t do that. I would read it when I got home, which I have been reading the old one off and on at times. It does make much more since after I have seen the places, compared to a few years ago reading bits and pieces in it and not really being able to picture it.

 

 

It took me a bit, but I finally got away and he started in on some other customers.

 

Back outside I wandered some more.

 

 

 

 

I then went to put our name in for lunch, but I wasn’t allowed to till all of my party was there.

 

 

So I texted them and told them to come so we could be seated and then waited.

 

 

And waited……and waited. It seemed like it was taking them forever, even though they kept saying they were on their way. Well they were just down the road at the courthouse watching a session going on and they were waiting for it to be over. They said one of the guys there was our tour guide from the Palace the day before and again he was excellent.

 

Once we all were together, we were led into Chownings for lunch.

 

 

We did have some menu issues. Amanda didn’t like her options, but in the end, she went with a sandwich.

 

 

 

 

 

This is mine, and I think it was a French dip sandwich.

 

 

Amanda’s, which I think was a Turkey sandwich.

 

 

Claire went wild with peanut butter and jelly.

 

 

I believe mom went with the Brunswick Stew.

 

 

I don’t have a picture of Dad’s by my guess is he got a basic sandwich as well.

 

The food was decent, though I wouldn’t brag about my sandwich, it was still good. The food isn’t cheap here though, but we wanted to experience lunch at one of the taverns and this was a good choice and experience.

 

With bellies full, we headed back outside again.

 

 

[jray21]

I really need to get back to Colonial Williamsburg. The last time I went was in 1992, and I loved it! Thanks for the update, it was nice to see it again.