Vacation at Colonial Williamsburg

A visit to Colonial Williamsburg is a great family vacation that is filled with entertainment, educational opportunities, and quality family time. It is located within the historic triangle along with Youngstown, Jamestown and Bush Gardens and conveniently located near Richmond, Virginia. The experience was entertaining as the local townspeople were all dressed in authentic period costumes and interacted with all of the local visitors while they explained their skills, crafts, and way of life. The included a generous mix of jocularity along with the hardships and challenges that they faced on a daily basis. Many of the craftsman's shops were hands on demonstrations that demonstrated the end to end process of making their authentic products. The town blended the history of many years throughout the era and offered an in-depth look into the life of a town in the 18^th century. As the various re-enactors demonstrated their trades, they used the vocabulary and vernacular of their time, yet presented answers to questions in an understandable and down to earth manner so that both all of the spectators, young and old, could understand. The people were courteous and friendly, ready to lend a hand with finding a location on a map or engaging in an in depth discussion of their clothing, tools, domiciles and mannerisms.

My wife and I took advantage of a very reasonably priced five day, four night package that we arranged through their website at www.ColonialWilliamsburg.com that included accommodations in an inviting hotel room complimented by courteous staff, continental breakfast, day passes and discounts on evening events. The swimming pool was a refreshing way to relax after a day full of events, and many guests took advantage of the miniature golf course and shuffleboard courts that were available. In addition, the visitor's center was conveniently located next to the hotel lobby where you could catch the free of charge bus to and from downtown Colonial Williamsburg as well as the Merchant Square which was filled with a wide variety of shopping opportunities. We were fortunate enough to attend an annual event called, "Under the Red Coats" which is a three day occupation of the city by hundreds of additional British Soldier re-enactors that travel from around the world to participate in the program. It was an additional treat to witness the soldiers interacting with the regular townspeople as they patrolled the streets and manned the checkpoints. It afforded us the opportunity to meet and talk with several of the "Red Coats" and in particular, we had the pleasure of meeting the 4^th Coy Brigade of Guards in America who demonstrated a crisp manual of arms, drill and although they didn't win the firing competition, they executed their volley with unmatched uniformity and precision. We spent a considerable amount of time with several of their members as they demonstrated their equipment, encampments and uniforms - each of them answering our questions with great detail, friendliness and an obvious enthusiasm.

We were pleased that the establishment permitted us to carry our refreshments, snacks, and lunches into the town in backpacks as this not only saved us time, but it allowed us to save some money as well. We did however indulge in a tasty afternoon snack every day from the bakery that offered ginger ales, root beers, a variety of ales and ciders along with cookies and cakes. Directly outside of the bakery, we found some comfortable seats shaded by the trees and managed to befriend a few hungry squirrels and birds throughout our lunchtime. There were plenty of dining opportunities for lunch and several of the shops offered snacks as well.

In the evening, we sampled a large assortment of cuisine available at the taverns throughout the town as well as a marvelous surf and turf buffet that was offered by the Woodlands Lodge. The dining was an experience as each of the establishments offered a savory selection of generous proportions mixed with authentic ales and beverages, enticing deserts and accompanied by an array of entertainment spanning from musicians to storytellers. Each evening we finished with a tour or a show (at an additional cost, but discounted with the package) that ranged from spine chilling ghost stories and shrieking witches to military trials and aiding the British soldiers. The venue offered a number of opportunities that ranged from events played out in air conditioned court rooms, outdoor interactive theatres and even ballroom dancing lessons that are sure to cater to everyone's interests. The additional evening programs were not necessary to enjoy the full spectacle of Colonial Williamsburg, but they did offer additional entertainment.

We were surprised to find that many of the visitors hadn't taken some time before their arrival to plan their trip. My wife and I spent several hours pouring over the web site reading up on all of the events, tours, museums and evening programs as well as the additional demonstrations offered during the "Under the Red Coats" occupation of the city so that we could take advantage of all of the opportunities that were available. Unfortunately, we overlooked planning the events geographically and found ourselves exhausted by days end. By the end of the third day, we decided that before the next visit, we would not only plan out our day, but we would also plan the day according to the map so that we weren't traipsing from one end of the city to the other, but in the end we laughed and justified it as "exercise". We did incorporate time to eat lunch and relax between a few of the features as we visited during a warm weekend in late June when the temperatures reached the mid 90's. It was advantageous to note the days and times that some of the events were open so that we didn't overlook any of the key points. We felt that we could have had a successful visit of Colonial Williamsburg in three days had it not been for all of the additional activities of the British soldiers, but were glad that we had the opportunity to see that as well. We had misjudged the length of time needed for the Dewitt Wallace Museum and hadn't allotted sufficient time to see the wide variety of exhibitions on display on our first visit. We would have allocated at least four hours to the museum if we had realized how extensive it was and were able to finish our tour on our final day. In addition, we spent a few hours visiting the numerous shops in the Merchant Square and took advantage of the opportunity to buy some souvenirs and gifts for family members as well as sampling a number of treats from the candy shop and the peanut store.

We had a spectacular five day visit to Colonial Williamsburg as the staff, food, events and accommodations exceeded our every expectation. We were pleased that we took the time to plan out the events of each day so that we could take full advantage of our time. We were pleased with the overall cost of the trip and took 498 pictures in the process. We are looking forward to planning our next vacation to include a trip to nearby Yorktown and Jamestown in the months to come. We would recommend this vacation to anyone interested in a quaint, romantic excursion for two or a fun filled, educational vacation for the whole family.