Chuck Nessa Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Ann and I will be spending a week in Williamsburg (March 6-13). We have never been to the area and are overwhelmed by the stuff we find by Googling. Any advice would be appreciated. If any list members are in the area, meetings would be nice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Don't know much about Williamsburg, but if you decide to swing by D.C., let us know. Bertrand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Passed through Williamsburg briefly a few years back, heading from Norfolk to D.C. The obvious answer (to me anyway), Colonial Williamsburg is worth a visit. Here's a website that covers it fairly well: Colonial Williamsburg. The College of William & Mary is there also, where Thomas Jefferson went to school. Seems like they had a Busch Gardens or something like that there also, but we weren't interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undergroundagent Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Chuck, You might want to buy a Fodder's Guide to this area. I've always found these travel guides to be extremely helpful when I travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 ? Fodor's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undergroundagent Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Maybe that's it...either way, it's a quality guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Chuck, My wife and I honeymooned in Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg is fine but for us, the highlight is definitely Jamestown. There's been an enormous amount of archeological work there in preparation for the 400th anniversary of its founding, in 2007. If you want to learn more about the very earliest residents rather than the later era when the colony was firmly established, its a lot of fun. In the museum there's a schedule of the walking tours/interpretive talks that the Park Rangers give, be sure to do at least one, they're very good at taking you back in time, and again, if archeology is of any interest, you'll definitely enjoy it. One of the better discussions covers how the archeologists located the outline of the original fort. I'd also recommend a visit to Yorktown, there is a fine museum there covering the colonies up to the revolution and victory at Yorktown. Colonial Williamsburg has its charms but to me its more commercialized, lots more attempts to separate you from your cash, plus you have to fork over even more of it if you wish to actually get into the buildings. Basically, its free to walk around (other than parking) but its about $50 a person to get the full experience including all of the house tours. Definitely worth some time, but for me and my wife, we found the people dressed in colonial garb, etc., just a little too much; more of a show for kids, while Jamestown is the real deal-no "re-enactors" just markers and informative displays and your own imagination to picture the earliest settlements (be sure to stop at the glassworks on the way to Jamestown. Cool story-in order to try to have something to send back to England, the Jamestown colonists tried to establish a glass factory. The location was lost for several hundred years until it was rediscovered and excavated. So you can see the original site and then a hundred feet further along is a recreation of the glass factory. Another great day trip is to take the Plantation tours. I can't recall what highway it is, but they are all located on one long stretch along the James River. Beautiful old houses and gorgeous grounds, some of them right on the river. Very nice way to spend a day. And one BIG word of warning: OBEY the speedlimits in Williamsburg! The speed limits are very low-25 near William & Mary/Williamsburg and maybe 35 on the main roads, and the cops are very aggressive!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Nehru jackets, beads and 3 1/2" wide brown leather wrist watch bands aren't big down in these parts.....so if you'll toss a collared shirt and some cheap golf shoes into your travel bag, I'm sure that I could arrange a couple of tee times over at Ford's Colony or the Two Rivers Country Club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 One more suggestion, Chuck, for your dining pleasure. Assuming that you and your bride are steak eaters, I heartily recommend a place called A. Carrolls. Its very close by the campus of William & Mary. Best steaks I've ever had, excellent side dishes, too. But not cheap! But if you feel like splurging for one meal, you'd be hard-pressed to top it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted February 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Nehru jackets, beads and 3 1/2" wide brown leather wrist watch bands aren't big down in these parts.....so if you'll toss a collared shirt and some cheap golf shoes into your travel bag, I'm sure that I could arrange a couple of tee times over at Ford's Colony or the Two Rivers Country Club. The closed I get to golf is watching Buick commercials. Thanks to all for the tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 I'd be interested to hear your impressions after your return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted March 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Thanks, especially to Dan. We leave after work tomorrow and spend the night with our daughter Carla (my "art director") in the Detroit area. We will spend the next night in the Anapolis area then move on to Williamburg. I may post tomorrow, but "see ya soon". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vajerzy Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Just saw this- sorry I didn't see it earlier.....I live in Powhatan about 1.5 hours away from Williamsburg....... As Dan mentioned, Jamestown is a cool place to go, especially since new excavations revealed the outline of the fort, previously thought to be in the James River. Yorktown is a nice place also- they re-did the visitor's center a few years ago- I haven't been there in 7 years or so. I like Williamsburg- my wife and I drive down there and park on the side-streets and walk around, looking at the people and houses. Since it's your first time there, I recommend going to the visitor's center, buying tickets to tour the interiors of the homes and taking in the whole experience. The James River plantations are located on Rt. 5 in Charles City County- these are a series of magnificent homes along the James River. My wife and I like visiting these and we take guests to these as time allows. Click or paste on this web site: http://www.jamesriverplantations.com/ If you're doing the plantations, try to stop at the Indian Fields Tavern http://www.indianfields.com/ a somewhat pricey dining experience (menu on-line)but I've never had a bad meal yet. A very nice setting. If you haven't pick up a copy of AAA's Virginia guide- it'll help you with everything. Busch Gardens is closed now. I hope you see this before you leave. Have a great time and I hope your eperiences in the "Old Dominion" are positive and favorable! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted March 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Thanks. I saw it just in time. We leave in an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 have a good time chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Vajerzy, I went to Midlothian High School! Small world. Wait, you didn't used to run Soundhole, did you? Williamsburg was a lot of fun when I was younger. I haven't been there in years, but I remember Colonial Williamsburg being very tasteful, where they really could have gone over the top with the actors and all that. My cousins own a decent amount of farmland in Charles City that they use for hunting. Very pretty down there. Enjoy your stay in Virginia Chuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vajerzy Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 Yeah it is a small world!! I moved here in 1993. I don't know what Soundhole is- a record store? I played baseball at Midlothian's HS field when I was playing in the Richmond 30+ adult baseball league. Their ballfield is real nice. If you haven't been back in a while the area is growing. Williamsburg during Christmas season is wonderful. Thanks for writing impossible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Up for Chuck! Enquiring minds want to know: Tell us what you did! Where you went! What you liked! Did you get a speeding ticket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted March 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 We returned about 5 hours ago. I've been hauling cds from our garage to the basement since our return (with rest periods here). I will post in the morning. Thanks, Dan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted March 16, 2004 Report Share Posted March 16, 2004 Up again for Chuck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted March 16, 2004 Report Share Posted March 16, 2004 Maybe he had a lousy time......hated the warm ale in those overpriced taverns down there & doesn't want to talk about it. Stop forcing the man's hand!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted April 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2004 Dan’s been bugging me for a report on the vacation, so here goes. Friday we drove from MI to Annapolis and spent the night. In the morning we drove down to Ocean City, visited the wild ponies of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, then we got back on route 13 and drove south to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. The Bridge/Tunnel is something else! We arrived in Williamsburg early Saturday night, checked into our place and crashed. Sunday we did Jamestown – both the historic site and the recreation. Monday we drove to Kitty Hawk and down the outer banks to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Tuesday we did the James River Plantation thing. Only two of them (Shirley and Berkeley) were open but that was enough to fill the day. Friday we spent half a day at Yorktown. The rest of the time we spent in Colonial Williamsburg. We took the “Ghosts of Williamsburg” walking tour one night, bought a 2 day pass for the “pay sites” and wandered around on our own. We enjoyed Colonial Williamsburg immensely. Thursday, we looked up a “friend of a friend” who lives right across the street from Colonial Williamsburg. Mary Gonzales, age 87 is the widow of the former director of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Her husband was hired by the Rockefellers in the ‘60s to oversee the site (or something like that). Anyway, she insisted on taking us on a tour of “behind the scenes” stuff we might miss. Well, it seems Mary is the “Grande Dame” of Williamsburg. Everywhere we went she was greeted by name and doors were opened for us. It was a hoot. She also took us to lunch at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club Grill. Our desert was a rum/raisin ice cream, which may have been the best I’ve ever had. Beyond the “lunch with Mary”, our only other dining out was at the Kyoto Hibachi Grill (seafood cooked at the table sort of thing). It was very good. The rest of the time Ann cooked our food back at our apartment (gotta watch the diet). We left on Saturday and took a side trip in Virginia when Ann spotted a sign indicating a “scenic parkway” through the Blue Ridge mountains. It was very nice but made out arrival at the motel in scenic Akron very late on Saturday night. We arrived home on Sunday around 6 PM to find 4000 cds in the garage! I hope some of you enjoyed the music! Much thanks to Dan and Vajerzy for the help. I’ll entertain any questions you might have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 The Blue Ridge Parkway is definitely best experienced during Autumn. I hope you and Ann did enjoy it. My grandfather took a trip to New Zealand a few years back. One of his guides asked him why on Earth he would want to come to New Zealand when he lives so close to the most beautiful place on Earth, the Blue Ridge of Virginia! The grass is always greener... I would think New Zealand has to be one of the most prisitine terrains on Earth. Vajerzy, Soundhole was a store. I exchanged a couple of emails with the former owner back in the Blue Note Bulletin Board days. I can't remember his username, thought it might be you. Small world, nonetheless! Chuck, did you make any stops on the Outer Banks? One of my oldest friends has been living in Salvo during the summers for the past few years and just made the move back into Old Nags Head Cove. Another place I can go and feel like a local! I've got a question! What kind of music does the Nessa family truckster pack for a road trip like this? B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 We arrived home on Sunday around 6 PM to find 4000 cds in the garage! That clinches it; we're going to Williamsburg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Glad you enjoyed the trip, Chuck. My wife and I plan to return for the 400th anniversary of Jamestown a few years down the road. Wish we had a "friend of a friend" like yours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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