Colonial Williamsburg

Well here as promised is my little review of our day at Colonial Williamsburg. I am a big fan of nerdy vacations like this so I had no doubt I would enjoy it. Kimberly had her doubts but enjoyed it just the same. I had been there before in the 1980's as part the a family vacation to the area. I don't remember much about it. I kind of likened it to Old Sturbridge Village (which every school aged child visits at least once growing up in Massachusetts).

From the newly renovated visitor's center we took a bus to the old capital building. The old capital building was once the capital of Virginia and housed the Burgesses (the colonial government of Virginia) before moving to the present capitol of Richmond. After a tour of the building we gathered outside with the other visitors to view the festivities of the day. Each day the park staff take on the roles of famous historic Virginians (as well as shopkeepers, masons, farmers, slaves and ordinary citizens ect.) to tell the story of Williamsburg and the importance of the events & people leading up to the Declaration of independence. The staff "interpreters" (as they like to be called) were great, they were dressed & talked in the period and gave a real human aspect of the events. It was more than just watching a play, there were "towns people" mixed throughout the crowd that help to explain what was going on and who was who, they also talked and treated everyone as though we were actually with them in 18th century Virginia. These guys really know how to get into character!!! I found it interesting listening to how the 18th century Virginians reacted to the events taking place in Boston, growing up in Massachusetts you really only hear that side of the story. Over a few hours the activities show the different aspects of colonial life and how the events affected each of them (from freeman to farmer to slave to wife) along with a little tour of the town itself. We visited the silversmith, wigmaker, saddlemaker, cobbler, merchants and the surrounding gardens.

Our favorite place was the garden nursery. It is a great example of a colonial garden with lots of period plants and tools. Of course you can buy some of the plants and seeds there too. I bought a fig tree and Kimberly got some lavender seeds to plant. The gardens gave us all sorts of ideas for types and layouts for our back yard. The castor plant (left) is really cool and we intend on growing this next year (it is an annual if you can believe it!) It was also great to see a working garden and nursery before modern technology. No hoses, sprinklers, metal fencing, fertilizer ect. An all natural/organic garden before there was a name for it.

One of the other aspects that made Colonial Williamsburg stand out was that the area isn't closed off separate from the rest of the modern world. When we got to the end Duke of Glouster Street there was a little shopping area filled with cafes and boutiques. Some might cringe at seeing an 18th century carpenter on one block and on the next a Williams-Sonoma but I thought it was tastefully done and fit very well. Also in the area is William & Mary College with many old building and architecture that match the old capitol, so everything fits nicely together. I did have to be patient with a few pictures to make sure that there weren't any cars in the background. We had lunch at a fabulous wine & cheese shop in the marketplace and the prices throughout the area were very reasonable ($1/20 oz. Aquafina , $10/ bottle of pinot noir, $6/ decent sandwich), something you rarely fine around tourist attractions.

All in all I give it 8 out of 10 stars. The only real knock was the price of the tickets. At $35 to tour most of the building it was a bit overpriced, especially since you can just cross the street and watch the festivities and look at the buildings for free. The staff was amazing and really bring the park to life. Nearby there are similar parks for historic Jamestown and Yorktown. We didn't get there this trip but when we bring the kids to the beach again we will definitely explore these too. If you're looking for a great family day then Colonial Williamsburg has something for everyone!