Williamsburg

But first! We Migrated.

By which I mean we updated our website. It may look a little different, but it’s still us 🙂

There is a lot to do and see in Williamsburg, VA. These are the four main attractions.

Busch Gardens

Busch Gardens is known as America’s most beautiful theme park, and for good reason. It is beautifully maintained, and each section of the park represents a different European country. We got to visit during the most magical time of year and enjoy Christmas Town!

Something about amusement parks makes me feel like a kid again – especially when they are beautifully decorated and have different countries you can visit inside.  We met Father Christmas almost immediately upon entering the park, and got some hot chocolate before taking the skyride to Germany, where the kids could play on the awesome “land of the dragons” climbing structure.  We also saw a show there which was fantastic, while we ate schnitzel at the Festhaus.  We saw a couple of lights shows, took a train ride, walked through France and Italy, and then it was over before I was ready, and I was left with the feeling of wanting to go back in order to see every country and watch more shows!

Colonial Williamsburg

The namesake of the area, Colonial Williamsburg is one of the points of the “historic triangle,” located here, and is probably the most well known as the largest living history park in the US.  During the holidays, it was fun to see the houses decorated in the old-fashioned way, with evergreens and dried fruit and painted seashells. 

Even without buying tickets, there is a lot to see, so check the schedule online before you buy. We got to enjoy a fife and drum performance by our colonial troops, carriages passing back and forth, and our girls in the stocks at the courthouse.  We ate dinner there at Chelsey’s Tavern, which was pricey (but the going rate) but delicious, and we were even serenaded by a Colonial guitarist.

Yorktown

Another point of the historic triangle, Yorktown is a national park and includes a Visitor’s Center and Museum (seperate from the American Museum of the Revolution, which is also a popular point of interest in Yorktown). 

The National Park includes a drivable trail with various points of interest highlighted along it, such as a cemetery of unknown (and some known) soldiers, redoubts and areas that played a strategic role during the revolutionary war. I thought it was very cool to see the battlefield where the British surrendered and the memorial built there, with pieces of their cannons molded into monuments.  The waterfront at the town of Yorktown was also quite cute.

Jamestown Settlement

This was my personal favorite point of the historic triangle. There was so much to see!  The museum had a lot to look at, but even better were the Powhatan Indian village where we could see inside the dwellings, and the historic ships where we could go on board and explore what life was like living on these vessels.  And, of course, there was the settlement where there were some living history actors and many facets of colonial life could be seen. We also got to see some musket shooting, and a few farm animals.