Lana and I decided to take a long weekend and visit the Williamsburg, VA area for Memorial Day. Both of us like history, and you can’t beat the place for American history. From the founding of the country to the Civil War and beyond, Virginia is bound tightly to America.
Colonial Williamsburg:
We started our vacation in Colonial Williamsburg. For those who don’t know, Colonial Williamsburg is a living history site. The city was the capitol of Virginia for many years (after it moved from Jamestown), and is the home to William and Mary College. Williamsburg is just a few miles up the road from Jamestown, site of the first permanent English settlement in North America, and Yorktown, where General Cornwallis surrendered and made America its own country. I will do separate posts on Jamestown and Yorktown soon.
Below is the entrance to Colonial Williamsburg. The flags of the original 13 colonies grace the flagpoles.
I have to give kudos to Colonial Williamsburg, too, for offering a free weekend pass to military veterans, retirees, and active duty personnel over Memorial Day weekend. It wasn’t something I knew about until Lana and I arrived to buy our tickets, but we got the complimentary admission. I knew my ten years in the Navy was good for something! Bravo Zulu!
Just down the stairs from the flags is a 3D map of Colonial Williamsburg. I thought this was pretty cool!
At Colonial Williamsburg, visit the shops and see how colonists worked back in the 18th century. We visited a blacksmith shop, a silversmith, book binder, the armory, Governor’s Palace, Capitol Building, and many others. I will use this post as a general overview of our visit and go deeper into other aspects in other posts.
The food:
We ate lunch at Josiah Chowning’s Tavern. Eating in what could be an 18th century tavern was the real treat, but the food was pretty good, too! Ditto for supper. We ate at Christiana Campbell’s Tavern, George Washington’s favorite tavern while visiting the city.
On of the great treats was seeing a Fife and Drum corps marching down the street.
Interesting to think it was part of the buildup to the Revolutionary War with England that launched the United States. Humbling, too, when you consider what the colonists risked to fight the British.
There you have my very quick overview of Colonial Williamsburg. With so much to see and do, the visit was a blast!
Connect with me:
Have you been to Colonial Williamsburg? Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought. If you want to connect with me on social media, I can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. Otherwise, email me at bill@williamlstuart.com. I look forward to hearing your comments on the post and on Williamsburg!
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