Williamsburg Day 5 – The Battle of Yorktown

Today would be our last full day of touring this historical triangle. Woke up at a decent hour, packed the car and checked out of the resort. It was quite nice there and I’m glad we got out of that whole time share debacle.

We drove to Yorktown and started looking around for a small place to grab coffee and breakfast. Apparently, they don’t believe in Cafe’s there as it was all filled with historical houses. We had to start driving away before we ended up at McDonald’s. It was adequate and hit the spot at least. We then went to the Yorktown National Battlefield which pretty much consists of lots of empty land. After viewing the intro movie, we bought the driving tour CD to enhance our experience. Without that CD, it would have all been a blur of small hills and cannons. The CD brought it all alive and made the experience worthwhile. After driving around, we took a short walk around town and did a geocache near an old cave. Apparently, this is where many people hid out while the town was being bombarded.

Finally, we visited the Yorktown Victory Center. Here they had a pretty good sized museum, a recreation of a soldier’s encampment, and an active post war farm. It was all rather interesting. The hi-light was watching them prep and shoot a musket gun. I could not believe how loud it was! Yorktown was fun, but certainly paled in comparison to everything else we saw. Still, I appreciated seeing the place where the war for our Independence ended.

From Yorktown, we drove to the Williamsburg Alewerks. We tried their different beers and picked up a nice rich porter to bring home. Dark and chocolatey, mmm mmmm good! From here we went to the Williamsburg Winery, Virginia’s oldest winery. I was disappointed at first as every wine you were allowed to taste contained grapes from outside Virginia. Seriously, if you want to taste a Finger Lakes white, you should just go there! We did manage to coax them into giving us “the good stuff” afterward. All wines produced with just Virginia grapes. Excellent, but overly expensive. We did buy one of the cheaper ones we liked though since they were so accommodating.

Drove to our hotel for the night, a Hampton Inn and Suites. As with all Hampton Inns I have stayed at, this one appeared excellent. Dropped off the bags and headed to dinner at Peking Mongolian Bar-B-Que. I am SO glad that we do not have one of these at home! They actually have as part of the buffet, a sushi train where you can keep going up and taking more sushi! I spent most of my caloric intake eating delicious sushi. Lots of fun varieties to try. With full bellies, we went to the nearby Pirate’s Cove mini-golf course. It seems that every vacation we go on, Tim and I have one round of competitive mini-golf. This time he was the lucky winner, though just barely! It was fun and helped walk off some of dinner.

Arriving back at the hotel, we got to the room and settled down a bit more. The entire time, I heard what sounded like a zoo next door. Turns out, it was unsupervised children and phone calls from the front desk did nothing to shut them up. Luckily, the hotel had another room available which we took advantage of, on a floor with no kid’s conventions going on.

As we get ready to leave Virginia tomorrow, I still have some questions in my head that need answering…

- Why are there no rose bushes in any of the garden’s of Williamsburg? For that matter, I didn’t see roses anywhere we drove down here!

- Why is it that the further South you go, the more Pancake and Waffle Houses you find? I hope to solve this mystery tomorrow because we will investigate one for breakfast.

- At what point in traveling South did it become appropriate to replace “You” with “Y’all”?

Some questions may never be answered!

Williamsburg Day 4 – Another Day in Colonial Paradise

This morning, Tim and I had the pleasure of sleeping in since we had no time share’s to fight against, as well as having seen most of Williamsburg yesterday. We still managed to get to the historical area by 10:30 and started exploring. Today we had encounters with the basket maker, wig maker, jailer, and many more interesting people. It was fun watching the basket maker as she had to deal with a grey tabby cat that kept looking for kitty treats. Reminds me of some cats back at home!

We also watched the silversmith for awhile as she created a silver spoon. The process was pretty interesting and the finished products look amazing. Too bad so much of the stuff that is created here sells for such a high price. We went to the colonial bakery for lunch where I came away pretty disappointed. I was hoping there would be lots of unique treats but the few items they had were generic and boring. At least the tour at the nearby colonial coffeehouse was better. I chose to try the chocolate drink while I was there. Delicious and tasty with some unique herbs thrown into the brew. We ended our day at Williamsburg with a trip to the countries first sanitarium, or as they liked to call it back then; the place for crazies and lunatics. They have a small exhibit on hospital conditions with a large underground museum full of American Folk Art. Apparently, Mrs. Rockefeller, who helped restore Williamsburg, had quite a fondness for this type of Art and her entire collection can be found here.

We left Williamsburg, heads filled with knowledge of the Colonial Period. Tomorrow, we take the last step and visit Yorktown. This was where the battle for American Independence ended. For dinner we ate at Second Street Bistro. We had gift certificates from the Time Share place so the meal was free and fabulous. I enjoyed some Cajun shrimp, sausage, and southern grits. You should have seen the piece of Carrot Cake that Tim got for dessert. I think he plans on running behind the car on the way home to burn it off!

It was a wonderful day but our vacation will soon be over. It was nice getting through one whole day without being contacted from anybody at work! Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Williamsburg Day 3 – Stepping back in History

Tim and I get up bright and early, ready to do battle with the Time Share reps as necessary. We get down to the Office and the bank representative shows up soon after. She was very friendly and accommodating. We signed the necessary papers and in less then ten minutes we cancelled our purchase from yesterday. What a weight off our shoulders! With that out of the way we could continue our vacation properly!

Drove to Williamsburg and parked up near the marketplace end. We happened to hit during the farmer’s market so were able to grab some coffee and muffins. From there we started our walk down the main road. If I described every building we went into, I would be here all day! Suffice it to say I will hit on some of the hi-lights. One of the households had a special demonstration where they were making all sorts of home made remedies for skin, hair, mouth, etc. It was very informative and it was fun watching these concoctions be brought to life. Who knew that animal fat could be so good for your skin! Every building we entered was well staffed by knowledgeable tradesmen and actors. Any question thrown at them about their profession or the house you were in quickly got a response. I was especially impressed by the quality of work done at the cabinet maker. The desks, chairs, etc that they made were absolutely gorgeous! One thing Tim and I noticed a lot of were mockingbirds. I had never really heard them before but now realize what a diverse repertoire they have!

As late afternoon approached we partook of the Revolutionary City program. During this program, you follow actor’s from one location to the next and participate in critical points in American history. We observed a potential tar and feathering, as well as the first reading of the Declaration of Independence. This last re-enactment was followed by lots of guns and cannons going off. How exciting!

For Dinner, we ate at the Kings Arm’s Tavern. I enjoyed a traditional Wild Game Pie. Tim had Mrs. Vobe’s Tavern dinner. They were both very traditional and authentic colonial meals. Mine contained venison, rabbit, and duck. Not gamey at all like I was worried it would be! Our desserts were just as good: Bread Pudding and succulent pecan pie. Mmmm!

Following dinner, we got ready for our ghost walk. This involved one of the actors walking us around to three different houses. At each house, we sat for the presentation of a ghost story, told by the original ghost. Highly entertaining and all based off historical information. By the time we were done and walked back to the car, my feet were exhausted!

Tomorrow we will finish off the buildings at Williamsburg. I just hope my poor feet can handle the walking. I really need new shoes!

Williamsburg Day 2 – Timeshares, Jamestown, and Witchcraft

Friday morning, Tim and I woke up to find the sun shining, birds singing, and lots of blue sky and happy clouds. We were ready to go face off with the Time Share people, listen to their spiel and then after two hours, go on our merry way.

The salesman was good, very good. We were given all the information on the positives and some of the negatives of owning a time share. Because they are in the top 97% of time shares, apparently people never have problems getting weeks and weekends wherever, whenever they want. The idea of traveling anywhere in the world for $199 for a week in a gorgeous cottage, penthouse, etc, really excited us. With unlimited weeks, we could even send other people away as well. So family and friends could have weekend excursions for $49 a night at world wide resorts. We were told the property is very marketable because of its proximity to Busch Gardens and Williamsburg. We also toured one of the new units we could purchase. They were absolutely beautiful. Tim and I talked it over and decided to go for it. We would be the proud owners of our very own time share. We would have the deed to a one bedroom estate unit for one week a year. Of course, there was the down payment, the mortgage, the high interest rate, etc. We signed away and felt pretty good about it.

Well, we leave the resort and head over to Jamestown. This time we went to the side that has recreations. The interpreters at the different areas were excellent and were a wealth of knowledge. The first area we explored was the Fort, in which Tim and I learned a fun new game called Nine Men’s Morris. It has a lot of strategy and the best part about it is that you can create your own set for it for free. Next we roamed around the gardens and the areas where interpreters were showing canoe carving, goods produced at Jamestown, etc. We especially liked the Indian method of growing three main crops. Corn, Squash, and Beans; all off of one small mound. The plants work off each other to conserve water and the vines grow up the corn plants. Very impressive. Afterward, we toured the three replicas of original ships that brought the first Englishmen to Jamestown. Very small with cramped quarters. Believe it or not, only one person died on the first voyage over. Finally, we came to the Powhatan Indian village. The huts they lived in were beautiful, nothing like teepees. Instead they looked like large domes that were covered in reeds. I am glad we experienced both Jamestown sites. They really complement each other and give you the full picture.

At this point we decide to return to the room for awhile and relax a bit before dinner. We start going over the paperwork on the Time Share, as well as the many different complications and red tape that slowly starts to clutter things up. Lots of red flags and warning alarms sound in our heads and we realize that, for us at this point in our lives, we made a terrible mistake. We looked through the documents and discovered we could cancel the entire transaction within seven days. I immediately called and emailed the banker who took care of our transaction. She said to come in Saturday at 8:30 to talk. Tim was getting sick about this whole thing, but I felt confident that we would be able to get out of everything fairly easily. We would find out the next morning.

Drive back into Williamsburg and grab a light dinner, splitting a sub between the two of us. Also have some more tasty local lagers. We have a Witch Trial to attend at nine o’clock so we slowly walk down the main street, stopping and photographing flowers along the way. We get to the court house and await our trial.

At the trial, the courtroom is lit only by candlelight. Based on a true story, a local woman is being accused of witchcraft. Based on the evidence we heard, it was our decision of a guilty / not-guilty verdict. Using the reasoning and understanding that a person from the 1700′s had, I couldn’t help but find this poor woman guilty. Interestingly enough, after the trial, I asked one of the actors if the accused is ever found not guilty. 21% of the time was the reply, and typically only when there are families with young children in the audience. Apparently, the parents don’t want their kids to think it is ok to kill witches!

We end our evening at Chowning’s Tavern. We each order a local beer and a small plate of 18th century appetizers. It was an interesting atmosphere, as a musician came into the room and played a few numbers. I also had my fortune read and, ironically, everything said could be directly related to the Time Share purchased! Clearly, we had to get this taken care of!! While there, we also learned another old game called Shut The Box. This one was not very good and I will never play it again. While at the tavern we sat with a nice retired couple. They apparently own a time share in Mexico and are fairly happy with it. Of course they did mention that yearly maintenance fees keep going up. Again, not something told to us by the Time Share representative.

Get back to the cottage and immediately go to sleep, after all, we have an interesting morning the next day!

Williamsburg Day 1 – A Journey into the Past

Williamsburg, Virginia is one of those places that I have always wanted to return to. I had been here once as a child, but our visit was cut short when my brother threw up in the Capitol Building. I wasn’t too pleased about this since we came all this way for my Birthday. Needless to say, at least 20 years have passed and I had the chance to return to this American Treasure.

Tim and I got the car packed immediately after work on Wednesday, had a quick meal at Wegmans, and were soon on our way. We were hardly ten minutes from home when the rains started. God appeared to be having a surplus sale on water and decided to dump it all on us. Somewhere in Pennsylvania, we switch drivers and continued through the maelstrom. The good thing though was that we didn’t come near any of the tornadoes. In fact, I heard on the news this morning that they killed at least 300 people! At around 1:30 in the morning, we decided to call it a night and found a hotel around Richmond Virginia. It was a Ramada and it was pretty crappy. But at least the sheets were clean and the price was right.

This morning we woke up, tried to eat healthy breakfast at a nearby Denny’s, ha ha, and continued our trip. Once again the rain continued. As we neared Williamsburg, the clouds parted and we were left with heavy winds. Stopped at the visitor’s center and picked up our multi-day passes. Also watched the introductory movie. Although it was made in the mid-50′s, it was excellently directed and really gave you a sense of the political feelings in the air around the time of our Independence.

Instead of touring the rest of Williamsburg, we felt it was best to jump back 100+ years earlier to the settlement of Jamestown. We started out at the Jamestown Glass blower and watched the demonstrator create some beautiful blue glass vases. We ended up buying two pieces to bring home with us. Following the glass demonstration, we took the drive around Jamestown Island. It is hard to imagine that people would decide to settle down in the middle of a swamp. It was beautiful but much too inhospitable for my liking! While the weather was still on our side, we toured the archeological site at Jamestown. They have been making great progress in excavating the original fort and the buildings contained within. Unfortunately, with all the wind, the dig was on hold until tomorrow. The last things we did at Jamestown were to tour the two museums. Lots of neat artifacts but I am looking forward to seeing the recreations tomorrow.

Headed to our lodging for the next few days: The King’s Creek Plantation. It is a large resort with cottages, estates, and townhouses. We got a two story cottage with two bedrooms. Of course, they are putting their best face forward because it is a time share and they are hoping we will buy into their venture. They obviously don’t know us. But, we will sit through their two hour presentation tomorrow because we have no choice!

For dinner we chose a restaurant called The Trellis. It came highly recommended by a friend. After working through a delicious piece of stuffed trout, I moved onto dessert. This is the home of the original Death By Chocolate Cake. It was absolutely divine. I am glad that vacations only come but once in awhile! We also had some really good beer there and we will have to visit the nearby microbrewery: Williamsburg Alewerks.

After dinner we walked around Williamsburg for a bit to burn off some of the calories. It was very peaceful in the late evening and nice seeing some of the buildings with candles in the windows. It was fun strolling around the gardens too. The evening light really brought out the colors in the flowers. I am looking forward to coming back and actually going into the buildings.

Tomorrow morning we have our sales pitch. Hopefully we won’t be coming back with any timeshares!

Adventures in San Francisco: Day 8

Today’s final San Francisco blog post is being written while 35,000 feet up in the air. This means I will have to type it up when I get home tomorrow. We are experiencing a fair bit of turbulence which I do not like at all. Hopefully we will be through it soon.

Getting to the airport this morning was no easy matter. Today was the yearly fun run through the city. This meant that they closed off one of the main east-west routes that needed to be crossed by us. It took forever to find the proper re-route to take. At least in Rochester when they have festivals, there are cross-streets left open. But still, we made it to the airport in time. Bought some snacks to take on board since they make you pay for food on board. If I was on Jet Blue, I would at least get potato chips!

Passing over the Sierra Nevadas and there is a lot of snow on the peaks. Hopefully we are finally done with snow back in Rochester.

If I think of any interesting anecdotes while sitting here, I’ll add them to the blog. I can’t wait to get home and see the cats. Hopefully they’ve been well behaved!

I wonder how much extra future trips would cost if I got first class? I am tired of feeling like a sardine with no leg room. At least give me some extra space for my legs!

As I sit here bored out of my mind on the plane I wonder how long it would take to get to the West Coast via train. It is probably more comfortable and cheaper too. I would love to do a road-trip sometime with Tim and start from San Francisco and head up the coast, ending in Seattle, Washington. I think that would be a lot of fun!

One woman I met while waiting for a bus was from Amsterdam. She had been traveling around the country for about three weeks. She said she really enjoyed the American food. Makes me wonder how bad Amsterdam food is!

We finally arrived back home around 1AM. The cats were VERY happy to see us and clung to us like Velcro. Ended up working from home today trying to get my body back into the proper time zone. Hope you all enjoyed my adventures on the West Coast!

Adventures in San Francisco: Day 7

Today was our last full day in San Francisco. We got up late after I got some much needed sleep. Then we headed over the Golden Gate Bridge and traveled up Highway 1. Highway 1 is infamous for its sharp turns, elevation changes, and picturesque scenery. It certainly did not disappoint! I managed to make Tim feel nauseous even though I drove perfectly fine, in my humble opinion. Up around Point Reyes we stopped at the Point Reyes Vineyards. The women running the place were very pleasant and the wines were quite good. We even bought a small bottle of chardonnay to bring home.

Heading east, we departed from the shoreline and entered cow country. I expected this to be wine country but apparently where we were, there are more milk farms then anything else. As we got closer to Petaluma we started to see the vineyards that the region is more well known for. Stopped and had lunch at a fun little pizza / pasta place called Mary’s Pizza Shack. Then we headed to our next winery.

Keller Estate Winery is huge. On the drive up to the tasting room we passed their ample vineyards. The wine was mostly excellent with special favorites being their Syrah and Pinot Noir. We left them and headed further into Sonoma, stopping at the Roots in Sonoma tasting room. Here, we got to try another excellent selection of wines and managed to pick up a great Meritage blend at an excellent price. Hopefully our wine will survive the trip home.

Heading south, we stopped at two more wineries: Jacuzzi Family and Cline Cellars. Turns out that they actually share the same wine master so are really the same winery. Unfortunately, neither one of them really impressed me today. Perhaps it was the throngs of people inside running around like two year olds. I have a full case of Cline Zinfandel at home but today just wasn’t their day.

We head back to the city looking for dinner. We end up going to the Thai restaurant that we visited the first day. I had a tasty pumpkin curry. Afterward, we stopped at the Rice Pudding place where I got a Pistachio rice pudding to go. Back at the hotel we have finished packing and are anticipating the long flight home tomorrow. We will not get home till after midnight. Part of me is debating taking Monday off. I’ll contact the bosses and see what they think. Looking forward to seeing the kitties!!