I start off my day with a short drive from Virginia Beach, Virginia, where I live, to Williamsburg, Virginia, to the location of Club Wyndham Governors green.
The trip was pretty fast because the time of day that I went was around 11 a.m. so it was before the typical traffic hustle for the area if you do go across the Hampton Roads bridge tunnel anytime from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. expect a traffic delay and if you’re flying into Norfolk International which is one of the airport’s it’s possible that you could come to the area you would have to pass over the Hampton Roads bridge tunnel to get to the other side of the water Williamsburg Virginia.
Video by Wander Open Roads
Day One
If you go earlier in the day or after 6 p.m. the traffic is pretty light, and it’s a quick, enjoyable drive-up Interstate 64 from the Norfolk Virginia Beach area.
If this is your first time in the Williamsburg area, I know that you’re in the most kind of strong historical areas of Virginia and even America. within a very short drive, you can visit not only Colonial Williamsburg but the battlefields of Yorktown and even the Jamestown Settlement and the museum related to the Jamestown Settlement.
Club Wyndham Governors green is more than I mentally expected as I was driving over. It offers very lush grounds and a very clean and updated environment when I first pulled into the resort it was easy to find the office and complete the check-in everybody was very pleasant, and I was impressed by the overall layout of the resort.
On this particular trip I’m not counting the day of my arrival as day one because I actually have this vacation our mini vacation vote for 4 days 3 nights. This first day of my arrival it’s just my travel day.
I checked into my room and was pleasantly surprised again by the great Wyndham facilities they just have some of the nicest cleanest facilities you can imagine.
This time I will be staying at a one-bedroom Suite unit it’s nice to have the sweet unit kind of feel like I’m spoiling myself a bit but as you walk in it really makes you feel like you’re in a Waynesburg when you know the area. The unit has a chair rail molding all around the walls of the main room I’m at something that you often only see in the South which is kind of nice it’s just that nice finishing touch that just says things are in a kind of finished in the property to A Cut Above.
The union has a mini kitchen and are very large nice bath they list the accommodations for 4 guests because you have a king-size bed in the bedroom but also the sofa is a queen sleeper sofa which is nice and it’s a nice option to half.
On this particular trip is just me as it often is on these little travel vacations that I take but this will be fun because this is going to be another one of those short trips that I take that it’s kind of trip down memory lane for me.
While I’m in the area, I want to do a lot of historical things just because it has been probably 20 years since I have done so. Even though I live close to the area, it’s amazing sometimes how you don’t take the time to explore the communities that are so close to you. But I find now that I’m I really enjoy looking back I enjoy looking back on those times when I came here with my family when I came on trips with loved ones and that just adds another layer of fun.
On this trip, I hope to get back to Busch Gardens for a visit, and I want to do the Anheuser-Busch tour if that’s available. The next day I want to kind of go do either Yorktown or Jamestown I can’t make up my mind which one would be more enjoyable to do.
As for tonight, I just have in my mind a restaurant that I haven’t been to in about 4 or 5 years that I want to see if it’s still open and go out to for dinner.
Well the restaurant that I remembered Red Hot & Blue is unfortunately closed now it seems to be a collateral victim of covid-19. It is sad that so many nice places have closed either temporarily or permanently when their website says that this particular restaurant has closed permanently. I’m sad to see them go but there many other local restaurants that I work all and I decide to go visit one of those.
I actually decided to try somewhere new my first night as it had great online reviews and it is available for both curbside and Patio Service as well as pickup service. the location I found is Shorty’s, Diner Virginia.
The menu was down on their website but when I got there, it was pretty much everything I expected but better the menu included all of your typical Diner favorites and I mentally told myself at the end of the meal that I had to come back for breakfast cuz it looks like they did a really good breakfast that was done you don’t want the diner griddle so I could just imagine pancakes and hash browns and a really good side so I mentally told myself to come back for breakfast.
After my meal, I just wanted to relax, so I went back to the room and stretched out on the comfortable couch and actually just kind of drifted off to a pleasant nap with a full belly.
After napping a good night’s sleep, I woke up and grabbed an orange juice that I purchased during the evening and started my day off with the juice.
One of the nice things about the room was the jetted tub after the light breakfast I stayed in the tub relaxing for a while. So long that allows your fingers and toes to prune a little and enjoy the Jets and the heat then I jumped out for a quick shower, I wash my hair and then dress and get ready for the day.
Today I’ve decided to go to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg because it’s one of my favorite times of the year to visit Busch Gardens. Each year just after they finish their Halloween celebration they change and tire Park in the overall experience over to Christmas Town. the first year of Christmas Town I actually came over to Williamsburg and attended and even know new ownership and just take it over the park it was their first year doing the Christmas Town event I had a great time.
So much so that I had already been back once, but this time I thought it would be neat to go by myself to just do the few things that I wanted to do that stuck out to me in my memory for my first two trips. one of the things that I really enjoyed was the shows the first year they had Celtic shows with live actors and actresses that were great singers and performers. going to the Christmas Town shows just has a special feeling that is different from going to the shows during summer at Busch Gardens.
Sometimes in summer, you might duck into a show just because it’s hot outside and the shows have great air conditioning so you’re getting out of the heat you’re sitting down to relax when you’ve been walking through the park all day but this is different. During the fall or winter when you’re going to see a show it’s on purpose it is something that you set out to do from the start and it’s because you’ve enjoyed the shows in the past, or you are interested in seeing the new shows.
If you haven’t been to Busch Garden Williamsburg before, it’s important to understand that Busch Gardens Williamsburg is all done on a European theme. So, when you enter the park you’re actually entering Old England. then from there, you can choose to either walk towards France or Italy and do a tour of Europe.
Each part of the park is actually themed after a different nation and the rides and shows the events all created around the European team. if you have been to Epcot at Disney, it has kind of that field but it’s more organic and natural. The walkways and the entire park layout lend themselves to making you feel like you’re on a journey. by comparison, when you’re at Epcot at Disney, it feels much more structured and organized. maybe it’s because when you’re at Epcot you can see the other nations that you’re going to cross waterways and other areas clearly, so you know that you’re just kind of going around in a circle. At Busch Gardens Williamsburg it’s much more a part of the environment so when you’re walking from one area to the other it doesn’t feel as planted or unnatural of moving from one of these little Nation areas to the next country to the next.
Now for Christmas Town, you can see that you’re going from country to country in Europe and it’s neat to see how each country is decorated for the holiday.
During Christmas Town time, they call the nation’s villages and each Village is decorated for the holiday. You have England, Scotland, Ireland, France, New France, Germany, and Oktoberfest all decorated for Christmas. They also have several rides that are open as long as the weather permits, and that includes Finnegan’s flyer the catapult invader Alpengeist Kinder Kastle the Roto Baron, Verboten Oscar’s whirly worm, and Grover’s Alpine Express. this year they also have the Busch Gardens Railway open which is all decorated for the Christmas season and they have the Autobahn open. many of these rides have been around since I was a child they’re well-maintained, they’re in good shape oh, and they’re just as fun as they were in my childhood.
One of my favorite areas to visit in Christmas land is Ireland. there is a show in Ireland every year there’s also a show near Big Ben in England every year that’s one of the show locations. This year for entertainment at Busch Gardens Williamsburg they have England carolers that are singing Christmas carols they have the show with the Killarney Christmas Trio and in New France, there’s a guitarist and vocalist that are set up and performing think it’s hourly. in the Festhaus they also have a Pianist which is unique that’s something new that they hadn’t done before.
I was happy to see that one of the things that they did the first year was back and at that was a marketplace where they allowed local craft sellers to come in and set up shop and offer many neat little Trinkets and Christmas items for sale in the marketplace, they also have a pottery store German gift store and a new mistletoe Marketplace as well as several of their other shops that are open pretty much year-round.
If you haven’t been to Busch Gardens Williamsburg before, there are a lot of places even during the Christmas Town time that you can eat and the food is pretty good it’s better than your average Theme Park Fair. For the cold nights during the Christmas Town time which is typically from one week in November all the way through January 3rd of the following year, they also offer carts that have really good cocoa and you have the option to add whipped cream and a mint topping and that is extraordinary I did that on one particular visit my last visit where it was getting chilly at night and that Coco just hit the spot. this trip the weather outside was in the upper 60s and it was earlier in the day so I didn’t see Coco in my future but I certainly did see a stop in Ireland into a Grogan’s Pub and then later on getting some lunch or dinner in the fest has because I do enjoy the German food in the options that they have in the fest.
Over the next couple of hours, I wrote a few rides and saw the trio show which was excellent I also sat down and enjoyed my meal at the Fest house can I stayed drinking some cider And listening to the piano player for a few moments and just relaxing.
The walk in the park since it’s hilly and the kind of wines around through the woods in the local environment is a little more than I remember it certainly feels a little more now at 50 than it did when I was in my twenties it fine but it’s just something to be aware of when you go.
After one more visit walks around the park, I stopped at the Highland Stables to check on the horses and then I also participated in a wine tasting. all of that was fun and I had a really good time kind of walking down memory lane.
With all the walking around the park, I was kind of feeling out of energy and gas and a little tired, so I decided to head back to my suite.
this is a mini vacation after all, so it’s time for another quick nap I settled into the couch, turn on the TV, and watch a replay of a golf game. something I never really understood when I was younger was how someone could watch golf much last golf on TV and be entertained. to me when I was younger it never really made sense. but now I am 50 I can see the peace and it all. here in Williamsburg, Virginia, Home of some of the nicest golf courses in the country, it just kind of seemed right to drift off to an app watching a little golf in the background. I’m not much of a golfer myself, but when I was young, I did really enjoy Putt-Putt.
For golf lovers, there are several courses in the area there are some really good public courses, but then there are also private courses that you can get access to at Kingsmill Resort and also Ford’s Colony Country Club. I have friends who are golfers and several of the local public courses are rated really good online and are trusted by my friends as really good reliable places to play. those include the green course at the Golden Horseshoe golf club, Williamsburg National Golf Club, in the colonial Heritage Golf Club.
Next for me was dinner, and I decided to go to a place that remembers the stamp actually recommended by the resort. Called the Amber ox and it’s a brew pub, but it also has a serious menu. and by serious, I mean some really good bill of fare they have what they call large plates, which is their dinner plates or menu. that menu includes chicken and dumplings, southern fried pork chops, wild boar Ragu, seared rockfish, your own AO Burger, shrimp, and grits, or even a seasonal venison chop. there are a few things more on the menu but just because I hadn’t had it in a long time, one of the first things on the menu that caught my attention was the chicken and dumplings. with chicken and dumplings is kind two ways that people do those either they make the big fluffy dumplings or it’s really chicken into strips and strips of thick noodles but either way it’s in a Hardy stock of chicken soup-like consistency that they thicken and it’s so flavorful and buttery and Rich it really is its own kind of thing. if you haven’t handsome good Southern chicken and dumplings and you’re a chicken, fan it’s certainly something to consider. since this is a Brewpub, I also sampled several of their different recent batches of beer. You can do a flight of beer samples was just a small portion sample I’m about half a dozen of their beers. so that way you get to try to see what you want and what you like and then you can choose the pint of your choice and enjoy.
What I ended up having two of after the flight of samples was what they called country brunch, which was a coffee Oatmeal Stout it was particularly good it was just a solid, well-balanced stout beer.
Now the safety-minded of you might be concerned I’ve had two pints and a couple of samples but this was over several hours’ time during my visit it was with my full meal and I am a large fellow. so I felt certain that not only was I safe to drive, but I was well within the legal limit. one thing to always be thinking about, of course, is being careful with drinking and driving. I think though when you’re driving in a strange town or you’re on vacation in your very relaxed you should always opt for other options and driving. Just take the pressure off of yourself and call it an Uber or another service that’s in the area there are many that are available in the Williamsburg area and many other resort locations that are true as well.
After I return to my suite at the resort truly relax now, it’s time to just settle in for the night.
Day Two
As I woke on day two, I decided that I wanted to have a really good breakfast and at first, I thought about going back to Shorty’s Diner. Better decide to save that for the morning of day 3 and I remembered another restaurant that is really enjoying the area that I hadn’t been to in a few years since a relative moved away from Williamsburg.
That restaurant is called food for thought.
I found out one of the things that are changed for food for thought is that they’re not open for breakfast right now they do a big lunch and dinner service so I decided instead to go there for dinner and to change my plan to go back to Shorties for breakfast.
This morning Shorty’s for breakfast did not disappoint I had a giant pancake that I think filled the plate with two eggs scrambled with cheese and ham and some sausage links and grits. It was a giant breakfast the only thing that I forgot to order for myself with hash browns, but I was already stuffed so I didn’t miss them.
Today I’d already decided that my day would involve the ferry ride and the trip to the Jamestown Settlement and Museum. if you’re a fan of History there are a few better trips that you can take than a day trip to Jamestown. and the Jamestown Settlement and Museum are very close to Colonial Williamsburg you can get to it conveniently from Route 5. and it sits on a waterfront location or if you like you can take your car on the ferry and go over to the other side of the water after a quick 10-minute ferry ride. Visit the website History is Fun.
The Jamestown Settlement Museum is open for the outside living historic areas from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily and the overall facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you go to their website, you can do a lot of virtual visits and virtual learning now even before your trip to decide if this is somewhere that you want to go but also to get a little of the experience of going to the museum. this can be a great option for families who want to get the kids engaged and on a trip and get them excited about some of the things that they can do in advance just like you can go to the Busch Gardens Williamsburg website you can also go to the history is fun. Org website for the Jamestown Settlement Museum.
one of the neat things that they do at the Museum is they have really interactive experiences with actors dressed for the times. Most of these actors are also very experienced historians and some are historic majors from the local University. the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg Virginia is one of the top history programs in the United States. so a lot of your guides probably some of the more experienced tour guides actors or docents that you will ever meet had a museum.
You can tour a reconstruction of the original fort from 1610 where you actually stand behind the wooden Palisades where they used his defenses and you Siri creations of their dwellings, the Anglican Church, and a storehouse as well as several other structures.
Being able to walk into these buildings and see how the founders of the first colonies lived when they were settling the country is truly humbling and amazing.
It moves me to think of the courage and bravery it took to travel the world in those early sailing ships. Going to a strange new land with very few supplies and no real support.
This year they’re doing a neat focus on the Native American Experience for the local Powhatan tribe. In one line you can even see one of their interpreters that is in a Powhatan Dugout canoe similar to the one that I saw being made and you can do that video on come on with her in that local waterway in The Dugout canoe in Period costume talking to you about the Dugout canoes and how they were used there are also other informative videos about the ornamentation like the headdresses that were worn by the Powhatan tribe and it’s really fascinating content that’s available for you if you have a chance to see it.
After spending most of the day at the Jamestown Settlement Museum I decided to take the ferry ride across the Waterway. it is a fun trip to the other side and I wanted to see if a local restaurant that I remembered was still open on the other side of the water. I left my cell phone back at the unit so I couldn’t check I just decided it was a great excuse to take the ferry ride over to the other side of the water.
The restaurant that I was thinking of the Surrey house was not open but I was able to find The Surry Seafood Company.
I started my meal off with boom Tiki shrimp these are smaller shrimp that have been lightly breaded and they’re tossed in a sweet spicy sauce it was every bit as good as several other chains’ versions of spicy shrimp if you have ever had that.
You would think when I say that I live in Virginia Beach Virginia that I eat seafood often but this year’s just been kind of crazy and I haven’t had the opportunity so I looked forward to the opportunity to spoil myself with some nice Seafood from the area.
Being from the area, I knew that some of the things on the menu were likely local and freshly caught, so I decided to try their whole-order seafood platter. this included fried flounder or broiled I chose fried large sea scallops shrimp and a crab cake with hush puppies. after a great meal, I decided it was time to get back on the ferry and head back to Williamsburg.
Day Three
Today was going to be my last full day at the resort so I wanted to spend the day doing the Williamsburg things since I was right there. this man a trip back to Colonial Williamsburg. now like Colonial Williamsburg and typically in most of November and December it’s much easier than in the summer to find really convenient parking, and the crowds are smaller than all but the day of the Christmas lights. so I parked in a lot that I knew would be convenient to get in and out of later in the day and I took a walk down my own childhood memory lane which was the brick paved streets of Colonial Williamsburg.
There are a few things that I hope to see while I was here. I wanted to do the tour of the governor’s Palace again as it has been many years since I’ve done that before. It is open most days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. like most of the exhibits or historic areas, you need to have a pass to access this part of the Colonial Williamsburg experience. they’re special discounted rates now in 2020 they likely will continue in 2021 for some time.
The governor’s Palace is really neat! It’s a neat experience to see a mansion from the earliest part of America’s history in one that used the governor’s Palace for the first two elected governors in the state of Virginia.
Another very neat building to tour is the Raleigh Tavern in the tavern is original. The building where a lot of political Ambitions and debates actually occurred that led to the movement for independence from England. they offer tours every 15 to 20 minutes and it’s a short tour but it’s very well done and worth your time.
After leaving Raleigh Tavern, I decided to go to the courthouse because they do a good talk to you about the colonial. And law and that’s always been fascinating to me because import laws are based upon English law.
If you visit the website before you travel you can even see live camera feeds, it will give you a sense of the lay of the land, and the area before you visit.
Make sure to visit the candy store.
It is called the Wythe candy and gourmet shop in Colonial Williamsburg, and it’s part of the Merchant Square area. The store offers local freshly made fudge peanuts candies and much more. If you go and I recommended expect to lose money buying some great gifts and feeding the chocolate lover traveling with you. I often enjoy walks down memory lane but the one thing that I didn’t do this trip is getting one of the large suckers because now is an adult of course that much sugar is something that I need but also, I remember even from childhood how messy those can be but that’s kind of part of the fun I think when you’re a little kid.
The shops and stores here all seem to fit well into the Colonial Theme and it is nice to walk the same brick roads that make this colonial area so unique.
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