We had a date with Washington DC but enjoyed a couple of days in Williamsburg, Virginia. Frank was very excited to go to Colonial Williamsburg and I have to admit I was a little excited. We found our hotel, and then headed to the Visitor’s Center where we discovered 20th Century prices for a slice of the 1770’s. With high hopes, we walked into the past and wandered through shops, listened to stories of trades and gossiped about the Boston Tea Party that had just taken place. Lunch at the local tavern was just a preview for the evenings’ date with the King’s Arm Tavern – where I enjoyed Peanut soup, and a Apricot and Mustard-glazed Smithfield Pork Tenderloin, while Frank had the Colonial Game Pye – a combination of braised venison, rabbit, duck, vegetables, and bacon Lardoons (what the heck are Lardoons?) and this was enjoyed with the company of a precocious child, old enough to argue with it’s mother that it was indeed not sassing.
Now, I believe that McDonald’s has a place in the world and that people with children should discover that place or pull out the wallet and pay for a babysitter. I’ve been told that I don’t understand entirely what it is like to be a parent. I’ll grant that, but I also know that there is a time and place for everything and I should not be privy to the antics of a child in an adult atmosphere. They could have at least purchased a round of drinks for the people in the room that were subjected to the discussion.
Colonial Williamsburg is a treat. The buildings, the stocks (see Frank locked up below), all made for a pleasant, if not downright HOT afternoon. I picked up a gift for my niece Brianna and hopefully she doesn’t drive my sister crazy with rounding renditions of colonial songs on the tin fife. My favorite part of the day was our last tour through the Governor’s Palace
The next day, my cousin Michael drove down from Hagerstown to join us for a day at Busch Gardens – The Old Country. After a full meal at the Cracker Barrel, we took the ten-minute drive to the park.
I have fond memories of the place, since it was one of the stops we took as a family when I was in the 7th grade. There is an inter-locked looping coaster that was cutting edge at the time. It still is an amazingly well themed park with all elements contributing to some aspect of the “country” you are visiting. And instead of the typically flat theme parks in the bay area, BG is built on hills that are cut with a gulley and a man-made river, so rides that seem to disappear over the edge of the hills and often race straight toward the water before swooping back up in the air. Lunch in a giant beer hall was complete with an oompa-band and folk dancers. It was a great day and really good to catch up with my cousin.
After the park closed, Mike headed home and we searched for food and then … went to play another round of miniature golf located within walking distance of the hotel. It was so flipping hot at 10:00 at night that we had to have Dairy Queen blizzards to at least cool down our internal systems (sounds like a legitimate reason, no?).
