WILLIAMSBURG

If I mentioned to anyone that I was going to Virginia and the person had been there before, they ALL said to go to Williamsburg. So, Saturday I went to Williamsburg.

I wanted to go on Saturday because they have a Farmer's Market at Merchant's Square from 8:00-12:00. I was hoping to get some fresh veggies.  Mr. W had found a "Biking Williamsburg" map so the bikes went in the truck.  I left First Landing State Park so that I should arrive at Williamsburg by 11:00 at the latest.  I knew there would be some traffic because this was Memorial Day weekend.  So, when I started seeing signs that said "Heavy traffic. Expect delays.", I knew this probably meant trouble.

Well, there were delays and I arrived in Merchant's Square at about 11:45.  The vendors were still set up but were beginning to take their booths down.  I kept hearing most of them say, "That's all I have left."  Most of  them were not selling fresh fruits/veggies anyway.  There were a lot of baked goods, canned goods, meat and plants.  There was 2 booths that were selling strawberries but what they had left, looked kind of pitiful.  I purchased some banana nut bread that was made by the person who was selling it and it was suppose to be with only fresh/organic ingredients.  Even if that wasn't true, the bread was delicious! :)

Once the market shut down, Mr. W and I started on the bike route.  It started in Colonial Williamsburg.  If I ever come back here, I will buy the ticket and do the whole tour, but Saturday was too crowded and too hot to do the entire tour of Colonial Williamsburg.  What I did see of it, I found very interesting. Remember, I love history, especially during this time.

Colonial Williamsburg collectively is a museum of buildings and life from the late 1600s through the 1700s.  It is free to walk/ride through the streets and look at the buildings from the outside.  You must have a ticket to get inside the buildings and to get the tour from one of the guides.  The "taverns" are open to the public if you want to eat there. If you come here; come early, wear comfortable shoes, and plan on being here for about 4-5 hours to do the entire tour. I understand from a friend that they do reenactments of different things in the evening hours.  I did not see anything about that but I wasn't looking to buy tickets.

All the Farmer's Market vendors set up at Market Square

Colonial Williamsburg has people dressed in period costume that offer services and information about that time in history.

This was the courthouse.

Another horse drawn carriage through the streets.

This was outside the jail.  The woman giving the talk was telling about Blackbeard, the pirate, being held here until he was put to death.

Actually, this was off site just a short ways from Colonial Williamsburg.  This house was build in the 1700s and John Rockefeller lived in this house in the 1940s.

This was the Capitol building

This was the governor's palace

The bike route took me through Colonial Williamsburg and through some of Williamsburg and through William and Mary University.  I always wondered where William and Mary University was and now I know!  Right before I entered the university, I decided to stop and have lunch.  I stopped at the Brickhouse Tavern because their sign said Brick Oven Pizza. Yum! Since I was away from the more "touristy" part, I figured the prices would probably be better too.  I was right.  Look at my yummy pizza. I don't know if I was really hungry or if it had been a long time since I had eaten pizza, but this was one of the best pizzas I have ever had.

This was a medium pizza.  There was plenty of leftovers and the waitress was nice enough to wrap each piece individually in foil and put in a bag so Mr. W could carry it in his backpack.

This bike route map was not a very good map.  I got lost twice trying to ride through William and Mary. I have to stop and look at the campus map they had posted around campus to figure out where I was.  It is a nice campus. This is the break between semester ending and summer session starting and also a Saturday.  So, the campus was pretty empty and it was a pleasant bike ride.

I did manage to make it back to the truck.  Mr. W loaded the bikes and off we went.  What a great way to spend a Saturday on a holiday weekend.