The Road to Williamsburg
We had been planning our Williamsburg trip for a while. Williamsburg is one of our favorite road trip destinations and hardly a year goes by that we don't visit there. But, we had not made it in 2007. Last visit had been two years before at the tail end of our South Carolina trip. Along were our daughter and her boyfriend, as this week was Spring Break for Fairfax County Schools.
We left Springfield at 9:20 a.m. and headed towards Occoquan, along the same route I've described. There, we picked up I-95, avoiding traffic around Springfield and southern Fairfax County. Traffic was remarkably light this day, given that I-95 is the major Interstate Highway along the East Coast and many school systems were also out for break. Reaching the outskirts of Richmond after some 80 miles, we diverged to I-295, the Richmond bypass, and took it over to I-64.
Check-in time at our hotel was not until 3:00 p.m. But there was much to do. The first order of business, after driving by the historical area to make sure it had not changed (it hadn't), was to have lunch at Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que. (See review.) Pierce's is an institution in Williamsburg and a must! Everyone from families to office workers to construction workers to members of the military from nearby installations comes here to enjoy the famous Virginia-style barbeque.
After lunch, it was time to get down to business! We headed back to the Historic Area and found parking off of Francis Street across from the Historic Area. Some background for those not familiar with Williamsburg. Williamsburg was the capital of Viriginia from 1698 to 1780. Many famous events leading up to the American Revolution occurred in Williamsburg. Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry were active here. After the Revolution, Williamsburg remained a commercial center, but had lost its former prominance. Many colonial-era structures fell to ruin while others were adaptively re-used and folded into the modern town. Then in the 1930s, the Rockefeller family funded the restoration of the historic part of the town as Colonial Willliamsburg. Today, Colonial Williasmburg, centered around Duke of Gloucester Street, is often considered a Colonial theme park.
We all had our separate agendas. Everyone knew I wanted to take pictures. Susan wanted to check out some of the shops at Merchant's Square while dd and bf wanted to wander around by themselves. So, off we went. I made for Duke of Gloucester Street. In front of me was the Nicolson Store. This strucutre is an original from the Colonial era and has undergone a variety of transformations over the years. (I've seen a photo of it in use a a gas station in the 1930s.) Working my way up Duke of Gloucester I noted the many restored storefronts and buildings in the bright March sunlight.
I was soon passing the Court House of 1770 and the Powder Magazine. These two structures are originals. The Court House served as Williamsburg's courthouse until 1932. Until the reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg began in the late 1930s, the octogonal Powder Magazine housed the only museum of the colonal era. It's my favorite structure in Williamsburg. At one end of Duke of Gloucester is Palace Green, the open commons dominated by the reconstructed Governor's Palace. (Most visitors don't realize how similar the town plan of Williamsburg is to the plan adopted for Washington, DC. At one end of the main street is the Legislative building, with the Executive residence at the opposite end, offset by an open green.
Abou this time, Susan called on the cell. She was at the Barnes & Noble/William & Mary Bookstore over on Merchant's Square. One of my objectives this visit was to photograph the Wren Building at William and Mary, which had previously escaped my lens.
Passing through Merchant's Square, I arrived at the gates of the College of Wiliam and Mary. William and Mary, founded in 1693, is a selective Virginia state university. The College Yard contains several historic structures, including the Wren Building, the first building on campus.
Returning to Merchant’s Square, I encountered dd and bf enjoying some chocolate covered strawberries they had purchased at the Wythe Candy Shop. (They shared.) I was far from finished with photography, so I soon headed back to the Historic Area.
There was a commotion in the Historic Area. Walking over for a closer look, I was again challenged, this time by a Rabble Rouser character. Turns out part of the Historic Area had been closed off for a 
By 4:00 p.m. it was time for the family to meet up and proceed to our hotel, Fairfield Kingsgate Resort. We’ve stayed at Kingsgate before. It’s located in a residential area close to
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The present brick church was built in 1715 and success an earleir 17th-century brick structure. Bruton was the offical eestablished Anglican church for the capital of the Virginia Colony. (The name Bruton dates from 1674 and refers to the ancestral home of Virginia colonial Governor Sir William Berkeley.) The only other church in Williamsburg during the colonial period was a Presbyterian Meeting House.
Figures such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry attended services at Bruton when they were in town for House of Burgesses legislative sessions. Bruton played a role in events leading up to the Revolutionary War by serving as a place of protest against the Stamp Act in 1765 and the closing in the Port of Boston in 1774. (The Governor could not stop what were announced as prayer meetings.)
The church fell on hard times following the Revolutinary War and again during the Civil War. Then, in the 1920s, it was Bruton's Rector, W.A.R. Goodwin, who was instrumental in convincing John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to begin the restoration of Williamsburg. The exterior and interior were restored in the 1940s as part of the Colonial Willaismburg restoration.
Today, the church has the box pews and canopied "wineglass" pulpit of the colonial era. The interior space is beautiful to see and members of the parish will be happy to tell you about the church and it history and appointments. Organ and chamber music concerts are freqently given in the evening.
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BBQ sandwiches are the mainstay at Pierce's. I almost always have a Jumbo with Slaw (5 oz.), but a Regular (4 oz.) is also available. The crinkle fries are outstanding, too!
Other sandwiches, including burgers, chicken, and hot dogs are also sold. BBQ dinners and salads are also on the menu.
Pierce's is always packed with locals. They know.
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A ticket gives the visitor full access to the various buildings, trade and craft displays, and activities and programs. You can then watch the shoemaker and carpenter at work, see the restored interiors of the Governor's Mansion and House of Burgesses, hear heated debates among the townsfolk on separation from Britain, or watch as Governor Dunmore denounces the Massachusettss colonists to the north for dumping tea in Boston Harbor. The costumed cast memebers relly get into their characters and a lot happens around the restored area seemingly at random. Don't be surprised if you see a mother carrying her real (and also costumed) infant around colonial style or if a minute man on horseback suddenly rides up Duke of Gloucester Street to warn of the advance of the British. Many activities are aimed at young visitors, from colonial games to cooking and musketry demonstrations. (A classic activity is to have your photo taken in the stocks next to the Courthouse.)
However, you don't need a ticket to enjoy much of the Historic Area. You can see the exteriors of the buildings, eat at the taverns, and shop at the stores without admission.
Williamsburg has had its criticisms--blurring of what is historically real and what is a recreation, behaving too much like a theme park (but history can be fun, after all), and coming to terms with slavery and darker sides of its past. Clearly, a lot of history happened at Williamsburg and Colonial Williasmburg does its best to bring it to life for modern visitors.
Whether you go for the full experience or only take time to walk Duke of Gloucester Street, I highly recommend a stop at Colonial Williamsburg when you are in the mid-Atlantic region.
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All rooms are either one or two bedroom suites. Rooms include a living room, dining area, and a full kitchen. Families can enjoy ample space. With a convertible sofa bed in the living room, the two bedroom suites can accommodate up to six. The hotel is configured into a number of separate buildings with about eight guest rooms in each. Rooms feature a television in each bedroom and in the living room and a washer/dryer. Guests may prepare their own meals in the kitchen if desired.
Amenities include an indoor and two outdoor pools, fitness center, fame room, and minigolf course. (The hotel does not have a restaurant.) Restaurants (and fast food) of all types are located nearby.
