Beautiful early November sky – CHECK.
Weekend off – CHECK.
Day trip Destination Picked – CHECK.
AJ was in Virginia for a class last fall that lasted a month. While the class was crazy demanding, we were able to schedule a few days late birthday celebration for AJ! I drove up to Fort Lee from Southern Pines, NC (3 hour drive) and spent a few days with him. The highlight of this trip was Colonial Williamsburg, but we did get some pretty decent Mexican & Italian food! (I always have to try Mexican whenever I’m somewhere new and AJ had scoped some places out for us!)
Friday we went to dinner since I arrived around 7pm. If you guessed Mexican, you’re absolutely right. El Caporal Mexican Restaurant.
Saturday: Colonial Williamsburg was an hour drive from where we were staying. We just put Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center into our GPS and were there in no time! While the visitors center is actually pretty nice, it reminded me of the visitors center at Arlington National Cemetery. Once you leave you really do slowly go back in time a little. If you walk from the visitors center, there’s a pretty cool walkway that shows you changes in history, like no cell phones, rights to vote, etc. Helps get you in the mindset. What was pretty cool was that the guides are all dressed in Colonial attire, and the buildings have been kept the same where possible. There are even horse carriages driving around!
The main attractions are pretty obvious, as that is where all the people gravitate towards. Also, not everything is open at the same time, so be ready for that. Some stuff was underwhelming, other stuff was like woah imagine living during this and having to do xyz. It was pretty nice seeing all the peacefulness surrounding you. We even felt it would be the perfect place for a picnic, so that may be something to keep in mind if you’re heading the Colonial Williamsburg!
If you’re there all day and didn’t pack a lunch like us, don’t worry. Literally on the same street as some of the exhibits is a fully running town – filled with shops and restaurants. It’s actually touching the College of Williams and Mary. In the super cute town that reminded me a lot of Old Town Virginia – we actually grabbed a pint and bought our Christmas ornament there! AJ even had some coffee at a Blackbird Bakery, because that class really had him drained.
Dinner: Mexican – but at Jalapeños which is in the same plaza our hotel was in.. The Verdict: both Mexican restaurants were good in their individual ways, one had a slightly better sauce, while the other had slightly more seasoning on their chicken fajitas. I suggest if you’re in the area, try them for yourself. Neither of the two will disappoint. AJ didn’t go back after I left to either, so I can’t confirm or deny whether they were just as good the third time (the first was when AJ hands on scoped them out).
Sunday: Totally boring, but AJ had college work to do, on top of studying for his Army class, so I spent the day working a little. Worth mentioning was dinner at Cesare’s Ristorante Italiano.
Hotel: Hyatt Place Richmond/Chester – Full disclosure, I am biased towards Hyatt Place locations, since my experiences have always been great! But no, I am not affiliated with them. If you’re in need of a hotel though – let me know! I can get you the best rates available through: Jacklyn Adventures – Independent Travel Agent. I will even happily plan your entire trip for no cost to you!
Worthwhile Mentions if you’re in the area and have more time!
- Richmond is about 20 minutes away – Snippet of my trip to RVA here: Richmond, VA.
- Petersburg, VA was about 15 minutes away! I’ve never been, but heard great things.
- Also near Colonial Williamsburg is Busch Gardens Williamsburg. (So about 1 hour away).
- Northern VA (Arlington, Falls Church, Alexandria) and DC are about 2 hours away. 48 Hours in the DMV
- Virginia Beach/ Norfolk, VA was just under 2 hours away. Norfolk, VA
- Baltimore, Maryland is about 2 hours and 45 minutes away
- Raleigh, NC just over 2 hours away.
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