Away from Home

I had never been to Williamsburg. As a history buff, especially interested in the work of "The Founding Fathers", this seemed like a interesting way to spend a long weekend and get away from the concerns and worries about work, world events and house work.

The 5+ hour trip went smoothly under clear skies and relatively light traffic. We listened to the final chapters of 'Blink' for entertainment. I have traveled I95 and especially around Baltimore and Washington have found it to be clogged with heavy traffic. It was crowded, we passed by one fender bender and someone had left the 'ubiquitous' mattress in the left lane of the Beltway as an interesting hazard, but for the most part the trip went smoothly.

We had dinner reservations at The Shields Inn for 5:30 and arrived at the Woodlands Hotel at 5:00 to check in and to get our event tickets. The tickets were available next door at the Visitor Center, but unable to find the most efficient path to the counter, and worried about losing our meal reservations, I returned to the car to drive to the restaurant.

Colonial lighting and signage is unsatisfactory when trying to find a parking lot in unfamiliar territory. However we did get there right on time and my nerves settled a bit with a cold ceramic mug of stout beer. The meal was superb. We were entertained by Serpent and Tin Pipe and a few stories by the Inn's owner.

We picked up our event tickets at the Lumber Building in time to join the crowd for the tour named "Ghosts Among Us". Stories were told about previous residents and their demise enacted by players in colonial garb and accent. Good fun.

Saturday was spent walking. Lots of walking. We started at the Capital listening to Thomas Jefferson speak about the issues of the day (1760s), and take questions from the audience. So interesting to hear those issues and compare them to the debates in the news today. I also enjoyed the cabinet shop; no power tools, no sandpaper, just high quality craftsmanship. The evening was spent at the Governor's Palace listening to chamber music. Candles were the only source of light. Even the foot paths were lit by fire baskets, usually burning small pine logs. We are all so dependent on Mr Edison's little invention.

The final day was spent at Lightfoot, the Williamsburg Pottery Outlet. Nothing stays the same, it either gets better or worse. Years ago we had purchased our good china there, not this time. The merchandise just wasn't the same, so we got an early start on our way home.

Traffic. I64 was slow, I95 was a parking lot. We used the GPS to find some alternate routes and rejoined the interstate at Fredericksburg. The rest of the trip was uneventful, even around Baltimore where the Ravens were at home playing the Steelers. It took 7 hours more or less, to get back to the real world.