Every February we try to take a trip for Jack’s birthday. We’ve found having a kid’s party in New York City to be cost prohibitive for us. We’d rather redirect the money we’d spend on a party toward an experience for the three of us. Our Jack is a history buff so we try to use these school mini-breaks as an opportunity to explore American History. This February we headed south to Virginia to experience colonial life. I remember visiting Colonial Williamsburg when I was a kid so it was extra meaningful to be able to see it again through Jack’s eyes.
We were planning on a 6 hour drive so we made advance plans to stop overnight in Baltimore, MD. Jack had never been so it was an easy way to tick two stops off in one trip. We left Manhattan on Friday afternoon around 3:30 and headed out through the Holland Tunnel. Big mistake! It took us 90 minutes to get to the tunnel, setting us back quite a bit. If you make this trip, head to 95 via Staten Island or some alternate route. Avoid the Holland at all costs. The whole trip to Williamsburg wound up taking us about 9 hours with the traffic. It was not for the faint of heart. But after our overnight stay in Baltimore, we were happy to arrive in Williamsburg. Aside from being steeped in history, Williamsburg was bucolic and buzzy at the same time thanks to the College of William & Mary.
Our return back to NY was nightmarish as well. Jack caught a stomach virus that delayed our departure and prompted several stops on the road north. We were so behind that we had to stop overnight on our way back as well. Regardless of the travel snafus, this is a must do trip for anyone who appreciates history and wants to experience it firsthand.
Where We Stayed: The Renaissance (Baltimore), The Hilton Garden Inn (Williamsburg), The Westin (Reston)
Where We Ate: The Rusty Scupper, Baker’s Crust, Opus 9 Steakhouse, The Trellis Bar & Grill, The Fat Canary, Southern Pancake and Waffle House, Duck Donuts, The Westin Room Service!
Where We Drank: Kids trip, no bars
Where We Shopped: Kids trip, no shopping
Things We Did: Jamestown Colony, Colonial Williamsburg, lots of driving
Here are some of our photos. You can tell we got into the colonial spirit!
