Saturday, July 30, 2011

Country Inn & Suites By Carlson - Williamsburg Historic

In the Williamsburg area, there are numerous hotel choices for people with all different types of budgets.  If you are looking at a moderately priced hotel (low $100/night), then the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson on Bypass Road is an excellent choice.

It is located only about 5 minutes from Colonial Williamsburg and about 10 minutes from the main attractions of Busch Gardens and Water Country USA.  To reach the local Newport News/Williamsburg airport, it's a 30 minute drive.

The staff is extremely friendly, warm and welcoming.  The breakfast they give as part of your room rate is pretty good, including both hot and cold choices.  It feels almost like a large bed and breakfast.

The rooms are extremely clean and the bed is quite comfortable.  The main lobby of the hotel is very inviting and even has a small library of books to take to read if you'd like.  After a long day of doing touristy activities, there are even fresh baked Sugar, Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal cookies waiting for you at the front desk.

I'd definitely recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Williamsburg!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Blue Talon Bistro



While walking around Colonial Williamsburg, we were looking for a place for lunch that had light fare and delicious food. Blue Talon Bistro was perfect - a menu with depth that suits every taste was exactly what we were looking for.

Not to mention their famous "Historic Tap Water." Ice cold and perfect on hot summer days.



We order the mac and cheese and the chopped salad. The mac and cheese was creamy, and made with Parmesan and cheddar and mixed so perfectly that made me want to swim in the cheese sauce. It was also served with a side of Virginia ham, which adds a nice saltiness to the dish that it was almost missing without it.

The chopped salad had so much going on that it almost needed more lettuce. However, the bacon and salami, plus spiced nuts with the house vinaigrette was delicious. I loved that the salad was huge, and would be a perfect lunch or dinner entree. I ate about half of it and was stuffed!


Thursday, July 28, 2011

Colonial Williamsburg


Are you a history buff?  More specifically, are you a Revolutionary War buff?  If the answer to these are yes, Colonial Williamsburg is a must-visit location.  You'll begin your day at their visitor's center (with free parking).  From here you can purchase your tickets (although, buying them online before hand will save you the wait) and visit the main gift shops.  You can then take the shuttle bus to Colonial Williamsburg, which has multiple stops in the area.  

Once in town, you're magically transported back to the 18th century, at which time Williamsburg was the capitol of Virginia and a thriving city.  The city has been reconstructed (with some of the buildings being original) to what it was like in the 1700's.  While it is free to roam about, in order to enter any of the buildings, you did need to pay.  When you enter the buildings, some feature just one person with a story to tell about their building and are there to answer any questions you may have.  

For some other buildings, such as the Governer's Palace and the original Capitol Building, you're made to feel as if you are from the 18th century as your tour guide leads you around the building on a typical day in the life of its former tennants.

We had a great time here and enjoyed learning about one of the most important areas in our nation's history.  One full day here should allow you to do everything, and there are even activities for children to help keep them entertained.

If you're planning on visiting Busch Gardens and Water Country USA as well, get the Bounce Pass, which for about $100/person, gets you into all three with unlimited access for a week.


Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Gabriel Archer Tavern at Williamsburg Winery






Off the Williamsburg Colonial Parkway is the Williamsburg Winery, home to the Gabriel Archer Tavern. Thi soff the beaten path restaurant is quaint with out door seating, as well as indoor. The outdoor seating is under a patio surrounded by a thick vine cover, blocking out damaging sun rays while still allowing in the light.

On the drive into the restaurant, you have to drive past the vineyards, a beautiful drive down a small lane to the winery, tavern and Cafe Provencal.

We ordered the Chicken Piccata and the ham steak. Both were cooked perfectly and all entrees are served with a seasonal vegetable, we had roasted potatoes and fresh green beans.

The chicken piccata was incredibly tender and the sauce was the best piccata sauce I had ever had. I wanted everything in the sauce: potatoes, green beans, we even tried dipping the ham in the sauce.

The ham steak was nice and thick, without being too much. There were cider glazed apple slices served on top, and a cinnamon, apple, wine sauce on the ham. The sauces was spiced perfectly with enough flavor to pair with the ham without over powering the ham.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Busch Gardens, Williamsburg


There are plenty of theme parks that feature unique roller coasters all around the country for Thrill Seekers.  Most of these also offer other forms of entertainment such as shows for the adults who prefer things more tame and children's rides for families.  In the Mid-Atlantic region, Busch Gardens Williamsburg (a.k.a. Busch Gardens Europe) provides all of these and is probably the best known.

We spent our July 4th holiday here and expected it to be quite crowded due to most people having the day off, but to our surprise, the park wasn't really too full, especially the first half of the day.  For every ride we went on, we walked right on to it and didn't have to wait in a single line.  In general this is great, but we did pre-purchase the "Quick Queue" for $20/person that would've allowed us to skip lines.  This ended up being a waste of money since there were no lines to skip, so I'd recommend passing on this option when purchasing your ticket.


The rides themselves were fun.  Our favorite was probably the Griffon which contained a 90-degree drop to start out the ride.  Another highlight was the Curse of DarKastle, which rode you through a castle featuring a sinister man trying to attack you with 3D visuals.  It got so frightening for one little girl in our "car" that she was hysterically crying by the end.

We definitely had a good time at Busch Gardens.  However, it is a place that you can go just once, have fun, and not need to return .  When buying a pass, also consider the Bounce Pass, which will get you in to Busch Gardens, Water Country USA and Colonial Williamsburg for just over $100/person.


Monday, July 25, 2011

Water Country USA


Water Country USA is a huge water park in Williamsburg, VA.  If you enjoy spending your day splashing down into the water with some thrills, this is the place to be.  The lines here were longer than the ones we saw at Busch Gardens down the road, but you can still easily do all the rides in one day and have plenty of time to spare.

We definitely had a good time at this park.  However, all visitors should be aware that there are no non-water rides.  So if you don't like getting wet, this is not the place to go.

The general ticket price of $47 is a bit high.  However, if you're visiting Williamsburg, you can also get the Bounce Pass, which will get you into Water Country USA, Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg all for about $100/person.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Das Festhaus, Busch Gardens


When visiting Busch Gardens, there are plenty of places to eat. Das Festhaus in Oktoberfest has something for everyone, including the  "This is Oktoberfest" show during lunch and dinner hours, the human coo-coo-clock outside and the Maypole dancing in front of the building.

Dining options vary greatly, from sandwiches, to ribs, to a sausage sampler and even the Farmer's Feast.

We were going to order two separate platters, then saw the size of the platters that were being served and decided to split the Farmer's Feast: sausage, ribs, 1/4 chicken, cheesy hashbrowns served with a fresh roll. That's A LOT of food! And perfect to split between two people.


We also ordered the chocolate torte cake - a slice of cake perfect for three to four people. A light and fluffy chocolate cake layered between whipped cream icing and topped with a cherry. Surprisingly, this huge slice of cake was only a few cents more than the smaller slices and delicious. (And, admittedly, made for more than two people, we were not able to finish it!)


Das Festhaus also serves many, many beers (mostly Busch brands), both on the tap and by the bottle. A better selection can be found in the back lines.