Thread: Virginia Bound

Tweet

Hi all,

We are headed to Williamsburg in the first part of Oct. for my other halfs family reunion. Supposedly the family had a plantation of about 135 acres until the British aristocricy came over and took most of the land for themselves.
I've checked out the haunted dinner theater and a ghost tour. I'm also hoping that they will have out some great Halloween props to buy.
Anyone familier with Halloween around there or places that we just have to see?

Regards,

Growler

Williamsburg? I just moved away from there last Halloween!

Hoping to find good props? You'll be disappointed. There are the usual suspects -- Big Lots, Target, Walgreens -- but that's about it. They don't even have a Michael's or a Spirit in Williamsburg (have to go to Richmond or Newport News for that). Now, if you're open to more decor than props, you have...The Yankee Candle Flagship Store on Richmond Road. Over 40,000+ sq ft of Yankee Candle, including their Halloween displays. Have to be honest, I was disappointed with YC when I was down there earlier -- the stuff was good, but the display was lacking, especially when compared to last year's. BUT...it is still worth a look.

When it comes to Halloween style events, there's one in Williamsburg. HallowScream, at Busch Gardens. That's it...well, that's not entirely true, there's one or two Halloweenish exhibits at Ripleys, but trust me, they are NOT worth the price of admission. For other haunted events, you'll need to travel -- they used to do one in Hampton (about a 1/2 hour closer to the water) at Sandy Bottom Nature Park -- if you go to it, stop and say "Hey, this is where The Auditor got married!" People will probably look at you funny, but oh well.

Places you have to see...hmmm...you should make a trek down to Jamestown. And, if you have a warm day (they happen), spending a couple hours just relaxing on the banks of the James River, along the Colonial Parkway, is a splendid thing to do.

Did I really just say "splendid"?

Let's see, what else....Food! Always a good thing...remember these words: Food For Thought, Richmond Road. My all time favorite restaurant in town. While I've yet to have anything bad there, I heartily recommend the jerk chicken -- or jerk chicken Caesar salad, appropriately named "Caesar and the Rasta Man." Also features the best bread pudding on the East Coast. If you like Blues, find your way to JM Randalls -- the food stinks, the beer's cold, and the music is HOT. Also, check out Centre Street Grill in New Town -- actually, just spend some time wandering that place, it's nice.

Now, if you want haunted spots....

Thanks for the heads up. I'll write down the places you suggested. Unfortunately, it's only going to be about 12 of us and nobody as young as me. I'll have to get my other half out at night when all the older people head to bed. The blues sounds like fun and I know we will be hitting the pubs for the full body beers. I'm just hoping they serve some top end vodka for me. lol
I'm thinking we will need to take a nice cruise also. I know I already put in a request to hit the Newport maritime museum and maybe one day go to the nursery that is about an hour away for some bulbs for our garden.

Full bodied beers in pub...only place to go is the Green Leafe, right next to the William and Mary campus. The beer sold in the "colonial" pubs is nothing special.

Nursery about an hour away, specializes in bulbs...that would be Brent & Becky's in Gloucester. Fun place, love the living catalog.

Mariner's Museum -- you've got to check out the USS Monitor Center.

Those are the exact places that we were thinking of. Thanks for the heads up on the Green Leafe. We will have to check it out. I just found out today that the family hasn't made any real plans except to hit our old plantation, visit the touristy Jamestown, and hear from a local guy who has been digging into the family history in that area. I'm hoping to ditch them early and go our own way. lol