I'm in the early stages of planning a trip with Mrs. A later this Spring.
I've been wanting to do the American Revolution sightseeing stuff in Colonial Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown area. I've been through it a few times but never really stayed and did the touristy thing. Also, thinking about extending a couple of days to spend some time in Richmond for some Civil War stuff and over to Mt. Vernon as well. Any tips on a good place to stay, must see's and good food & drink options.
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i can helps on places to drink beer in williamsburg and rva, if that's your thing. just tell me the beer styles you like.
Yes.
I like them all. I'm not a huge craft beer guy but I hit up a brewery in St Augustine and had a few dozen good drinks. My favorite was a light lager. Then again I'm on a huge Mich Ultra kick.
huge Mich Ultra kick
Like sex in a canoe, it's fuckin' near water...
Cut me some slack. My health coach has been on my ass and I can't quit cake cold turkey.
Not giving you a hard time, just used the opportunity to type out one of my favorite sayings. As someone who wants to be buried with a case of Budweiser and often drinks BL Smoothies and Natural Light on boating days, by all means, drink what you wish. I need to lose about 20 pounds, so I know how ya feel!
Wheew, Natty Light? Your taste buds must be shot.
Generally, I drink them when I'm out on the boat because they are so light its, well, like sex in a canoe/boat, and I can pound them without getting super buzzed or drowsy at the end of the day. They may very well be, but I can definitely taste how awful a Miller Lite is!
I don't know what you have in mind while in RVA, but Hollywood Cemetery would be a must. Chimborazo Park/medical museum is cool for history and has a good view of the city. The James River Park system follows some civil war trails and you can see the remnants of bridges from the various burnings of our capital. Obviously, there's monument ave, which is worth a walking through. I could also help with some beer and food recommendations if you have specific questions.
PS If you have the time I would also recommend the Mariner's Museum in Hampton, they do a amazing job capturing the Battle of the Iron Clads.
I second the Hollywood Cemetary recommendation. Great views from there and an interesting, historical place. Maymont is also a nice visit.
Agree with both on Hollywood Cemetery.
Also, Tredegar Iron Works is right near the James River in downtown Richmond and it's an interesting place to visit for Civil War history.
Definitely check out Hollywood cemetery. Three presidents are laid to rest there.
Walking around Belle Isle is a must. The suspension bridge itself under 301 is super cool. Belle Isle used to be a POW camp during the civil war.
The new pedestrian bridge going across the river from Brown's Island also sports a lot of history on it.
You can hit Hollywood Cemetery, Tredegar and these two bridges all in a day.
Monument Avenue is also a must.
Food? Richmond has TONS of it and it is really good. Post Bellum is my favorite bar, in the Fan. Lots of different beers, good food and its a bit classier than other Fan bars. Southern Comfort is a must if you want to put some south in your mouth.
Drink wise, there is actually a brewery at Fort Monroe. Oozlefinch. Their beer wasn't stellar, but you can say you've been to a brewery at a former fort.
i haven't hit it yet, even tho it's 30 mins from my house, but i have heard that the new brewer (7 months in or so) has their swill upgraded.
also a new brewery across the street from jamestown, the old oozlefinch brewer i hear is solid, better than what he was doing at the finch.
alewerks is fine to very good, depending on what's on, same for va beer, which i like a lil better.
amber ox public house/precarious beer project in downtown wburg makes pretty good stuff that will just keep getting better. he came from commonwealth, so that's a pretty good get.
stay the F away from brass cannon.
I endorse this post.
I know the brewmaster at Aleworks. Good dude. If you have any suggestions, I can pass them along. He's always experimenting.
Check out St. George's in Yorktown near the NASA base, too!
Also, a new brewery is set to open late summer/early fall this year in Gloucester for those TKPers North of the York River.
Stay in a B&B right by W&M and Merchants Square; there are a bunch of good ones so you can walk to and from nightlife.
"Nightlife"
Yes, there may be a whopping three options
W&M are a bunch of squares. Don't really "get after it" if you know what I'm saying.
I enjoy the canal walk from along the Kanawha Canal, and it ends on Brown's Island, which is right across the street from Tredegar Iron Works, and someone else can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's also down the hill a ways from Hollywood Cemetery. Shockoe Bottom is fun, lots of bars and restaurants to hit up. There used to be a diner down there that was excellent for brunch, but I can't remember the name and a google search turns up nothing, so perhaps it's gone. The old Main Street Station is just neat to look at, I've never actually been inside. My sister went to MCV, and lived in one of the converted cold storage buildings when she was there, so I poked around that area a lot when I visited!
Wouldn't call it a diner, but I had decent brunch at On the Rox.
Legend Brewery in Richmond has some good food.
River City Diner shut down due to the construction for the 17th St. Farmers Market.
I think it WAS River City Diner. To be fair, I had just run a 10k in the rain, so everything tasted good and I drank a ridiculous amount of mimosas. Sad they aren't there anymore.
That was the original. There is at least one other one in North Chesterfield that is more of a breakfast restaurant than a small cramped diner.
Ah yes, Chesterfield. My old stomping grounds in high school.
Which one & when (what years)???
Oh no, I grew up in Amelia County, so to do anything more civilized than cow tipping or cruising the food lion parking lot, a trip in to Chesterfield had to be made.
Millie's is still open.
Millies and Lu Lus in Shockoe Bottom have fantastic brunch. Owned by same folks. Lu Lus is more traditional brunch and Millies is more eclectic
In Williamsburg, Va Beer Co. is ok, better than Aleworks but not really worth a stop unless you're big into craft which it sounds like you're not. There's a very, very small downtown area in William and Mary's campus consisting of Paul's Deli, College Deli, and Green Leaf. They're all decent to drink at.
Definitely swing through Colonial Williamsburg and pick up a sandwich from the Cheese Shop for lunch. My go to is the ham, turkey, and provolone on french with extra house sauce.
You could go see Jamestown Settlement/Jamestown Island. They essentially have a recreation of what the original fort could have looked like and then they found the footprint of the original fort.
Busch Gardens is always great.
If you want to go to the beach, I would go to college creek off the Colonial Parkway. It's a very pretty drive down by the James River even if you don't want to go to the beach.
I highly recommend doing Jamestown settlement and Jamestown Island if you're big into history. You can hop on the colonial parkway right there as well and head out to Historic Yorktown, which is probably 20-30 minutes down the road.
Wait, I assumed you lived in Arlington? If you're talking about Mr. Washington's Mt. Vernon you certainly wouldn't need a vacation. And as someone who grew up on George's land I would strongly recommended visiting!
I grew up five minutes from Mt. Vernon. Went to Mount Vernon High School actually. Its a good day trip. For places to stay and hit the town I think your best bet is Old Town Alexandria or you could do National Harbor if you really want. They are both about 15 mins from Mt. Vernon. Bars in Old Town (most are all on King Street or very close): Union Street, Murphys Pub, O'Connells, Chadwicks. Restaurants to consider: Chadwicks (Good food, good brunch), The fish market (great seafood sandwiches).
I'll check out Alexandria. I stayed in National Harbor for the 2010 Boise State game. Neat place and loved staying in the Gaylord hotel.
History major here:
I tend to this Williamsburg is a bit lame. Cool town to visit, but the historical stuff has suffered in recent years. A bit too commercially. On the other hand, Jamestown has really stepped their game up and is a must see now IMHO. Lots of interesting things going on around there. i would also highly recommend Yorktown, I mean, its where we won our independence essentially! They just recently completed a massive renovation of their visitor center that's really top notch. I believe Yorktown/Jamestown have some sort of combined tickets/passes, but you'll have to double check me on that.
We did Williamsburg last summer. If you're gonna be there for more than a couple of days, do the Williamsburg Flex Ticket. $200 for adults, $160 for Kids. Unlimited entrance/exit as much as you like for 7 consecutive days to and from all 3 Historic Triangle sites (Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown), and Bush Gardens, and Water Country USA. Parking is included. Also shuttle service between the 3 historic sites as well as discounts on special programs & tours. For instance, you can do Jamestown in the morning , then go to bush Gardens in the Afternoon, then back to Williamsburg for Dinner/walking around. You can mix and match as much as you like.
Jamesburg??
Oops....Jamestown
Jersey on the mind?
Yeah...Jamesburg is two towns over from me.
.....Jamesburg is two towns over from me. small world!
Im in east windsor...almost in Monroe by Etra Lake
I'm two towns the other direction in Old Bridge
Well we got central jersey repped between us....
The old lady gets a corporate discount on the Colonial passes. I believe it's about $10 off per person. Any insight on the Triangle pass vs the Multi-Day pass?
From what I can tell the Triangle pass is 7 days and you have access to Jamestown and Yorktown. The multi-day is 3 days and only encompasses Williamsburg....but I'm not sure.
Just go hit up Busch Gardens and Williamsburg instead.
Yorktown- GET THE DRIVING TOUR. It is well worth it, and build in time to get out and walk around. The Surrender Field is haunting.
I am not a fan of Williamsburg, and I have not visited Jamestown or the new American Revolution museum in Williamsburg.
I worked at Pamplin Park section of the Petersburg Battlefield. It has excellent living history and historiography and the battlefield is the best preserved section in Petersburg.
I am not a fan of Williamsburg's food scene. Richmond has a ton of options. I love Kuba Kuba, but it can be tough to get seating for a family. A hidden secret is Laura Lee's. It isn't in the best area, however the food is amazing. If you are looking for decent BBQ and lots of seating, I love Buzz and Neds. If you are a beer fan, go to Mekong or The Answer.
Richmond: Go to Maymont, the Confederate White House, and the previously mentioned attractions (Botanical Gardens are really nice too). Eat lunch at Lunch (get the locomotive 231 sandwich). Drink beer at Veil. Eat dinner at Metzger.
Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg is okay, but too commercialized. DOG Street Pub is a pretty solid eating/drinking option.
Jamestown: Concur with others. It's pretty great.
Jamestown Settlement and Jamestown Island are two different things. Island is the National Park. Settlement is the reenactment.
CW is okay, depending on what is happening and what you are into. We usually just walk around if the weather is nice. The wife likes Cheese Shop (still haven't been), we both like Dog Street, and there are some higher end restaurants around Merchants Square.
There are some decent places to eat down by Yorktown.
I'm not much for American beer. Spent too much time in Germany drinking good stuff.
Thanks for reminding me that I really need to take some time off and just hang out in the area.
I agree. Cheese is the worst.
American craft beer is superior to German beer
I work for a German company and I have had this discussion many many times with counterparts in Europe.
The only conclusion we have come to is that further research is needed into the subject. We need solid, repeatable results that we can publish. Unfortunately, the repetition leads to a lack of record-keeping and we often have to repeat experiments many times.
It is grueling work, but it is a burden we have taken upon ourselves for the betterment of all.
As I tell my friends who say they don't like German bier, the stuff you buy here is like the German version of Miller/Coors/AmBev. Germans have been doing the craft beer thing while we were figuring out how to make swill. German bier isn't for everyone.
I lived near Kaiserslautern for 3 years. It's all subjective, but I strongly believe that American craft beer has more to offer. It isn't backed into a corner by tradition and is always changing and innovating. The beer recipe a monk came up with 600 years ago isn't infallible
3 years near Mainz. There were a ton of small beer kellers in the area between there and Wiesbaden. Personally, I prefer weissbier, some dunkels and doppels. Most American craft beers just aren't my thing. To each their own!
To each their own. I (my gf really) did just brew a dunkelweizen and it is pretty good.
Personal opinion after having spent time in both countries... Czech beer is better than German beer. Better beer gardens too.
If you are going to Mt. Vernon, you should stop by the Gristmill and the Distillery. They are a little separate from the rest of the estate, but worth stopping by as well. I think they are included with standard admission.
Edit: Also, if you want to go a little further south the Hampton Air and Space Museum, the Virginia Living Museum and the Mariner's Museum are worth a visit.
I got a bottle of Rye Whiskey there.
For the Richmond Area, in addition to the above:
- Steam Bell Beer Works
- Any brewery in Scott's Addition
- The Village Cafe
- Joe's Inn
- HogsHead Cafe (best bbq around)
- The Local Eatery & Pub
- O'Toole's
- Rare Olde Times