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(August 2016) -- In route to Williamsburg we stayed our first night at a Hyatt Place Hotel in Charlottesville, VA. The hotel is part of a new development that includes upscale restaurants, a movie theater complex and several high end retail stores -- all within walking distance. It was evening when we arrived -- after check-in we walked the area and dined at Little John's New York style sandwich eatery. Our signature sandwiches were piled high with meat and generous toppings of our choosing. Our appetites were satisfied -- stomachs filled with a smile.
The next morning we continued our trek toward Williamsburg. It had been more than fifty years since I had visited any part of Virginia -- a beautiful state to drive through. We arrived in Williamsburg shortly after noon -- check-in time for our condo wasn't until 3:30 so we drove into town and had lunch.
Our itinerary included several places that we wanted to see in or nearby Williamsburg during our four day stay. We managed to visit about half of those places. Some of the places we had planned to see closed much earlier than we had anticipated -- a few places of interest closed at five o'clock in the evening. After our first full day there we adapted to changes in our plans and decided we wouldn't try to see everything this trip.
As we neared the vicinity of Cape Henry Lighthouse security was tight. Cape Henry was one of the landmarks on our list of places to see. We hadn't scheduled our time as well as we should have that day and the lighthouse was locked down and secured before we arrived. The public two lane road that led us to Cape Henry Lighthouse ended at a structure complete with barricade and an armed guard. After five o'clock in the evening visitors aren't permitted passed the guard house -- Cape Henry is further down the road and isn't visible from where the guard stopped us.
Chesapeake Bay is beautiful -- definitely worth the trip. Standing near such a large body of water sparks a sensation of awe. We enjoyed driving alongside a portion of the Bay.
I highly recommend a couple of restaurants for your dining pleasure when staying in Williamsburg. First up is an Italian restaurant named Sal's by Victor. This popular eating establishment is located on 1242 Richmond Rd. Sal's is much larger than it appears from the outside -- the entrance is situated at the inside corner of a small shopping center. When we walked in the restaurant the place was packed. Nearly every table was occupied with jovial diners. Surprisingly, a hostess seated us immediately. Our table was toward the front of their spacious rear dining room. Our waitress was pleasant and attentive. Entrees were brought to our table nicely prepared and served hot. Tammy and I ordered different entrees and each of them were delicious.
My next dining suggestion is La Terraza Mexican restuarant located on 1840 Richmond Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23185-2728. La Terraza is another large restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating amongst trees with canopys hovering above most of the outdoor tables. The restaurant is huge inside with ample seating to feed the masses. Nearly every seat was occupied the night we dined there. Their prices are inline with most good Mexican places and entree portions are huge. We could easily have stuffed ourselves to capacity -- our entrees were that good! Rather than stuffing ourselves we consumed about half our entrees and took the rest back to our condo in a box. Our entrees tasted just as delicious the next day reheated in the microwave. Richmond Road in Williamsburg is referred to by the locals as restaurant row.
Another high point of our trip -- we have now driven across [and through] one of the bridge-tunnels that span across the water and ... under the water. Driving across the bridge was neat, also a bit weird ... diving under the water. Virginia's famous bridge-tunnels are designated as Man Made Wonders of the World. These bridge-tunnels should be admired and appreciated for their grand design and engineering.
The first group of images in this gallery feature the three places we stayed during our trip. Gallery images include a small portion of the Colonial Williamsburg area, the USS Wisconsin battleship docked in Norfolk at the Nauticus, our Jamestown/Scotland Ferry ride across the James river, a secluded section of beach on Chesapeake Bay and a few scenes from Virginia Beach. The gallery ends with images from Yorktown Victory Center located only a few miles from Williamsburg.
Our four night stay in Virginia was pleasant and the odometer scrolled through fourteen hundred forty-four miles. Williamsburg, Virginia is a beautiful area. We plan to visit there again and complete our itinerary of things to do and places to see.
(c) 2016 Mark D McKinley
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