We spent four nights this week in Williamsburg, visiting Busch Gardens, Colonial Williamsburg and Great Wolf Lodge.
Our kids have become great vehicle travelers. They are easy and roll with just about anything we throw at them, including homemade lunches to avoid a stop on the road.
When we got into town last Friday night, we checked into our hotel, which was surrounded by brand restaurants. It would have been easy to just eat at one of those within walking distance, but we opted instead to explore a little. We took a local’s recommendation, but it was on a 90-minute wait. Our second choice was just as busy. We then just walked around hoping we could squeeze into a smaller place nearby. We were able to find a place called The Hound’s Tale, which featured a heavy dog theme. Due to it being jammed as well, we shared a large table with another family, who was visiting from Colorado.
I love when things trending toward the unpleasant, such as not having dinner yet at 9 on a Friday night, turn into a positive, and that’s exactly what happened here. We ended up hitting it off with the family. I should probably say Beckett, 9, did because he was the one handling the conversation part of our dinner. After a bit of talk, the mom turned to Beckett and remarked how he was an impressive young man who seemed to “know a little bit about everything.” He responded by saying, “Well, thank you, but my New Year’s resolution was to be more humble.”
That made us all laugh as Pam and I looked at each other in bewilderment because that was the first time we heard about a new Year’s resolution or a desire to humble himself.
The next day – St. Patrick’s Day — we were off to Busch Gardens for member day and roller coasters. It was a lot of fun, featuring Irish music, dozens of rides and 20,000 steps, according to my FitBit. We capped it off with some pool and hot tub fun at the hotel, resulting in all of us being asleep before 10 that night.
The next morning we were off to Colonial Williamsburg. Neither kid had been before and it might as well have been my first since my only previous visit was more than 30 years ago during a class field trip.
Colonial Williamsburg is what the name indicates. It’s a walk back in our country’s history to a simpler time. It was the ultimate history lesson, which we thought would be good for the boys in between Busch Gardens and Great Wolf Lodge.
Although we were a little too late to take part in any of the organized tours, we were able to spend a couple hours walking around the colonial area, including checking out a former plantation. We knew the stop was a worthwhile one when Beckett remarked how wrong it was that the slaves in that time didn’t live in the same home as their “owners.” Additionally, Carson was interested to the point he insisted we read each word from the hundreds of markers detailing the historical significance of the various different structures and landmarks.
After spending part of the day learning about the country’s early days, we went the complete opposite direction and got a heaping dose of Americana in a different form.
For those who haven’t been, Great Wolf Lodge is essentially a big hotel with kid-centric amenities, specifically a huge indoor water park. It’s great fun for the children.
Beckett spent most of his time at Great Wolf Lodge riding waves in the wave machine area, obliging us when we wanted to ride the family slides and playing basketball in a pool.
There were several instances when he had to battle an over-aggressive father, who took great pride in blocking young kids’ balls. This wasn’t friendly bantering either. This guy was into it, sneaking up behind kids and then sending their shots out of the pool with authority. He celebrated his rejections with tremendous zeal. It was to the point I went to get my phone to record his antics but when I returned he was gone. When I asked Beckett where he went, he said a woman came over and made him get out.
While he was taking a break from sliding, Carson, 8, and I were taking in the sights and sounds of the complex. There were some quality people watching opportunities at the water park for sure.
One instance stands out. We observed a young girl run over to her father sitting at a table nearby. She ran up to him making it clear to him and everyone else around nature was calling. He then whispered in her ear.
Since he wasn’t getting up, I knew exactly what he told her to do. I couldn’t believe it, and I shared it with Carson who laughed. He thought I was joking. We then watched as the little girl went into a shallow area of the pool and squatted for a minute. She then ran back over to her dad, who gave her a high five. They both giggled.
An hour later, Carson came running up to our table and signed he had to use the bathroom. He then pointed to the pool and hunched his shoulders. When I said no way, he giggled as he was kidding.
That was our inside joke the rest of our stay, including anytime we saw this father and daughter in the hallway.
