We traveled to Virginia last week, originally intending to stay for three nights. For flight time convenience, we flew into Richmond and out of Norfolk, with a plan of staying in Williamsburg and exploring the area. Research into the area showed that public transportation wasn’t going to be an option, so I rented a car through Costco.
The Williamsburg area feels fairly tourist-oriented, with a plethora of hotels and resorts. While the Colonial Williamsburg is eminently walkable (as was our gated resort), the area from our resort to nearby restaurants was not – the lack of sidewalks combined with poorly lit roads meant driving to get dinner even if it was within our definition of walking distance. To be fair, that lack of ambient light meant we had fabulous views of the night sky.
After the timeshare talk that inspired our trip (the resort stay was free other than taxes and such), we explored one of the Art Museums in Colonial Williamsburg – despite different names, the museums are attached and you move easily between them. On our way there from the nearby public parking, we had noticed a section of street closed off (through February) for an ice rink. When we left the museum around closing, the ice rink was reasonably full with children who let up a cheer as a light snow started to fall. We finished off the evening with video games at the resort’s arcade – free play for everything – and some time in the indoor pool. (Yes, the outdoor pool and hot tub were open. At 30-some degrees, no, thank you.)
On what would have been our last full day there, I woke up to news of a winter storm heading towards Virginia and an emergency declaration from the governor, recommending anyone who was planning to travel on the Sunday more up their schedule. By a couple hours later, the airline app had updated to offer free changes, so we dropped our plan to explore the historic guided sites and gardens and moved onto our day of departure plan: visiting the Virginia Zoo. (To be clear, we were flying Southwest anyways, where changing flights is fairly easy under normal circumstances.)
There are pros and cons to visiting a zoo in winter… especially somewhere that experiences winter. The primary disadvantage is that many animals, especially those from warmer climates, are off exhibit, and only some of them have indoor viewing areas. On the other hand, other than the Reptile House – an entirely indoor experience for obvious reasons – you can walk through parts of the zoo without crowds. Or really, any other people for large sections, which gives you time to appreciate the animals (and a surprising amount of bamboo) without feeling like you’re monopolizing the space.
There’s a lot more we would like to see and do in the Williamsburg area. I suppose we’ll just have to go back at some point.