Friday: Depart
We left home at 5:30 and got grilled panins for dinner at Tim�s in Durham. ($15) We arrived in Hamilton at 8:30 and went to bed at 10:00.
Saturday: Arrive
We woke early and left the house at 4:30 am. I was the driver and got to the border at 5:30 with no traffic. We bought McDonalds for breakfast to-go at 8:30. ($25) Paul took over driving. At 12:30 we stopped for an hour to eat lunch at Cracker Barrel ($45) then switched drivers again. The next stop was at Sweet Frog for a fro-yo at 3:30 ($15) and switched drivers the last time. We arrived in Williamsburg and checked in to the Wyndham Governor�s Green at 5:30. ($1260)
We had a very nice 3 bedroom condo on the 3rd (top) floor. It was great to have so much space even though we gave the best (and biggest) room to Mr. B. Paul and I had a king bedroom and Paula and Lily shared a room with 2 queens. We had 2 bathrooms and a full kitchen with a breakfast bar. It was a great convenience to have the washer and dryer. We had 4 TVs but only used the one in the living room. Our balcony overlooked the tennis court. The building we were in was located very close to the community hall. They had a nice outdoor pool though the water was cold. It warmed up towards the end of the week � but I would still say it was �refreshing�.
The resort was in a good location. It was close to the Outlets, Kmart, the new Super Walmart and �restaurant row�. Although Kingsgate has a slightly better location, I thought Governor�s Green was nicer.
Once we got the luggage to the room, Paul and Paula and I went to Trader Joes but we discovered we couldn�t get the variety of things we needed so we hopped over to the super Walmart. ($90) We bought some groceries and got a great deal on 2 mobile phones. They were $15 each and included a 10 minute card. Since we were both using the same brand, we had unlimited time to talk to each other.
At 8:00 we picked up dinner from Arby�s and ate back at the condo. ($30)
Sunday: Concert
Paula was sick in the night so we all had a lie in. We left the condo at 11:00 and drove next door to St Demetrio�s for their Sunday Brunch. It was a beautiful hall and the food as very good. They had lots of breakfast items including an omelet station and a carving station. They also served many Greek specialties. The dessert buffet was outstanding with a variety of little samplers including cr�me brulee, tapioca, chocolate mousse, �clairs. The list went on and on� ($90)
We tried to drive over to the Outlet Shops, but since it was Memorial Weekend the traffic to the Outlets was backed up. We continued on to Kmart and did some shopping there. ($235).
We went back to the condo at 2:00. Lily and I went to the pool for a �refreshing� swim.
Paul and Paula tried to go back to the Outlets but left without finding a parking space to stop in.
At 5:00 we headed over to Busch Gardens. ($455) It was quite busy and we had to park at the back. Once in the park, we stared in Ireland and walked through France to Germany. Paula and I went on Alpengeist. We had to wait about 20 minutes. This was the longest wait we had all week.
At 6:30 we went back to France to the theater and got seats for the Austin Mahone concert. Lily and I got a turkey leg and some beverages. ($20) The show stared at 7:00 and lasted just over an hour. It was fun and Paula and I kept creeping further up towards the stage. There were lots of young screaming girls in the crowd. There were dancers and a DJ as well. They did a good job. We went on a few rides and left the park at 9:00.
Monday: Memorial Day
Paula was sick in the night again so we had another lie in. Unfortunately my plan to go to Jamestown Settlement did not happen.
We left the condo at 10:30 and headed to Newport News. We did some shopping at Plato�s Closet. ($40) We bought a kids quesadilla for Lily at Moe�s Southwest Grill. Paula and I used the Coke Freestyle machine where you can choose from over 100 different flavours of pop. We got a lime diet coke. ($10)
At 11:30 Paula and I were dropped off at the mall and the others went the Virginia Living Museum. ($40) They had a good time and saw lots of live fish and animals including crabs and beavers. Paula and I had fun at the mall. ($75) We ate Subway for lunch ($10) and got some sweet pretzel bites ($5). Paul picked us up at 2:30 and we went back to the condo to relax and hang out.
At 5:00 we drove over to Captain Georges for their seafood buffet. The restaurant was very big. They had a large selection of food but their specialty was snow crab legs. We ate lots and lots of them. Paula ate chicken, prime rib and fries. Their dessert bar was disappointing, especially since we had just had a great one at St Demetrio�s the day before. This was our most expensive meal ($180).
At 6:30 we drove over to the Yankee Candle store. It is a very large store that is split into numerous rooms. One section displayed Christmas merchandise and it snowed every 10 minutes. Lily had a good conversation with Santa and he put her on his list. We went to the �dip-your-own� stations and Lily had fun dipping white candles into coloured wax to make her own candles. ($12)
We headed over to the Outlets. It was much less crowded than the day before. We split up to do some shopping. Lily and I bought some Ben and Jerry�s. ($8)
At 7:30 Paul took Lily and I back to the condo and then they went back out to do more shopping. They bought some clothes. ($115)
Tuesday: Grease Lightnin�
We left Mr. B at the condo and went to buy gas ($60) before heading over to Bush Gardens. We arrived at 10:00 and they sent us to the preferred parking in the England parking lot. From there it is a short walk to the park entrance (no shuttle).
We went on many rides but Lily was a bit nervous to go on the largest rides. Paul went on the Verbolten with us but did not enjoy it. We thought it was great and were surprised by what happens in the dark. The queues were short and the longest wait was 15 minutes for Verbolten which is the newest ride.
We ate at the Fest Haus and used one of our meal tickets ($16), but I think I was supposed to get an extra snack. Also I know now that I can get chips instead of the sour potato salad.
We grabbed a funnel cake ($5) before we left the park at 3:00.
At 5:30 we went to Olive Garden for dinner. ($90) At 7:00 we did a bit of shopping at CSV. I found them to be quite expensive.
At 7:30 Lily and I were dropped off at the Movie Tavern for the Grease Sing-A-Long. It was really fun and the whole audience was singing! The others went back to the outlets for some more shopping. ($45) We got back to the condo at 10:00.
Wednesday: Water Country
Lily and I were dropped off at Busch Gardens at 10:00. We started in Italy and went on many rides. There were no waits and all the rides were walk-on. We watched the show at the Fest Haus. We had a nice lunch at the Smokehouse using a meal ticket ($16). It included barbequed chicken, brisket, ribs, waffle fries and chocolate cake. Lily soon got over her fear and decided to go on the Griffon. We went on 4 times in a row.
The others went golfing at the Golden Horseshoe executive course. ($120)
They picked us up at 1:30 and dropped us off at Water Country USA. We had packed a bag to leave in the van so once we were at the park we changed in the change room. Lily went on the Nitro racer and then we hit the Hubba Hubba Highway. We stayed there for a while and then lounged under the large shade to dry off. We got picked up at 4:00.
At 6:30 we tried to go to Oceans and Ale for the crab special but there was an hour wait for the next table. We headed over to Longhorn and had a nice steak dinner. ($100) While we were in the area we did some shopping at Target. ($65) We got back to the condo at 9:30.
Thursday: Girls Day Out
All the girls were dropped off at Busch Gardens at 10:00. We started in France and worked our way around. All the rides were walk-on. We went on Griffon, Verbolten and Appolo�s Chariot many many times and had fun posing for the camera. We had lunch in Italy but did not get to see the show. We used a meal ticket ($16) to get the sampler platter. We got quite wet on Roman�s Rapids with 3 other girls. They were wearing long sleeved shirts and long black skirts. It was a very hot day.
Paul and his dad played tennis back at the condo. They picked us up at 1:30 and we went to Food Lion to pick up a few groceries. ($33)
Lily and I went for a swim at the pool while the others hung out in the condo.
At 6:00 we went to Friendly�s for dinner. ($65)
Then we drove over to JC Penny�s and Dick Sporting Goods for some shopping. ($50) After we went back to Dick�s to retrieve Paula�s purse from the change room, we went to Target for a look around.
At 9:00 we drove to New Town and got some fro-yo at Sweet Frog. ($15) It was a cool place with funky shops and restaurants.
Friday: Food & Wine
We all went o Busch Gardens at 10:00. We paid the extra cost to park in preferred parking. ($10) We stopped at the Food & Wine booth in France for some crepes. ($15) They were okay but took a long time to get. We also saw that they were not freshly made.
We split up so the girls could go on some rides while Paul and his dad saw some animal exhibits and the wolf show. Rides only had a small wait. We met back up at the Fest Haus for lunch and the show. ($30)
Lily was getting very hot around 2:00. We went to the Food & Wine booth in Italy for panna cotta and a cannoli ($6). We split up again for a little while and then met for the Celtic show in Ireland. Then we left the park.
Lily and I went for a swim at the pool.
At 5:00 Paul went to get gas ($40) and some pizza ($25). After we ate dinner, Paula and I went to hang out at the pool.
At 7:30 we drove over to the Outlets for a last shop ($150). We got back to the condo at 9:30 to start packing.
Saturday: On the Road
We woke early to pack and check out. We left at 9:00 and headed to Vienna. We got to Marc�s house at 12:00 and had a visit and saw their photos of Italy. We left Mr. B and stared our drive home at 1:30.
At 2:00 we sat at Subway for a quick bite. ($20) We drove for a long time and managed to go the wrong way. It was a scenic drive.
At 8:00 we got some gas ($35) and a snack ($15) just as we were leaving Pennsylvania. Then is started to rain.
At 9:30 we did some last shopping at the Target in Buffalo. ($100)
We bought some duty free ($30) and headed over the border at 11:00.
We had a late dinner at Wendy�s in Niagara Falls ($30), and then arrived in Hamilton shortly after 12:00. Paul did all of the driving. The next day we spent a couple of hours at the mall and then got home at 4:00
Overview
This was another good trip. The weather was great. It was sunny every day and the temperature rose as the week went by (25-35 C). It was quite humid and that�s especially hard on Lily, but she does ok if you can dunk her in a pool once in a while.
We missed going to anything historic. I was hoping to go to Jamestown Settlement. I also thought that there might have been a chance to see the movie at Colonial Williamsburg, since I missed it last time, and had a ticket that included it.
We had also discussed going on a Ghost Tour in the historic area. We were usually hot and tired by the end of the day, so it just didn�t happen.
I really enjoyed going to Busch Gardens with the girls now that they ride all the coaters. (Unfortunately Paul seems to go on less and less.) It is a nice park with a good variety of rides, exhibits and shows. The food is actually decent for park food and I especially enjoyed the smokehouse. It was too bad that we didn�t get to sample more items at the �Food & Wine� festival. The park is very hilly and there is quite a lot of walking. The layout isn�t the best, but by the third day we knew where to find everything. There are still a few places we never made it to including the bridge from Scotland to Germany and the Rhine River Boat Ride.
Ride Rating
1. Verbolten
2. Griffon
3. Apollo�s Chariot
4. Alpengeist
5. Escape from Pompeii
6. Le Scoot
7. Roman�s Rapids
8. The Battering Ram (ok)
9. Da Vinci�s Cradle (ok)
10. Curse of Darkastle (can pass)
11. Europe in the Air (can pass)
12. Loch Ness Monster (can pass)
13. Mach Tower (pass)
Shopping was fun and Paul enjoys the Outlets. I would have liked to spend more time in New Town.
We ate at some great restaurants but the best by far was Sunday brunch at St Demetrio�s.
Dining Rating
1. St Demetrio�s
2. Sweet Frog
3. BG Smokehouse
4. Captain George�s
5. Longhorn
6. Friendly�s
7. Cracker Barrel
8. Olive Garden
9. BG Italy / Fest Haus / Turkey Leg / Food & Wine booths
10. Arby�s / Pizza Hut / Subway / McDonalds
We like Williamsburg and find that it is a fun destination geared towards family�s, with lots of attractions, restaurants and shopping.
$3050 Cost
$550 Mr B.
$2500 Total
- Tuesday, Jul. 02, 2013
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