Tips for family vacation March 19-23 -- and thank you

We will be visiting March 19-23 with our twin second grade boys. They%26#39;ve just studied colonial/ revolutionary times in school and are very excited. We%26#39;ve read tons of books and watched the Felicity video -- I didn%26#39;t tell them it was based on a doll. We%26#39;ll focus on history -- mostly CW and the Jamestowns -- with breaks for the motel pool and plan to buy Historic Triangle tickets.

The forum posts have been so helpful in planning our trip -- thanks to all. We arrive Wednesday morning, will stay at the Holiday Inn Gateway on Bypass Road, and depart Sunday late afternoon. So far we have tickets to the Crystal Concert midday Wednesday, the African-American music evening program Thursday, and the Dance evening program at the Capitol on Saturday. The kids have ';casual colonial'; costumes (britches, shirts and vests) and want to wear them to the dance to get more attention from the ladies. I thought we might try the Gambols one evening. Am debating adding either Papa Said/Mama Said or Grand Medley and a tavern reservation also.

Any tips or must-sees for boys this age/this time of year?

Is public parking permitted in the Bruton complex when visiting the east end of town or are there better places (apart from the Visitors Center)?

Tips for family vacation March 19-23 -- and thank you

Your plans sound great! Your boys can enlist in the militia at the Magazine and get drill training. The Fife and Drum corps always gathers a crowd, and they are celebrating their 50th year!

Gambols can be fun - come a little earlier when the song lyrics aren%26#39;t bawdy. The ';light tavern fare'; makes for a fine supper, too.

In addition to parking at the Bruton complex (usually employees park there, but others are welcome), there is parking on the south side of Francis street in the ';Tavern'; parking lot. There are shuttles that circle the historic area, and there is a parking garage near Henry and Prince George streets. It won%26#39;t be full and it%26#39;s just $1 an hour.

If you haven%26#39;t been to CW before, the orientation tour is helpful. Many visitors enjoy the carriage or wagon rides, but book early in the day. For inclement weather, the museums in the Publick Hospital are ideal.

Welcome to Williamsburg!

Tips for family vacation March 19-23 -- and thank you

http://www.timetravelers.org/

Go to this website %26amp; check out Virginia%26#39;s Time Travelers program -- you download a ';passport'; (for each person) %26amp; get it stamped at various locations. Then you send it in to the Commonwealth of VA when you get home %26amp; they send you a free brightly embroidered patch (suitable for Scout wear or for backpack) %26amp; you can also buy attractive tees for way less than in Wburg! When they send you the patch, they return the passport so you can put it in your scrapbook.

You have a loaded schedule! You will want at least a full day for Jamestown -- because there is the rebuilt village with ships %26amp; the nearby real one, which has an ongoing archeological dig. There is also a new museum right next to the dig which is excellent -- you won%26#39;t want to miss it.

Don%26#39;t forget Yorktown -- the NPS visitor center has a nice light-up map showing the action of the battle %26amp; a movie -- and you can hike around the battlefield -- but you probably won%26#39;t have time. The village of Yorktown just up the road from the NPS parking lot is nearly unchanged from those days in size, layout %26amp; many buildings are almost the same too. It has a public beach too. We were there on 4th July so you can imagine the crowds. If you walk around in it a bit you can tell the boys they are right where those things happened.

There is an Episcopalian church smack in the middle of CW which is not part of CW -- but has concerts etc as well as the usual church services --you will be there during Holy Week so if you are at all religious you might want to check them out -- they welcome all--we attended a handbell concert there one evening. They light the building with candles at night; really makes you feel like ';back then.';

There is the Jamestown Pie Company on the road back from Jamestown (google it) which has absolutely the most wonderful fruit %26amp; pot pies! They are not an eat-in place (although they do have a picnic table outside) but they are different from the endless parade of chain restaurants -- don%26#39;t know whether they are open in Mar. though. But if they are open, don%26#39;t miss them!

When we travel we buy postcards of places we%26#39;ve seen (the photography is so much better than ours!) and add them to our albums -- consider doing that with the boys -- letting them choose a couple each, at each place.

I suggest also a daypack each including water bottles -- there%26#39;s nothing as unpleasant as a dehydrated chld -- and a generous supply of lifesavers or other hard candy, for when blood sugar drops %26amp; there isn%26#39;t any snack available. And aspirin for you, Mom.

The NPS has passport program too (use Google) -- the boys aren%26#39;t too young to start -- you buy a cool looking passport in any NPS shop or online %26amp; everywhere you go for the rest of your life you get it stamped. You can get big binder ones, too (for the real nuts) and take out %26amp; add pages. They also sell sheets of colorful photo stickers to add to these passports. These things are really fun for kids!

I would take care to buy a good book in one of the NPS shops about colonial life etc -- they have a great selection of books suitable for kids. Good for later reading at home %26amp; also maybe as a resource for the inevitable show %26amp; tell they will want to do at school later.

Have fun! You will make loads of wonderful memories!