Monday, March 08, 2010

Williamsburg vacation

Living in the South-East growing up, both JP and I went to Williamsburg at some point or another for history class and I'd pretty much not given it much thought beyond that.  But then for our first Valentine's day while in law school JP surprised me with a trip up there and it sort-of became our new tradition.  It's amazing how easy it is to slip away from the real world when you're there -- to take the time to stroll around outside and take pictures of cows and talk about what life would have been like then or share stories or convict a fictional woman of being a witch (for the record, JP and I voted not guilty and had an absurdly in depth conversation afterward about the evidentiary burdens of such things -- you can take the girl out of the law but not the law out of the girl apparently).

We've stayed somewhere different each year and this time we stayed at a tavern right on the main street.  Tiny room but nothing beats stepping outside and seeing a gang of fife and drum players going by. It just feels like stepping into another world, especially when it's the dead of winter and there's hardly anyone else around so the place feels like it belongs only to the ghosts and us.

We did a bunch of walking around, drove the Yorktown and Jamestown loops enjoying a sunny sky and spent the obligatory afternoon at the Williamsburg Winery (where JP proposed to me two years ago).  We ate lots and LOTS of yummy food :)

We also played this game called Once Upon a Time which was awesome!  Basically, there are two decks of cards: one with endings and one with people, places, descriptions, etc.  You deal an ending to each player and then a mish-mash of the other cards and the object of the game is to tell a story using your cards to get to that ending (and you can interrupt other players at certain times).  Winner is the first to play all cards.

We set a fire in the tavern common room and turned down the lights and opened a bottle of wine and jiggered the rules a bit -- basically we had one common ending ("And for all I know they may be dancing still") and we chose cards from our hands and passed them to the other player and they had to use that card to continue the story.  It ended up being really amazing -- probably took a couple of hours to tell this story that we got totally wrapped up in.  One of the best nights ever!

Sometimes it's nice to step into another world to get away from it all :)

Today I'm in Baltimore hanging with the fab Diana Peterfreund before The Dead-Tossed Waves comes out tomorrow and the official tour starts.  SQUEE!  Oh!!

6 comments:

M said...

I went to college in Williamsburg and one of my favorite study breaks was to walk through CW. If you've never been around Christmas time it's definitely worth braving the crowds.

Can't wait for the signing tomorrow!!

KT Grant said...

I used to go to Williamsburg almost every summer as a kid. They only place were you can get peanut butter soup :)

Also went in the dead of summer. Talk about humidity!

Congrats on the release tomorrow! I guess I will be hiding under my bed like I did after reading Forest?

Krystalyn Drown said...

Ah, Williamsburg. I grew up in Newport News, where a yearly field trip to Williamsburg was mandatory.
I remember my last time there. It was bitter cold, and our tour guide looked like Mr. Belvedere. Thanks for bringing back the memories. =)

InspiredM said...

I might see you in San Francisco, Carrie! Good luck with everything on your tour!

Anonymous said...

Did my traditional "go to Barnes & Noble and buy my daughter's book on the day it comes out" thing today and it was just as thrilling as last year! Thank you for giving me that thrill. Mom

Williamsburg Vacation said...

A trip to Williamsburg, Virginia provides the rare opportunity of literally stepping into history while still enjoying all the modern comforts of home. The area’s biggest attraction is America’s Historic Triangle, which is made up of: Historic Jamestowne, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, the Yorktown Battlefield, site of the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War and of course Colonial Williamsburg, world’s largest living history museum.

Colonial Williamsburg is a treat for history buffs and younger students of American history. It is a re-creation of 18th-century Williamsburg comprised of 301 acres of historic buildings and gardens where costumed docents pursue their trades and depict aspects of Colonial life. You can visit the blacksmith, take part in the everyday life of the city and interact with its citizens while large “streetscape” performances take place as well as smaller demonstrations.