Sep 9, 20215 min read

A Trip Through History

A Fall Tour of Historic Virginia

With the continued "work from home life", a little change of scenery is sometimes needed. Autumn in Williamsburg, VA provided us with exactly that. My parents and I decided to roadtrip to Virginia because late September was the perfect time to visit this part of the country. The weather was a bit cooler, the Fall colors had started to appear, and tourist season was pretty well wrapped up. Additionally, the amount of history in this little section of the country is remarkable. Typically, when you visit historic sites, you are relearning a lot of what you learned in history class when you were young. It is really amazing at what you don't remember! Some these sites also included key pieces of our nation’s history that are lessor known, if known at all.

I am going to take all of you through the weeklong history tour, as well as provide the hole in a wall finds that we stumbled upon. Enjoy!

Williamsburg:

The first stop on the history tour was Colonial Williamsburg. Whether you are on a family trip or not, Colonial Williamsburg warrants at least a half day visit if not a full day. We started our tour by walking through the Governor’s Palace which sits on a large property. As you walk through the gardens, you will encounter Indians from local tribes that will regale you with stories of family legends while educating you about materials, tools and foods that were commonly used 200 hundred years ago. As we wandered out of the Governor’s Palace, we were able to walk all through the Historic Area and talk to the local Blacksmith, Silversmith, Brickyard workers and finally end our trip with a tour through the Court House.

Scroll through to see our day in Colonial Williamsburg

As for restaurants, there are so many options in Williamsburg but here are the ones that we really enjoyed.

Tipsy Bean Café – Not just a great name for a joint, but delicious food, coffee, cocktails and the whole nine yards. The Brisket and Sweet Hash was the perfect mix of your typical hash breakfast and a great Fall meal.
Shorty’s Diner – This was a local’s recommendation. At first we weren’t exactly sold on it but decided to check it out anyway and to our delight it was a fun, retro, delicious, local diner. Absolutely delicious and a must on your breakfast list.
Second Street Bistro – An absolutely delicious American style restaurant. From the Fall craft cocktails to the beautifully plated carrot cake (check it out!) this was one of our favorite meals of the trip from start to finish.

Oceans & Ale – You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, the salads, tacos, starters, etc. are all beautifully created. We also enjoyed a few of their seasonal bourbon drinks. (Converted my mom into a bourbon drinker!)
Craft31 – This was a salad night for me, and the Super Salad was absolutely delicious.

I am a sucker for quinoa and goat cheese in my salads and the Super Salad didn't disappoint. As for drinks, I started out with the margarita flight and it was too sweet and sour for me but it sure was pretty to look at. I love to drink local when I travel so I switched to craft beer. Craft31 offers a great variety of local Virginia beers.

If you are like my dad and me, you need coffee to start your day. We had fun touring all the local coffee shops and the occasional pastry to go with. Here were our Williamsburg favorites:

Emily’s Donuts and Café – When your dad has a sweet tooth like mine does, any large sign that says DONUTS is a must stop. Emily’s offers your typical donuts as well as some specialty ones. The peanut butter with chocolate drizzle was our favorite.

Column 15 Coffee – “The Science of Good Coffee” is a perfect description of this local find from the locally roasted coffee beans to the nitro cold brew. We loved our multiple visits.

Yorktown:

Next up: Yorktown. This stop was just as rich with history as Colonial Williamsburg. But the morning started with … you guessed it, COFFEE! Just off the main road of Yorktown there is

a cute little old house that has been converted into a coffee shop. Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters and Petite Café is by far one of my favorite coffee shops. You can walk through the house, feel the history, smell the roasting beans, and shop the different coffees they have (we bought 5 different roasts to bring home with us, it was that good.) This was a late morning stop for us, so we also grabbed a couple of sandwiches before walking the historic brick streets of Yorktown. Take a walk past the Nelson house (where you can see a cannon ball still stuck in the side of the house) on your way to the Yorktown Victory Monument. Afterward head down toward the beach and check out Cornwallis’ Cave. End the day with a drink (we loved their bourbon drinks) and a couple of pizzas at the Water Street Grille.

Scroll through to see our day in Yorktown

Jamestown:

The first permanent English Settlement in North America was Jamestown. Start your day by walking through Historic Jamestowne. Here you can see the original site and remaining structures of the first settlement. We were lucky enough to run into some archeologists that were testing the soil by the seawall and searching for artifacts. Make sure to ask them questions when you see them, they love when people ask about their finds. Afterward, head on over to Jamestown Settlement which is the living history part of Jamestown. You can talk to the interpreters, see bread making, walk on the ships, and if you time it right, see a bow and arrow, and rifle demonstration. As for food, everything in the area closes relatively early so we headed back to Williamsburg.

Virginia Beach:

A short one-hour drive south of Williamsburg will bring you to the famous beach town of Virginia Beach. We started at Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii for our

morning fuel. The coffee and poke bowl were a delicious start to our day. Stop by this local favorite if you find yourself in Virginia Beach. We then made our way to the beach and walked down the boardwalk enjoying the ocean breeze. This was a workday for us, so we found a spot outdoor on the beach at Lager Heads. This was an ideal spot to

work. I wish these were my office views every day. The staff was very accommodating as well and kept the small plates and coffee flowing. Once the computers closed for the day, we walked around the corner to Tautog’s Restaurant. I was not in the mood for seafood but with being by the ocean it was all my parents wanted. I am so

glad they talked me into it as this was some of the best seafood. The scallops and Jack’s Rajun Shrimp Scampi are must orders, although you really can’t go wrong with a single thing on the menu.