We decided a couple of months ago to plan a couple of getaways to places that are unique to this part of the country in the event that we are not here long term….Colonial Williamsburg made the list. Jackson is loving history in school and we knew it would be a fun way for him to learn more. We loaded up Friday and braved our first road trip with 3 kids.  We spent a day in Williamsburg, a morning in Jamestown Settlement, and filled in the rest with swimming, shopping and eating out with me not having to cook! All in all the trip went off without a hitch. At this phase of life we can expect sibling squabbles, overtired children, at least one blow out diaper in public with few wipes in supply and too small backup clothes stocked in the diaper bag. We were surprised at how much the kids enjoyed the activities and how well they got along over all. And well, we won’t go into more detail about the blow out diaper.    Here are some picture memories of our day in Williamsburg (sparing the pics of crying, tired feet, hungry tourists, and sleepy babies :)….

If you are traveling to Williamsburg with kids here are a few tips to share that we learned along the way…

A picnic blanket is a must! We bought our picnic from The Cheese Shop which we recommend if you get in line super early! We waited in line for 30 mins to get our order but it was delicious! They have a famous house sauce that you should try!  Once you get your food or bust out your prepacked lunch there are many shady grassy spots but few benches…a picnic blanket would have been golden!

Make reservations if you want to eat at one of the old time restaurants. We got dinner reservations at Josiah Chownings Tavern which was very casual and had fun musicians walking throughout. The food was reasonably priced (about $12 for adults) and worth the experience. I will say that America had not yet had it’s gourmet rise so it was basic fare which the kids loved!

If you are from Virginia you can buy a yr pass for the cost of the day pass and return anytime in the year.

While there are tons of activities going on throughout the day our kids favorites were marching with army fife and drum, watching the canon practice, walking out in the field to “enlist” and march with the new soldiers and the active participation things. We went for a long morning, went back to the hotel for naps and then went back for the evening events.   There are many activities geared towards adults and teens. I personally think they could do more family friendly activities for young children but all in all our kids enjoyed it and didn’t know what they were missing in the older activities.

This year there is a spy game going on. You can receive texts with clues and go on the hunt for people with more clues throughout the day. Seth and Jackson could have done this for days. I could see this being really fun with teenagers.

More on Jamestown Settlement soon…