Category: Travel Tuesday

Well, Road Trip Enthusiasts, we have made it to our final (for now) December Girls’ Trip. The following details our trip to Williamsburg, VA in December of 2018. Enjoy!

    5. Colonial Williamsburg (December 2018)

After having to forego touring Colonial Williamsburg on our first trip to Virginia in 2013, we decided this state of affairs simply wouldn’t do and buckled up for a trip back across Virginia! In my post on our first trip to Virginia, I mentioned our love for Michie Tavern in Charlottesville near Monticello. Coming from Tennessee, there were two routes we could take to get to the coast, and knowing that Michie Tavern lay along the trail of one of them made that decision easy! We wheeled in there first and ate some delicious grub. It was this stop at Michie where we saw a beautiful French family with many children. (They were speaking French, so we assumed France, but they could have hailed from anywhere, of course.) We predicted they had come all of that way to tour Monticello, which was pretty cool!

But Monticello wasn’t on our agenda this time since we had already been. I made the last-minute suggestion, however, that we drop by the neighboring James Monroe’s Highland. In 2016, a huge discovery had been made at Highland. During an archaeological dig, the foundation for a much larger house was uncovered. The more modest house, which was thought for many years to be Monroe’s home, was actually just a guest house. You can find a fabulous article detailing this historic find here: https://www.history.com/news/major-discovery-at-james-monroes-historic-virginia-home.

I had been following this story fairly closely, as well as viewing pictures of their rare (and extremely cute) breed of sheep, so I thought it would be a good idea to swing by for a tour. There were good things about Highland: the staff was really laid-back and friendly, the grounds were pretty, and the story of James Monroe is not well-known but is certainly worth hearing. But there were some downsides, too: the archaeological find is amazing, but the sad fact is that the huge house Monroe had lived in isn’t there, so the tour is still limited to the guest house. There were Monroe family antiques in there, and it is a neat house in its own right, but it’s not a stimulating visual experience. In addition, Highland still gives the impression of being fairly new as a house museum. It’s not a well-oiled machine like Monticello, and, frankly, for a Presidential Home, I was a bit surprised at the lack of funds which had been allotted to it. As a personal grievance, the sheep were nowhere to be found (it was cold that day, so I assume they had retired to shelter, and this was no one’s fault). But still, I would recommend going to Highland to get a feel for the Monroe family and for the amazing discoveries being made there every day.

And then: on to Williamsburg! There is nowhere quite so cozy as Colonial Williamsburg at Christmastime. Colonial-style decorations fill every window and door. My mom actually bought a book which showed how to make the decorations, and we tried it this past Christmas with some success! We bought our tickets in advance, so we just drove to the parking lot of the visitor center, where they give you a bracelet and bus you into the park. It’s so cool, getting out and stepping right onto the grounds of the Governor’s Palace.

We toured the Palace first. I pointed at the rippled windows and said, “Those are really old.” The first thing the docent said when she began our tour was, “I’m sorry to tell you that the Governor’s Palace is entirely new construction.” And that’s the wonder of Colonial Williamsburg. They do good work. Everything there is built with 18^th Century tools in 18^th Century style (quite possibly while wearing 18^th Century stockings). So it was a bit of a bummer to find out that the Palace had been reconstructed, but it is an excellent reconstruction. I particularly remember the ballroom and the stage the docent set for a Colonial ball while we were there. You can really imagine the hosting that would have taken place in the Royal Governor’s home.

Then we walked around the shops within the “park.” My sister bought an 18^th Century-style straw hat, which is just as wearable on the beach as it would be for a costume. You get to see how all sorts of Colonial trades worked (blacksmithing, weaving, etc.). We visited the courthouse, which is an original building that has been used in several films.

The Capitol building was really fabulous (again, I’ve spotted it in several historical films). We got to watch the docent manufacture and carry through a trial with actors plucked from our tour group. The tour groups are huge, but this one was great because you got to fill up the parliamentary room. And of course, since most things are reconstructed, they are not persnickety about letting you sit on or touch things that look like historical gems. Except at the George Wythe House.

George Wythe was a philosopher and professor during the Colonial and Young Republic periods, and his original house stands within the “park” of Colonial Williamsburg. DO NOT EVEN TRY to chew gum in the George Wythe House. My mom got busted, to the amusement of her daughters. It was a bit like whip-lash to go from the “prop your feet up” mentality of all of the reconstructed buildings to the strict reverence for this historical house, but as long as you are forewarned, you will be alright.

There is a calendar of events for each day in the “park.” You can get a handheld copy at the visitor center, but I highly recommend downloading the app, which gives daily updates and neat tidbits you would otherwise miss. We saw on the app that there was a Fife and Drum assembly and presented ourselves at the proper time. And lo! Down the street come scores of irritated middle schoolers dressed in Colonial garb and marching to the beat of drums. They lined up and took off to the music of the flutes and drums they were playing, and it was neat to watch that visual history. I think there is another group you can see that consists of adults, but honestly, the kids were very talented.

One really great thing about Colonial Williamsburg is the food. The King’s Arms Tavern serves up Colonial fare and is quite tasty. There was a fantastic restaurant on Merchant’s Square, the street that kind of marks the end of the “park” area and the beginning of the regular town. (Don’t worry, everything is still very Colonial in Merchant’s Square. There was even ice skating.)

Speaking of Merchant’s Square, some of the shops were truly amazing. We finally got to go in Scotland House, and I bought a great necklace with the Colquhoun (pronounced Cuh-hoon or Calhoun, or, by my family wing, Cowan) crest. I also now have a scarf in the Colquhoun tartan, which my sister bought me there on a recent trip, so you can find great stuff if you have some Scottish or Scots-Irish family history and know your clan! We also bought some Christmas ornaments at some of the other shops. The quality is fantastic.

The one thing I will say is that Christmas seems to be a bit of a tricky time for Colonial Williamsburg. Summer is obviously their big season, but they expect (and have) many tourists at Christmas. However, I believe they are also preparing to go into maintenance mode in January. Therefore, some of the shops weren’t open, and not everything was quite fully staffed. For instance, we had been planning to go to a musical recital at Bruton Parish Episcopal Church (a fabulous building which is three centuries old and which hosted many historical figures), but we, and the others lining up, were told that they would only have the performance if they could get at least two volunteer interpreters to come into work. Why put it on the schedule if it’s not going to happen, we wondered?

I should also mention something that first-time visitors might not know: Not everything Williamsburg does is covered in your admission ticket. There are some things, such as dinner with Thomas Jefferson, certain theatricals, etc. which sound really great but that you have to book (and pay for) separately. And book in advance if you want to do them. All of the extras were entirely booked by the time we got there. Still, there is a lot to do under a general admission ticket.

One thing that was super convenient was that the bus picks you up at various stops throughout Colonial Williamsburg, so you don’t have to kill yourself to walk back to your original stop. Just keep up with your map to locate all of the stops, and you’ll be set.

Outside of the park, we took a drive out to Newport News, since we had never seen it. It totally wasn’t worth it because of a torrential downpour. We came back and decided to go to the movies because of said torrential downpour and ended up at Movie Tavern (everything is a “tavern” in Williamsburg!), where they bring you a menu, and you order your supper during the movie. Our movie happened to be Mary Poppins Returns. We really enjoyed that.

It’s also worth driving by the (quite expensive) Williamsburg Inn to see the gentleman in full Colonial garb waiting to assist the lodgers as they drive up.

Also, we drove out to Yorktown, which is just a gorgeous little town – so picturesque!  That ended up being one of our favorite parts of the trip.

On the way home, we decided to take the second of the two routes for a change of scenery. This involved going quite near to Appomattox Court House National Historic Park, a Civil War stop on a decidedly Colonial trip. We decided we would drive in, even though we knew the Park was closed due to the government shut down during that time. That sounds like a bummer, doesn’t it, not to be able to actually go in and see the buildings? And it was. But there was a silver lining: we got to see the cite of Lee’s surrender to Grant totally devoid of tourists from high on a field nearby. We could see the entire little town with houses and the courthouse, and there was just something special about the peace and tranquility of the scene that we wouldn’t have gotten if the Park had been open. (By the way, if you want the same experience, the Park is currently closed again due to the quarantine.)

As a side-note, we also passed quite near Jefferson’s second home, Poplar Forest. I was game but decided not to harass my fellow-travelers, who bear with my historical enthusiasm admirably, and who were at this point exhausted.

And then…the really long drive home!

I hope you have enjoyed this Southern Road Trips series! I’m sure there will be more in the future, but that winds up our series of 5 December girls’ trips. Thanks for following us on the ride!

Pie at King’s Arms

My mom and me at Highland

Williamsburg Straw Hat

Me with Appomattox in the background!

Yum!

George Wythe House

We’re continuing our road trip through the South! In December 2016, it was my sister’s turn to choose and plan our girls’ trip, and she put together an awesome itinerary for a trip to Charleston, South Carolina.

4. Charleston, South Carolina (December 2016)

Starting with our trip to Natchez, we began making fairly elaborate itineraries for our December girls’ trips. I don’t recommend strict itineraries if you are going on a relaxing vacation or a rambling road trip, but I do highly recommend them when there are several things you want to see and limited time. You save the time you would spend searching for a restaurant or tourist attraction and are able to put that much time back into exploring and taking in the culture. My sister compiled a beautiful itinerary for Charleston that started with, “Please do not blame Hannah for any problems that may arise.” This was our fourth trip, and by now, we had a catalogue of funny stories from things that went wrong, and she isn’t the sister of two lawyers for nothing.

On Day 1, we departed and drove to the Hampton Inn in West Ashley, a suburb of Charleston. Hannah was careful to put even the address of the hotel on the itinerary, which is another time-saver. We went up the road for dinner at a barbecue place and then just drove around the city. That might seem like wasted time, but it is actually what I remember most, seeing the Battery at night. Charleston abounds with beautiful mansions, and they know how to show them off with lights and fountains, etc. at night. It was one of those situations where someone is yelling, “Look over there! Oh, my gosh, this one is so pretty!” so much that you get whiplash.

On Day 2, we had breakfast at the hotel and then drove to Middleton Place for a tour. I will just warn you: the price was a nosebleed that left us standing there stunned for a few minutes before finally deciding it was worth it. The gardens there are extensive, and you get to ramble through them before you tour the house. Middleton Place is rather famous for its grass stairs leading down to the Ashley River. It looks like something you would see at a European castle. When we were planning the itinerary and narrowing down the house museums that we would tour, the moment I saw a picture of those grass stairs, I knew we had to go. And then…we promptly forgot to look at the stairs. Yes, I’m not kidding. We were afterwards so mad at ourselves for this that we still talk about it (jokingly, of course, sort of) as one of our life’s greatest regrets. But anyway, we enjoyed the gardens. The house tour was actually just a tour of what they call a “flanker” in Charleston. Charlestonian architecture often consisted of a main house in the center flanked by two long, separate wings. The main house and flanker were burned during the Civil War when the Union broke through the Confederate lines in the Spring of 1865. Therefore, the house tour wasn’t the most awe-inspiring I have ever experienced, but there were some pretty neat things about it, such as, for instance, the family had converted the flanker into a house once their lands were returned to them by the federal government, and they produced a very talented female artist in the family. (Side-note: I half-fictionalize this family and house in the Torn Asunder Series.)

Next stop was Edmonston-Alston House on the Battery. (Another side-note: I used this house as partial inspiration for the Ravenel-Thompson House which Adeline is restoring in the Torn Asunder series.) Edmonston-Alston is, in contrast to Middleton Place, a town house overlooking the Charleston Battery, so it has a very different vibe. My favorite room was the very unusual library. In contrast to most libraries of its time, it has white bookshelves and a very sunny feel. The balconies which look out over the harbor are absolutely magnificent. The residents stood on them and watched the Battle of Fort Sumter. The house is actually connected by family to Middleton Place, so these tours are great to do back-to-back.

From there, we went to Poogan’s Porch, where we had lunch. The house special that day were sweet potato dumplings with collard greens. It was to-die-for. I should mention that Charleston cuisine is “fancy.” It is a mix of French, Gullah-Geechee, and Southern cooking. It takes you just a moment to get used to it, and then you’re ready to try all sorts of new things. They have many world-renowned chefs in Charleston, so you may try many creative and delicious dishes, or you can just stick with the city special: shrimp and grits.

The Charleston City Market was next on the itinerary. We had to mark it off the list because we ran out of time, but I went on a subsequent trip, so I can highly recommend it. You’ll find local crafts, including the famous seagrass baskets. When my sister and I went in 2019, we struck up a conversation with a brother-sister duo with a Gullah-Geechee family history of making baskets. We told them about our family history of making split oak baskets in Woodbury, Tennessee, and they were very interested and told us we should come sell them at the Market, since no one sells split oak there. Not a horrible idea, if only we knew how to make them!

Next stop: Drayton Hall! This house was THE inspiration for Santarella, so if you visit, you will pretty much know what Shannon’s country house looked like! (Note: Drayton is on the Ashley River, and I placed Santarella on the Sea Islands, so there is a slight difference there.) The house is still owned by descendants (as is Edmonston-Alston), and they still have get-togethers there. I can’t remember if this is the reason there is no furniture in the house or if it’s because they have placed a real emphasis on preserving the bones of the house. And they have done an exceptional job of that. There is a colonial vibe in the house, since it is that old, and the double staircase really made my sister freak out. There is even an emphasis on preserving the old trees and vegetation surrounding the house, so you really get the feeling that the property is in good hands. Like Middleton, there used to be two flankers surrounding Drayton, but now, only the main structure stands.

Finally for that day, we had dinner at the West Ashley Crab Shack, which was delicious. And that was the close of an extremely busy day!

We slept soundly that night and woke up the next morning and had breakfast at the hotel again. Then we drove out to Boone Hall. You may know it from its appearances on movies and shows, particularly from North and South, where it was used as Orry Main’s family plantation – help me here, Mont Royal? Anyway, for that reason, it is probably the most touristy of the house museums in Charleston, featuring wagon rides over the property and fun activities like that for families. We were given a house tour by an extremely charismatic gentleman in a period-appropriate costume. Our Tennessee accents came up again since he needed help conceptualizing the Southern accent for the rest of the large tour group, most of whom weren’t from the South.

After that, we had planned a carriage tour, but we were either exhausted or it rained, because we marked it off. We went instead to Jestine’s Kitchen, which featured excellent Southern cooking, Charleston-style.

Then we drove out to Sullivan’s Island, another memorable part of the trip. It was December, but warm enough we took a refreshing walk on the beach before going to a restaurant on the island called the Obstinate Daughter, a play on Charleston’s Revolutionary War roots. This was DELICIOUS. I had a cold shrimp sandwich and Geechee Frites, which were actually fries made of grits. The whole meal was a play on Charleston’s shrimp and grits theme. We also went to a gelato place called Beardcat’s next door, where I tried red velvet cookie dough gelato. Heavenly.

We drove around a neighboring island, Folly Beach, one of the days we were there. There was an excellent ice cream place there called Dolce Banana. Are you sensing a theme here? I blame my sister.

On Day 4, we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel again, and then drove out to James Island to tour McLeod Plantation. We argued the entire way there about how that would be pronounced. (It is pronounced Mick-Loud run together really fast so that you hear the word “cloud”. I think. My mom had guessed right, and I was wrong, for the record!) This was our first experience of a sea island plantation, so again, there was a very different feel from the others. The masters and their families spent very little time on their Sea Island plantations, so you can really feel the influences of the Gullah Geechee culture that were able to ripen on such plantations. This tour focused on the enslaved people who had once lived and worked on the island, and the curators had done a remarkable job finding names and stories of those people to share and bringing their experiences to life. There were descendants of those once enslaved living at McLeod all the way through the 1990’s. There is some fascinating history about the enslaved on the Sea Islands during the Civil War, but I won’t spoil it: you’ll have to go yourself to find out!

Go to this link to learn all about Edmonston-Alston and Middleton and to see those stairs at Middleton: https://www.edmondstonalston.org/about/

Alright, that’s a wrap! Next time: we’re going back to Virginia!

Middleton Place

Drayton Hall

Sullivan’s Island

Boone Hall

Boone Hall

This post continues my Southern Road Trip Series, which are blogs I am posting for #traveltuesdays. The story continues with a girls’ trip to Vicksburg and Natchez, Mississippi, in December, 2015.

3. Natchez, Mississippi

This week’s stop…Mississippi! Every year, we take turns planning the trips, and this year was my sister-in-law’s turn. She took us first to Vicksburg, where we hoped to see some fabulous history. Since it is a bit of a drive to Vicksburg, we went first to eat at a restaurant downtown and then hopped back in the car to go to the battlefield in the last hour of daylight we had. Normally, there would have been a charge to drive through, but since we made it so late, they waved us on through the gate – bonus!

I cannot say enough about how beautiful the Vicksburg National Military Park is. The views are breath-taking. The Union monuments were beautiful. Vicksburg is unexpectedly very hilly right there on the banks of the Mississippi River. You really get a feel for the siege and battle which took place, and, being a dork, I find things like that rather moving.

That night, we stayed in a Hampton Inn which featured a cannon on the front lawn. Try to beat that, history lovers! Then we took a drive through Vicksburg, hoping to find some historic homes to tour. Sadly, there are plenty of historic homes, but they are falling into disrepair and dilapidation. Calling all preservationists! Seriously, Vicksburg is a gem waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, the historic buildings will either disintegrate beyond repair or be torn down if no money or care is put into them.  A rather sad fate for such an important city during the Civil War.

Okay, that’s my historic preservation pitch! Moving on, I was agog to see one of the caves which the citizens of Vicksburg had dug in order to protect themselves from the Union’s 47-day siege. They had fitted such caves out like houses, with furniture and cooking equipment, etc. (Lest you think this is cute, things got pretty rough in there – we’re talking rat-eating.) But when I asked at the Military Park where I could find one, they told me that they were all privately owned. However, the Park Museum did have a very good replica inside, so I was satisfied.

Onward to Natchez! From there, we slid on down to Natchez, which is one of the most fabulous Southern cities I have ever visited. It is positively teeming with beautifully preserved antebellum homes, has great food, and boasts sweeping vistas of the Mississippi River. Just be forewarned that all of the restaurants are closed on Mondays.

We toured Rosalie Plantation first, which was absolutely stunning with Greek Revival columns, a view of the Mississippi, and a great story.  From there, we toured Stanton Hall, a mansion all in white, which was one of my favorites due to its architecture and clean look.

Then, it was on to Longwood, one of the creepiest (and most fabulous) places I have ever toured. It was built in an octagon shape and had sooo many levels of floors, but on the inside, only the first/basement floor was completed before the war… And that’s all that was ever completed. So you walk into this massive and exquisite house to find that it’s largely a shell. It is the oldest incomplete home in America. This tour was very moving due to the story of the people, owner and enslaved, who lived there. (It is this blog’s feature picture.)

My sister-in-law had arranged for us to spend the night at Historic Monmouth Inn. It is an antebellum plantation turned bed and breakfast, and it was an extremely cozy experience. A bellhop meets you to help with your baggage and takes you to your rooms. Yes, the room where you spend the night looks straight out of a Civil War film. There are free appetizers right before suppertime, as well as cocktails for those who imbibe made by a man named Roosevelt, who has worked at Monmouth for many years and is apparently a legend. You have free range of the house at night, which is both wonderful and eerie. Also, the gift shop stays open late, so my sister and I slipped down and bought my mom a Christmas ornament since she collects them from our December trips.

The next morning included breakfast at a venue across the lawn, and I specifically remember a British family being there and taking great interest in our accents. Also included was a tour of Monmouth, during which I got inspiration for one of my novels from a letter the docent read us. Hint: I’ll tell you about it when we get to Book 3 of the Torn Asunder Series.

We wanted to tour Melrose Plantation and went there and took some fabulous pictures of it, but tours didn’t start until an hour later, so we had to hit the road back home. And I will just say that, with all of those house museums I have mentioned, we barely scratched the surface of all of the houses in Natchez. In addition, there is something distinct and lovely about Natchez which sticks with you – it’s a little bit New Orleans, a little bit Memphis, and a little bit pinky in the air posh.

We were sad to leave, but we hopped on the Natchez Trail…and nearly ran out of gas miles from anywhere. But we survived!

See you next time!

Stop #4 is…Charleston! You heard me. 😊