Williamsburg Warnings and Dangers

Ok, I am not a fan of speeding trucks and I will say that California does have them, "BUT" I will say this for California has a law that mandates that trucks are not to exceed "55" or anyone towing a trailer for that matter and there are to stay to the right or it is a "HUGE" fine. I could not get over all the Trucks speeding while traveling to Williamsburg and Hampton on the 64. My sister warned me of this and I just couldn't get over that fact. OMG, all of them were well going over 70 miles per hour and passing everyone they could. Your eastern states should start doing something about this. So if you are not familiar with this sort of malice, just beware of this.

Virginia Road Conditions.

One very important tip I can give is to always have water handy. You should always have it handy when its hot of course, but also during winter months. Never stop drinking water. When I visited Williamsburg it was hot and sooooo humid. I was thankful I was caring my water bottle, but I went through it fast. Every where I went the attendants did not have a problem with me filling up my water bottle. That was nice. Yet, it gets real cold here during the winters months of course too, so buddle up.

Williamsburg Weather Forecast

" Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over."
-- Mark Twain, 1884

You have heard of police departments who have quotas for tickets, not here. We have a department (Williamsburg P.D.) which officers come in on their days off to write tickets. Why? They are on commission! That's right. ON COMMISSION! Certain areas have additional fines levied as high as $200 plus the ticket and court costs. Think they will cut anyone a break? Why would they?

We have a lot to offer, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Busch Gardens, Water Country USA etc. However, BEWARE OF THE FINANCIALLY MOTIVATED BEARS!!!
FYI.

These people are a public nuisance. Unfortunately, they are all over the place. And while they generate some noise complaints, dealing with this problem is a lot like pushing down a bubble in an air mattress--it simply pops up somewhere else.

These preachers rarely convert anyone; in fact, it's more than likely that they turn other people off. Hearing them makes me want to get rip-roaring drunk.

When I took this photo, someone actually had the courage to confront this idiotic preacher. Eventually, security showed up and we enjoyed some peace and quiet.

I visited Colonial Williamsburg on Thursday in the middle of October. There were many visitors but I can't say it was over-crowded although we had to wait in a line about 20 min. to visit the Capitol and we had to wait for the 3rd shuttle bus to come back to the parking lot.

But I would expect more people on weekends and especially American long weekends close to the following national holidays:
- Memorial Day (last Monday of May),
- Independence Day (July, 4),
- Labour Day (first Monday of September))
- Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday of November).

My suggestions:
1. be at visitors center before 9.00 am (they open it 8.45), most folks go a little bit later and visit the Governor's House first, before others;
2. if you start a little bit later start from the Capitol (most folks go to closer Governor's House, I suppose);
3. when it's getting dark avoid shuttle buses back to visitors center (you can walk there).

Keep in mind that Williamsburg with approx. 4.5 mln visitors a year (over 12,000 daily) is the most visited place in Virginia and one of the most visited in the USA, surprisingly even more than the U.S. capital, Washington, DC.

I saw many two-horse drawn carriages (for up to 6 persons, both roofed and open) with a costumed coachman hired for a tour around Colonial Williamsburg. But there are no carriage stops (stands) in Williamsburg.

If you want to take a carriage tour you should book it at the Visitors Centre or by phone (call, free from the US: 1-800-history), preferrably a day before. We arrived on business day in the early afternoon and all carriage tours were already sold out for that day.

At the end of our visit we were wating approx. 20 min. (not that bad although unexpected) for a shuttle bus to Visitors Center where our car was parked. The first 2 or 3 buses which arrived to Merchants Market bus stop were almost full, so only a few visitors could take on. Keep in mind that many folks come back to Visitors Center after 5.00 pm where most tourist attractions close and before/around dusk. And many of them choose the bus stop at Merchants Square which is the second last stop of blue line shuttle bus before reaching the Visitors Center.

We were too tired after very busy day to walk and... 20 minutes was not that bad. And it's not easy to take so many visitors at one time back to the Visitors Center. It was time to use restroom, watch people, take a few more pictures and first of all nice talk with Nat and planning the next day.

Don't miss the last bus. the blue line shuttle cirles historic area daily from 9.00 am to 10.00 pm including Visitor Center only 5.00 - 10.00 pm). The red line shuttle bus (Visitor's Center - Governor's House and back) goes from 8.50 am - 5.00 pm).

I found a lot of pretty copper (a reddish-coloured metal) and brass (alloy of copper and zinc) cookware both in the kithen of the Governor's Palace (on my picture) and in numerous gift stores in Colonial Williamsburg.

Do look at them, do buy them if you like but please never use them for preparing or cooking any food unless you want to catch copper toxicity syndrome. The most common symptoms are headaches, fatigue, insomnia, depression, spaciness, learning disorders or premenstrual syndrome. Brrr...

Some folks told me that both Hillary Clinton and Theresa Heinz-Kerry use copper and brass cookware in their kitchens. Hmm... I don't know :-).