Yorktown Off The Beaten Path

If you are visiting Yorktown then you are also in the vicinity of Williamsburg and it is definitely worth a visit.This old colonial town was once the capital of Virginia. The people are dressed in the colonial style. It was named after the reigning Kind William of Orange. The town became quite run down and it was in the 1920's that the Reverand Goodwin desparately wanted the town to be restored to its formy glory and with the help financially of John Rockefeller his dream came true.

The buildings some of which are authentic others that have been reconstructed are so lovely and if you purchase a pass at the visitors centre you can go in some of the buildings.

Only 20 minutes away is Busch Gardens. A must for kids especially. As we had our son and his friend with us, both 16 you can imagine that walking around Yorktown didnt have the same appeal as riding white knuckle rides at Busch Gardens.

This tip is purely on what my son and his friend said. We dropped them both of at 10am when the park opens. They bought a 3 day pass which enabled them to go into either Busch Gardens or Water Country. As we were there only 3 nights and 2 days, they obviously could not use them for 3 days. Quite a good buy if you could.

Apparently the best ride was Apollo's Chariot and the queues for this ride were quite a long wait. The Big Bad Wolf was another ride they liked although my son said that the force of the ride did hurt his neck a bit. Escape from Pompeii was a water ride they liked but they did inform me that you do get very wet.

Amenities in the park, such as food and drink outlets, restrooms and locker facilities apparently were very good.

They really enjoyed their day there.

The park closed at different times depending on the day. Check their website.

Again this place is only about 20 minutes from Yorktown.
Our son and his friend were there queuing for the park to open at 10.00am. He said that when the gates opened it was like a stampede everyone running to get the best loungers/seats in the best positions!

They did like the park but actually did not go on each water ride as they said some of the queues were at least an hour long! They spent quite a bit of time in Surfers Bay which has wave machines. Also the Hubba-Hubba Highway was good they said, its kind of like a curvy river and you can either swin round it, or sit in rubber rings, the only problem he said that was because it was so busy, people tended to push at each other. The Jet Streams was another water feature they liked.

The park is open from May - September, check web site for closing times as this does differ from anything between 6pm -8pm

All in all they enjoyed both parks.

If you fancy a bit of relaxation or a paddle in the sea, only about an hours drive away is Virginia Beach. Miles of sand, dolphins swimming just offshire and lots to do. The boardwalk is lovely having been recently undergone reconstruction. Its where you will see people cycling, roller blading, or just strolling along.

Skates and bikes can be hired at a few places along the boardwalk.

There is a fun fair, golf courses, sailing canoeing, and also lots of evening entertainment.

Lots of cafes, restaurants to suit all pockets.

To get there, take the I-64 south, crossing the James River/Chesapeake Bat at Hampton, across to Norfolk. Then east on 264 (Virginia Beach Expressway).

The picture is of me sitting on the balcony of the hotel in Virginia Beach