We arrived at the Williamsburg, VA Thousand Trails on a Monday after our crazy side-trip adventure to Indiana to get work done on the camper. We were tired and looking forward to some time to relax. We were hopeful that this park would be nice and have lots to do. It did not disappoint. The sites were a little tight and the roads around the park were narrow and hard to navigate, but once we got set up, it was actually quite nice. The park amenities were in good shape and included an outdoor pool, an outdoor kiddie pool, an indoor pool! and an indoor hot-tub. The mini-golf was in great shape, which is important as Crayton has turned into quite the min-golf aficionado. They also had a small store, an arcade, an adult lounge and much more. All of this within a few miles of the original Jamestown settlement, Colonial Williamsburg and the Busch Gardens amusement park.
We spent the week taking it easy as I worked during the day and we lounged at the pool in the evenings. Thursday night we met our good friend Leah at a local Thai restaurant for dinner. It was great to see her and we got to plan our next visit with her. She was in the middle of moving from a rented house near ODU in Norfolk to a home she and her husband bought in a different area of Norfolk. She needed folks to help her move so we volunteered to help out on Sunday.
Pool Time
Great kids craft activities!
Memorial Day weekend was great fun. Saturday we kicked around the campground. I finally finished the JT Strong-arm installation and got some other work done around the camper. The rest of the day was spent relaxing at the pool and unwinding from the last few weeks of chaos. Sunday was Leah's move day. We got up super-early to beat the traffic through the tunnel to Norfolk and got to her old place in time to help her with some last minute packing before going to pick up the moving truck. It seems my 'experience' driving our rig all around the country had earned me a reputation of being able to handle large vehicles in tight places, so I was the designated moving truck driver for the day. I didn't mind and actually enjoyed the challenge of driving something big that didn't have a 'hinge' in the middle. Our good college friends Dave and Helen and their two young boys came by later in the morning to help out and Dave and I then set about moving all the heavy things into the truck. Part-way through the day Dave decided we should buy one of those 'shoulder dolly' furniture moving strap sets. What a huge difference that made! I wish we'd had them from the beginning. Two 24-foot moving truck loads, and four van/pickup loads later we had virtually all of her stuff moved to the new house. We enjoyed some celebratory pizza and beer before heading back to camp to sleep off the sore muscles we'd created. While it was a hard day of work it was great to spend time with Leah and her friends as well as mutual long-time friends Dave and Helen and their kids. Crayton really enjoyed playing with their eldest, Sawyer.
Memorial Day Weekend Parade!
Our great moving helper
Memorial Day itself we decided to do a little bit of sight-seeing. There's a lot to see and do in the area and we debated going full-on tourist and trying to see everything we could. We decided, though, that much of that could be saved for another trip when Crayton is a little older and the historical sites we see could be incorporated into his schooling. He's just a bit too young to really appreciate what he's seeing. That said, all kids enjoy old sailing ships and muskets being fired! So we decided to do one day of sightseeing at the Jamestown Settlement. It's a re-creation of the original Jamestown settlement, including the boats used to arrive here and the native american settlement nearby. They also have a great museum detailing the history of the area as well as the three cultures that merged here, British, Native-American and African. It was a great day and Crayton really enjoyed it. He even had more patience for the museum than I figured he would. We capped off the day with a nice dinner at Oceans and Ales in Williamsburg. Great food and beer. The seafood nachos are amazing!
Recreation of the ship Susan Constant
Chicken blacksmiths
The work week proceeded much as the prior week had with much pool-side lounging while I toiled away in the camper ;) and we didn't get out much other than to run the occasional errand, but frankly it felt good to be stationary for a little while. Our plans for much of the summer are going to be a whirlwind of activity, so we were enjoying this downtime. Saturday we headed over to Leah's new place to spend the day with her and visit the beach that is within walking distance of her new place. It was a lovely, if hot, day and the beach was really nice. The waves weren't very big as this beach is on the bay, not the ocean, so it was perfect for Crayton to play around in. Leah's mom has been here with her helping with the move and I had a chance to chat with her for quite a bit. She's an amazing lady and Leah should be proud to have her for a mom! We then all went to a local restaurant on the Ocean View Fishing Pier where Helen and Sawyer met up with us and we enjoyed a nice dinner, a beautiful sunset and good time with friends as an end to our time here in the Tidewater.
At the beach
Dinner with friends
One of the nicer sunsets we've seen on this trip
