Sean and I spent a weekend exploring Williamsburg, Virginia during the two weeks we spent in Manteo at my mom’s. It had been more than eight months since Sean and I had had a night away from Harrison so I wanted to take advantage of having help from family to get away for Sean’s birthday. Williamsburg is only a two and a half hour drive from Manteo and I had not been there since I was in college; Sean since he was a kid so we decided to go back. 

We drove straight to Colonial Williamsburg, and it started raining. We ducked into a tour of the Capitol and leaned about the two courts system back then; how those who had wealth had all the advantage and wanted to keep things the same rather than break from England. Interesting. 

We had lunch at The Cheese Shop in Merchant’s Square and then visited the Colonial Williamsburg Art Museums. At first we came mostly to get out of the rain but quickly realized how amazing this place is. Everything is original. The furniture was exquisite and told such a rich story of people and their lives from this time. The grand hall of grandfather clocks was also impressive and stunning. What a find this was!

The primary part of our trip was our stay at Wedmore Place at the Williamsburg Winery. I booked us a package that included a massage, wine tasting, bottle of sparkling wine, gift card for the wine shop, etc. The setting was beautiful – quaint European-style hotel set off the vineyards against the forest of pine trees. Our massages were wonderful.

After our massage and delicious wine tasting, we had dinner at the on-property restaurant, the Gabriel Archer Tavern. 

My sparkling rose, enjoyed at our table overlooking the vineyards, was lovely. 

Our experience at the Gabriel Archer Tavern was phenomenal. Every single dish we had was top-notch from plating to preparation to flavor. The meat and cheese board was filled with cheeses we’d never heard of including an Appalachian cheese that was mushroom-funky and slightly creamy.

The Wessex Hundred Salad is the best salad I have ever eaten. I don’t know why this particular salad with “normal” ingredients compelled me to order it but I am SO glad it did.  The freshest Bibb lettuce with grapes, julienned apples & celery, toasted walnuts, and crumbled feta all topped with a bright, tangy green goddess dressing. I want to eat this salad every day of my life, forever, in perpetuity. Yes, this will absolutely be on my list of top eats this year. LOL!

Sean ordered the Roasted Strawberry Gazpacho and it was delectable.  The depth from those roasted flavors in the fruit was so great and I loved the silky-smooth texture (which is how I make my own gazpacho). I haven’t ever had a soup like this. Tremendous. We also ordered the mussels – yum! Our servers were great, the restaurant itself was quaint, and they exclusively serve the wine of the winery which I love. Highly recommend this place. 

We wandered around the vineyard after dinner, catching the last of the sunset, watching the clouds change in color and shape, and seeing the lightning bugs come up from the ground to light the tree-lined dirt road back to the hotel.Back at our hotel room, we opened the bottle of bubbly that was included with our stay and played backgammon while listening to classic rock. We were definitely born in the wrong era. 😉

In the morning, we walked around the hotel to see this lovely courtyard, stunning library and the quaint, poolside cafe where we had breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed out for the day stopping first for a coffee for Sean from Column 15. This coffee shop was adorable inside and I had a really delicious nitro tea called Amethyst Nitro tea. Made with green tea, jasmine tea, pineapple, hibiscus and lychee, it was fruity, floral, refreshing and unique. 

We drove back to Colonial Williamsburg, getting there toward the tail-end of their Saturday Farmers Market. I loved looking around at the seasonal produce, specialty arts and crafts, and tasty treats. During our wandering through Colonial Williamsburg we spent a lot of time in the gardens at the Governor’s Palace including in the maze and natural tunnel. We learned about different trades and jobs from the time and enjoyed the characters in costume. I was surprised at how sparse the crowds and staff were for a holiday weekend. There was very little activity from the staff that would have signaled that it was Independence Day weekend – no band, no parade, no speeches, no re-enactments, no guns/cannons firing…these are COVID times. 🙁

After some delicious Welsh Rarebit at the Dog St. Pub in Merchant’s Square, we walked around the College of William and Mary. It’s a gorgeous campus – I toured it back when I was in high school and considered attending. We eventually made our way to Crim Dell Bridge. The Crim Dell Bridge was a gift from the Class of 1964. According to campus lore, two people crossing the bridge while holding hands will be lifelong friends; and if they kiss, lifelong lovers.

After all the walking it was time for some relaxation and we had just the spot – the pool at our hotel! After picking up some bottles form the wine shop, we spent a couple of hours floating, swimming, talking and enjoying each other’s company sans toddle. Ahhhh. 

While I was happy to repeat the night before and enjoy the Gabriel Archer Tavern again, Sean wanted to try something new so we went to one of the restaurants I’d seen online for oysters and tacos, Casa Pearl. Every where we went, we were expecting crowds and to have to wait since we didn’t have reservations but we had no problems getting right in at any restaurant, including this one. We sat at the bar and had prosecco on draft, oysters on the half shell, char-grilled oysters and oyster po’ boy tacos. It was all delicious! And the bartender recommended the local brewery Billsburg Brewery for us to check out afterward. 

On Sunday morning, we slept in a bit (YAY!), had another good breakfast at the cafe in the hotel, then checked out of our room. We headed out to York River State Park for some beautiful river scenes and a nice hike through the forest. Found some delicious raspberries along the way.

We stopped at Merchant Square one last time for a souvenir, and picked up lunch for the road from Wawa – it was my first time there.

All in all, a great place to spend the Fourth of July weekend even if the festivities were lackluster this year. We can’t recommend The Williamsburg Winery, Wedmore Place, and the Gabriel Archer Tavern enough!