Williamsburg Road Trip

Well, what started as a slow morning ended up being a long day filled with sights and smells that have me excited and curious. It was another hot day in Norfolk, and I decided to first take on the sun by going to see the Norfolk Tides play AAA baseball. They were playing the Charlotte Knights, who feature White Sox players Brian Anderson and Scott Posednik, and it was a day game, so I figured it would be a good way to spend the day. I've got a few pictures from the game (including an action shot of BA popping up, enjoy White Sox fans), and some shots from the water taxi I took over to the stadium. For you urban adventure seekers finding your way to the southeastern corridor of Virginia, I highly recommend taking the water taxi from the Portsmouth waterfront to the game. It really just adds to the experience when you are taking a boat (which only costs $1 by the way) across the Elizabeth River to see the Tides play. Although, this afternoon the baseball game ended up being an afterthought in my Thursday edition of AdventureVA...

Later in the afternoon, we ended up driving to Williamsburg where we will soon take residence. We took the road less traveled on our way in, and the adventure paid off. We passed on a stop at Jamestown in favor of driving the Colonial Parkway to our front door, and came across some beautiful shoreline on the James River that I never knew existed. You will see pictued some shots from the shore and the historic forest around it. If you are taking a trip to Jamestown or Colonial Williamsburg, make sure you pull off the tourist path and drive the Colonial Parkway until you hit the James River because this might be one of the most beautiful stops I've seen so far in southeastern Virginia.

After our stop along the James River, we headed into Colonial Williamsburg for a bite to eat at Aroma's, a small college-style cafe on the campus of William & Mary. There are plenty of small joints like this place around the campus, and you're sure to find something you enjoy here. Save one stop at an old church and cemetery dating back to the late 1700's, we also passed on the tourist trip through Colonial Williamsburg this time in favor of taking an alternate trip back to Portsmouth. Once again, taking the road less traveled ended up being the prize of the day.

We headed over to a Ferry (pictured), which takes carloads every half hour across the James River in about 13 minutes. The Ferry launch can be found on most road maps, launches from Jamestown, and is FREE. When the day was all said and done, this was one of the coolest things I have done since getting here. We got out of our car and sat at the front of the ferry, just watching the shorelines in complete shock at the beauty of it all. The cool breeze was refreshing after a long hot day, and the views of the surrounding area were breathtaking. I'll let the pictures say the rest.

Once getting back on land, we took a few detours at a state park, plantation, and some random historical sites along the way. There was a vast difference from the Williamsburg side of the river, as this side was incredibly rural and poor. I didn't have any room left on my camera to capture the images, but I hope to return and bring you a glimpse of a whole different world apart from the riches of Williamsburg. It was southern, and it was poor, but it was beautiful and full of down home country smells.

Our unplanned trip to Williamsburg ended up being very productive and fun, and the beauty of it all is far beyond words. Hopefully this narrative gives a little background on the pictures posted, but I'm going to have to recommed you experience this one yourself...