Bailey's Blog

We had a wonderful time with Allen and Lynda White at Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown. They flew into Raleigh on 3 October. We spent a few days with our grandson Liam and his parents Heather and Tom prior to the White’s arrival. On the way from Ellijay we enjoyed lunch at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Hickory. Cracker Barrel is one of our favorite places to stop at when we are traveling.

Allen and Lynda arrived at the Raleigh Airport and stayed at the Comfort Inn on Glenwood Ave. Comfort Inns are our favorite hotels to use when we are on the road. We accumulate points whenever we stay with them and also when we use their Visa card, so frequently our stays with them are free.

We enjoyed supper at the Tribeca Tavern as we went with Allen and Lynda straight from the airport and met Heather and Liam there.

We left Heather's and picked up Allen and Lynda at the Comfort Inn about 10:30 am on 4 October. We went to the New York Bagel Deli.We always stop there whenever we leave Heather’s and wanted to introduce the White’s to another favorite place.

We ate our lunch when we stopped at the Virginia Welcome Center about 12:20 pm.

We reached the Colonial Crossings of Williamsburg resort a little after 3 pm. We played Mexican Train in the evening which we did every evening.

On Saturday 5 October we visited the Berkeley Plantation in Charles City, 50 minutes west on the north side of the James River.

Allen, Lynda, and Eileen outside the Berkeley Plantation Gift Shop.

Allen, Lynda, and Eileen in the Berkeley Plantation Gift Shop.

The old Coach House Tavern

"Taps" was originated at Berkeley!

Lynda and Eileen in the Berkeley Plantation gardens

Ben, Allen, and our tour guide at Berkeley.

A Civil War cannon ball embedded in the

wall of the Berkeley Plantation kitchen

house.

Eileen, Lynda, and Allen waiting for the tour
to begin at Berkeley.

Then we visited the Shirley Plantation nearby.

Eileen and Lynda in front of the Shirley Plantation home.

The front porch at Shirley.

Allen under the old Willow Oak.

The root cellar just outside the home.

The dove cote at Shirley.

Benjamin Harrison
Memorial Bridge

Then we headed east on the south side of the James River to Bacon's Castle. As we crossed the James River we stopped at the Dockside Restaurant and enjoyed lunch.

Dockside Restaurant

Lynda and Allen White at the Dockside Restaurant

Then it was on to Bacon's Castle in Surry, Virginia.

An armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginia settlers led by young Nathaniel Bacon
against the rule of Governor William Berkeley.

Bacon's Castle is an architectural gem featuring distinctive triple-stacked chimneys and curved Flemish gables.

After that we rode the ferry across the river and returned to the resort.

The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry boat Pocahontas.

That evening we watched the priesthood session of general conference on my laptop.

Inside the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City

On Sunday 6 October we watched "Music and the Spoken Word" and both sessions of the LDS general conference on my laptop. Eileen and Lynda made a yummy Italian lunch between sessions! After the second session we drove into Williamsburg and went to the Visitors Center for a little bit.

Eileen at the Visitors' Center entrance

We went to the Visitors Center on Monday 7 October and bought single-day tickets which are good for the rest of the year for seniors. Watched a 7-minute orientation film followed by the half-hour film, the same one we saw years ago, made in 1957 with Jack Lord and restored in 2004. We rode the shuttle bus to Merchants Square where we got tickets for the blue carriage ride at 11:40. We walked down Duke of Gloucester St. to the Lumber House and Greenhow Store. We enjoyed the ride with Edward and horses Gunner and Commodore.

Mary Dickinson Store in Colonial Williamsburg

Eileen, Lynda, and Allen waiting for our carriage ride

A delightful ride around Colonial Williamsburg

Our carriage driver Edward

Gunner and Commodore

We visited The Cheese Shop and got the tarragon mustard (the only jar hidden behind the other types) that Heather had requested.

Lynda and Thomas Jefferson at Merchant's Square

Eileen and Lynda in front of the
Bruton Parish Church Gift Shop

Eileen told a fellow working on his college paper of our activities the past 48 hours and I gave him a pass-along card of Jesus Christ in America following His resurrection.

We took the shuttle back to the Visitors Center and bought some items (a tie for me and dish towels for Eileen) in their gift shops. En route "home" we stopped at Wallace's Trading Post when we got four Advent calendars for the grandchildren and a 1/4 pound of sucrose-free chocolate fudge. Then we stopped at the Christmas Mouse store.

We went to the Visitors Center on Tuesday 8 October and took the shuttle to the Governor's Palace.