What's the Big Deal With Staying On Property Anyway? *Goodbyes* 12/17 p.114

[Charleston Princess]

Hope you and the boys are having a blast with Chuck!

 

[MeMom]

We've been lucky the rest of the time Chuck has been in the navy. He never had to be deployed to a war zone so I'm thankful for that. I think it's those spouses (and servicemen/women) who deserve the credit!

I think that's enough to make you very, very thankful.

I know you guys will have a great time together all through the holidays!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Hi Carissa! So sad this is coming to an end...remember when we were all planning together? **sigh**

I hope you and the boys are enjoying your time with Chuck.

Looking forward to hearing about Williamsburg. It looks like Dan will be coming to Virginia Beach in April for his Band/Chorus trip and taking a trip there as well.

 

[OhMari]

Hey,
I finally got back to your report, and all your pictures are gone.
Did you exceed your limit with photobucket?
I read your tr faster, but it stinks, not seeing pics.
Hope you are having a good weekend,
and I told my dh we are pulling our camper down, I want to stay at Fort Wilderness.

 

[jmskinner]

I'm sure you and the boys are enjoying having Chuck home. I'm sure he is happy to be home too.

Can't wait to read you mini TR on Colonial Williamsburg. We never made it over there, but I sure wanted to.

 

[carissanboys]

I hope you get to try out Fort Wilderness! We really enjoyed our cabin night there and would stay there again (in a cabin. lol) And as far as onsite and offsite, of course we prefer onsite, but the offsite deals are REALLY good. And sometimes the deals win out! It's nice to have options and be happy with all of them. We've realized that the magic of the trip overall is still there even when you are offsite!

So true!

Glad you felt the on-property Magic! With three kids I don't blame you though for considering the off-property options. Disney is definitely not the best or most affordable when it comes to families larger than 4!

Yup. If there were only four of us, it might be doable to stay in a value resort. But having the extra person makes things trickier.

Carissa,

Great job! I enjoyed hangin' with your family on this! Thank you so much for including all of us in your adventures! You are great people. I think your final thoughts were real. There is definitely a trade-off either way you do it. As long as you and the family are happy, that's all that matters. It's good that we live in a country that lets us have these kinds of choices.

Welcome Home, Chuck!

I'll be watching for that Williamsburg report. Have an awesome time!

Thanks! I hope to get the Williamsburg pictures up today or tomorrow.

Hope you and the boys are having a blast with Chuck!

Thanks Jackie It's been wonderful having him home.

I think that's enough to make you very, very thankful.

I know you guys will have a great time together all through the holidays!

Thanks MeMom!

Hi Carissa! So sad this is coming to an end...remember when we were all planning together? **sigh**

I hope you and the boys are enjoying your time with Chuck.

Looking forward to hearing about Williamsburg. It looks like Dan will be coming to Virginia Beach in April for his Band/Chorus trip and taking a trip there as well.

Cool! It's an awesome place.

Hey,
I finally got back to your report, and all your pictures are gone.
Did you exceed your limit with photobucket?
I read your tr faster, but it stinks, not seeing pics.
Hope you are having a good weekend,
and I told my dh we are pulling our camper down, I want to stay at Fort Wilderness.

Sorry Marisa. I am so over photobucket!! I'm actually considering breaking down and just getting the pro account so I can stop having issues.

I'm sure you and the boys are enjoying having Chuck home. I'm sure he is happy to be home too.

Can't wait to read you mini TR on Colonial Williamsburg. We never made it over there, but I sure wanted to.

Hey Melissa Mini TR coming soon.

 

[carissanboys]

We had beautiful weather on Monday for our trip to Colonial Williamsburg. They were generous enough to offer all military and their dependents free passes for Veteran's Day. I'm not one to pass up free stuff, so off we went.

The drive there was gorgeous. It was a lovely fall day and the leaves are finally beginning to change. So pretty.

After getting our passes and seeing the movie they show at the visitor center called "The Patriot" we took the shuttle bus to the Governor's Palace. Normally it costs extra to get a tour of the palace, but I guess it was included in our passes.

The governors who stayed in this palace were all british royalty, thus the reason for the amazing features inside.

Taken along the way:

Some of the landscaping:

The entrance:

The ballroom:

The intricate woodwork throughout was just gorgeous. I had never seen anything like it.

We headed outside to check out the maze.

The grounds were so peaceful. You could spend a good long while just exploring the palace and the grounds around it.

We then headed over to the playhouse to catch a show.

Before the show started, a woman was sitting on the stage and talking about theater and performances back in colonial times. She was also answering questions. Well, Owen raised his hand and asked how many people were at the meetings held in the town hall. I think she might have been looking for questions geared more towards the performing arts, but she answered it well. Then Connor raised his hand. I tried to get him to tell me what he was going to ask first, but he wouldn't. She called on him and he said, "What is a Patriot?" Again, she tried her best to answer the question. Leave it to my boys to ask the complicated questions.

After the show, we began to just walk around and check things out.

They were getting ready to perform at Revolution City.

We got a snack at the Raleigh Tavern Bakery, but had to leave quickly because of an incident with bees. I am very fearful of stinging insects, but my boys are even worse.

We decided to head out at this point. The boys were getting tired. Our passes were good for two days and we considered going back the next day, but ended up just staying home. We hope to take advantage of this wonderful gift next Veteran's Day and see even more.

I did take a few pictures and a video on the drive home to show the tunnel and water in our area.

A navy ship in the distance:

Up Next - Final Thoughts Part 2

 

[praisehisname]

You had a beautiful day for your trip to Williamsburg! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Sounds like a fun day! I've always wantd to visit Colonial Williamsburg... I'll get there someday.

Glad you are enjoying family time with Chuck!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I remember visiting Colonial Williamsburg when I was a little girl. All I wanted was a hand-made broom...that much I recall vividly!

Looks like a beautiful family day!

 

[jordanyosh]

How far of a drive is it?

Just so cool to live that close to so much american history.

 

[MeMom]

It's so nice that you had that fun family time. I have said for years I want to go to Williamsburg, but who know if I ever will. I only seem to find my way south when I have time off.
We planned a trip to Busch Gardens Williamsburg once,
but we ended up
going to
Disney World.

I would have loved seeing that house. Those green chairs are interesting.

That's a cool picture of the horses and carriage. If you took that lady out of the back, it would look like the real thing. Did you guys ride?

 

[Charleston Princess]

What a fun time at Williamsburg! I would love to take the kids sometime, and your pictures are so cool! I love that the boys weren't afraid to ask questions.

I remember the Norfolk tunnel. Not a big fan of it!

 

[dismagiclover]

Thanks for all the info Carissa. We're actually going to Williamsburg for Thanksgiving so this was very timely for us Looking forward to your final final thoughts.

 

[carissanboys]

You had a beautiful day for your trip to Williamsburg! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

We did have gorgeous weather! Completely different than what we've been having for the past 4-5 days!

Sounds like a fun day! I've always wantd to visit Colonial Williamsburg... I'll get there someday.

Glad you are enjoying family time with Chuck!

Thanks Amy

I remember visiting Colonial Williamsburg when I was a little girl. All I wanted was a hand-made broom...that much I recall vividly!

Looks like a beautiful family day!

It was!

How far of a drive is it?

Just so cool to live that close to so much american history.

It's only about an hour from us. And I agree. We have lots to see and do during the time we live here.

It's so nice that you had that fun family time. I have said for years I want to go to Williamsburg, but who know if I ever will. I only seem to find my way south when I have time off.
We planned a trip to Busch Gardens Williamsburg once,
but we ended up
going to
Disney World.

I would have loved seeing that house. Those green chairs are interesting.

That's a cool picture of the horses and carriage. If you took that lady out of the back, it would look like the real thing. Did you guys ride?

We'll be going to Busch Gardens next year if they offer free entry for military again. Can't do this year since we already used our free entrance to Sea World.

No, we didn't do the carriage ride.

What a fun time at Williamsburg! I would love to take the kids sometime, and your pictures are so cool! I love that the boys weren't afraid to ask questions.

I remember the Norfolk tunnel. Not a big fan of it!

I don't mind the tunnel. I used to live in Chesapeake years ago and had to drive through the tunnels to Hampton every day for work. Kind of got used to it.

Thanks for all the info Carissa. We're actually going to Williamsburg for Thanksgiving so this was very timely for us Looking forward to your final final thoughts.

Cool! You guys will love it. Hope you have beautiful weather.

 

[liznboys]

It looks like you had a great Williamsburg visit! You had a beautiful day. Thanks for the pretty pictures and report, they make me want to go there even more.

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Glad you had a great trip and wonderful family time with Chuck!!! Your pictures are great. You are right, that woodwork is just gorgeous!

 

[VandyFan10]

That's me in front of you !!

Glad you guys had a great time....I would like to go back to Williamsburg sometime. I got to go in the 6th grade for our class trip. But my parents have been back several times since then. They actually just spent 2 weeks up there earlier in the year. They love it!!

 

[DisneyJo]

Looks like a very interesting place to visit and even better that it was free

 

[carissanboys]

It looks like you had a great Williamsburg visit! You had a beautiful day. Thanks for the pretty pictures and report, they make me want to go there even more.

I hope you get to go! And, of course, then you'd have to visit with us.

Glad you had a great trip and wonderful family time with Chuck!!! Your pictures are great. You are right, that woodwork is just gorgeous!

Thanks Cherie!

That's me in front of you !!

Seriously???

Looks like a very interesting place to visit and even better that it was free

Definitely! It would have cost us well over $100 for passes.