Why Not Just Queue Up Another Disney Trip? Link to New TR 6/24 p136!

[Captain_Oblivious]

So my October SWA flight from PHL to MCO dropped from $110 to $95. I rebooked it and took the $15 credit and booked the return flight with the touchdown stop. That flight also went down in price. RT total is about $195. I couldn't help it - the cheap price and the free bags. It just sucked me right in. The return flight is only 3.5 hours versus the usual 2.5 with the touchdown in Raleigh. Hey - we'll see how it goes, right? How bad can it be?

As long as you have a good book, the touchdown trips aren't bad. We did one that stopped in Spartanburg, SC on the way down. No problem.

 

[MEK]

As long as you have a good book, the touchdown trips aren't bad. We did one that stopped in Spartanburg, SC on the way down. No problem.

Advice taken. I think it will be fine. It's worth saving a few $ and I really do like flying on SWA. They are my favs! At least I'm flying from PHL and Denny already agreed to take me and pick me up!

 

[MEK]

Another Trip to Williamsburg!

I know I started this rather lengthy TR with a trip to Williamsburg and I guess I am going to end it with a trip to Williamsburg.

But first - I took everyone's advice and did cancel the first night of my BWV reservation to go spend the night at our friend's house in Daytona Beach. I think Pam said it best - Disney will always be there, but my friends may not. So thanks Pam!

I used 12 of my refunded vacation points to book October 16th at the Jambo House - standard view. I just didn't see the purpose of the savannah view for one night and I've heard a lot of the Jambo studios overlook the pool. That will be perfect for me.

I also rebooked my October 16th flight because the one way price dropped to $95. So with the extra $15 I saved by rebooking I went ahead and booked the 5pm return flight that touches down in Raleigh. No plane change and it adds an hour to the flight. I'll live. So I got the flight for $195 total and free bags. I'm happy with that. I just hope to heck that SWA adds more non stop evening flights into their Philadelphia schedule. Sheesh!

So - On to Williamsburg. As you may or may not recall Denny and I "won" a 2 night stay in W-burg in exchange for a timeshare presentation. I was the skeptic, but Denny convinced me that we should just "do it". So we did. We traveled April 1st to April 3rd. I had a memorial service to sing the night before we left which explains why we couldn't go 3 nights. They really pressured us in to a limited amount of dates that we could pick from.

My goal was to get out of the house by 7am on Sunday April 1st, but that did not happen. I had some stomach "issues" the night before and I couldn't really finish all my pre getaway stuff until the morning we left. So we were on the road by 7:30 am - not awful.

We did have to make one stop before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for a bio break, but otherwise it was pretty smooth sailing. We arrived at our first destination by 11:55 am and we were able to jump into the tour that started at noon.

So where was our first destination - The Berkeley Plantation. This is actually not in Williamsburg proper, but rather near St. Charles, which is east of Richmond and on the James River. There are several different plantations in this area, but I picked this one based on good Trip Advisor Reviews.

Here are some fine feathered friends greeting us on arrival!

The ticket was $9.90 with the AAA discount (normally $11). Here are a couple of the tour guides waiting for us.

There were three buildings in all - one was the gift shop on one was the home that we toured. I have no idea what the third building was for..

A better view of the gift shop building

This was the third building we did not go in

Cool little artifact

On the main house (and I forget what it means)

The main house

First we watched a movie. I have come to the conclusion that many, no all, tourist attractions in Williamsburg start with a movie. Then our guide took us through the house. No pictures allowed inside.

The Berkeley plantation is known for several things. The first is that it was the boy hood home to President William Henry Harrison.

Another view of the home

The house tour was fairly simple and not very lengthy (not like those house tours in Savannah and Charleston). Afterwards we were free to tour the grounds.

Another thing that Berkeley is famous for is its considered the site of the "real" first Thanksgiving. And you thought that happened in Massachusetts. You know good old John Rolfe came up the James River to meet with the Indians. Ta da - Thanksgiving!

OK - well actually this plaque tells a different story so I may have gotten my thanskgivings confused. Opps!

Note: it's also the site of the first whiskey distillery. Now - THATS important.

The grounds went all the way down to the James River

Berkeley is famous for one more thing - the origin of Taps. Apparently it was written there.

Better view of the house

We spent close to an hour and a half at the plantation. I actually packed a lunch so we had already eaten and didn't need to find a lunch stop.

We decided to go check into our accommodations, so we left the Berkley Plantation and headed to the Williamsburg Plantation. Our room was ready and it was quite lovely. I liked it a little bit better than the Powhatan, where we stayed in August. The ride from Berkeley to Williamsburg took about 30 minutes on a lovely, scenic road.

We basically just took our stuff in and hopped back in the car to go do a tasting at the Williamsburg Winery. I printed off a 25% off coupon so our tour and tasting was $7.50.


Continued in Next post....

 

[MEK]

Continued.......

Here are a few phone pics before the tour started

I actually ended up buying a bottle of this. I didn't know it had received so many accolades.

This is Governor's white, which is apparently a pretty popular house white wine down there.

Here are all the wines on the tasting

It was a beautiful day so we stepped outside while we where waiting and it appears that the Williamsburg Winery has its own resident cats

This cat looked like my Max's twin. Uncanny.

Back Inside

Our tasting ticket

Is it bad that I am getting the urge to have a glass of wine right now?

The tour started with a movie - No surprise there!

Then we went into their reception area while they did a plug for that.

Then we went down into the barrel room

Well, I didn't know that one of those barrels without the wine was worth at least $700 because of the type of oak. Interesting stuff. I really enjoyed the tour and even our tour guide enjoyed himself. I almost forgot to mention that at the end of the movie 4 girls (late 20's/early 30's) come bounding into the room laughing and giggling. They all had heels on, 3 of them had dresses on, and 2 of them must have had implants. It was all our guide could do to keep his eyes in his head. Imagine heels walking up and down spiral metal staircases. Uhmmmm - not the greatest idea.

But the girls were nice. They were clearly having a fun time and I like that.

Here's my glass before the pours

I left with that reserve chardonnay and a merlot (I think). Ever since the Long Island trip I have been doing tastings whenever I can and I always pick up a bottle or two so I actually forget what I bought. That was so one month ago!

I think because I hadn't felt all that great the night before the wine really went to my head and I walked out of there rather buzzed. We went back to the room and checked out the nice big jacuzzi tub and then got ready for dinner.

Dinner was at a restaurant in Merchant's Square which is at the edge of the historic district. It was called Fat Canary. The funny thing was all week I kept pronouncing it Can - a - ree instead of canary (the bird). Oy!

Denny had the burnt orange whatever it was and I had the lemon canary.

Denny's drink was better. I ended up finishing his. The drinks were pricey $11.

Flower on the table

My yummy scallop dish

Dennys amazing dish that was rockfish with crab on top

Again - Denny picked the better entree. It was soooooooooo good!

Our dessert

That is goat cheese ice cream on the top. It was delish!

We struck up a conversation with the couple sitting at the table next to ours. This gentleman was originally from the Virginia area but now lives in Texas. He was also a riverboat pilot at some point. All I could notice was the he was dripping in gold. Nice guy. His partner or wife or girlfriend was a lovely southern bell. Cute accent.

Oh - our bill - $140 with tip. I guess its about signature meal standards.

All in all, it was a great day. I really enjoyed it.

Williamsburg has no night life. Well, at least Merchant's Square doesn't so we were in bed early.

Monday April 2

I went out for a run fairly early because our timeshare presentation was at 8:30 am

I took a few outside pics with my phone

We arrived to our timeshare presentation right on time. You actually drive away from the resort to an off site area. We met our guide named Wilbur. He came and picked us up in his car and drove us to see different sites around Williamsburg. All the while he was chatting up a storm and asking us questions about ourselves. I had read that this was going to happen so I wasn't too freaked out. He actually took us to a nice lake area which I had never seen before. It was cool, but again, a little freaky. He told us all about his kids and yada, yada, yada.

After driving around for awhile he took us back to the Williamsburg Plantation to another room. This is where you must go for the more pressure part of the sale. The timeshare resort they were selling was actually NOT in the Williamsburg Plantation. I seriously don't even remember the name of it and Denny asked me not to "bad mouth" it on the internet.

OK - here is where timeshares are different from Disney. Nothing is really written down in a logical format like DVC is. It was all working on emotions. He would show us one book of pictures, then he would give us a quick glimpse at another book with vacations that people had traded. Now mind you - no mention of money during all these discussions.

Then we went on another road trip with Wilbur to actually see the resort. My impression - the rooms were gorgeous inside. Seriously beautiful, but the resort itself just looked like cheap construction to me. It didn't have a lot of curb appeal and I didn't get that impression just because there was no landscaping. I have traveled enough and seen enough resorts to know what I like and don't like.

After the tour of the new resort we went back to the table again. Here's where they rolled out the price and brought in the closer and here's where I had to be the one to say NO. And I was honest. I said that trading was all fine and good, but if I was going to buy in Williamsburg it was because I wanted to vacation there the majority of the time and I just didn't love the resort. I was honest. Wilbur, naturally, seemed upset. I told him he did a great job but I just didn't want the product. He finally did concede that its hard to compete against Disney. That's right Wilbur. No comparison.

Now, after all this Wilbur has to drive us back to our car. Then we check out there and get our rewards.

So what did we get for 4 hours of our time (that's right - 4 hours, not 90 minutes) - $125 visa gift card, $50 jiffy lube gift car, and 4 nights in an Orlando maingate hotel. Well, you know we aren't going to use that one because I can only imagine what hotel that would be.

So by this time it is 12:30 and I am famished. We also have tickets to a concert that starts at 1:30 pm so there is no much time to go back to the room for my camera.

We do a quick drive through and I get a BK salad, then we drive back to Merchants Square for the rest of our afternoon.

Remember I mentioned a concert!

Well, I had actually purchased tickets the evening before to see a concert at the Kimmel Center. I knew we weren't going to have the time to tour the historic district, but I wanted to do something educational and you know I love music. So I bought 2 tickets to see the Crystal Concert. It got good reviews on Trip Advisor and I think the tickets were $12.

Here is the stage

So this musician, Dean Kane? (I forget his last name. I have to look it up) is a professional violinist, but he discovered an interest in historical instruments. He learned that Ben Franklin developed an instrument called the glass armonica. Well, Dean had one built and learned to play it.

Continued Next post......

 

[MEK]

Originally, the armonica has a huge amount of popularity but it was replaced by the harpsicord. He explained how this instrument was built and how few there are and what a fortune it cost to make. He showed us - yes - a film - on how it was constructed.

Then he played it. OMG - the sound is breathtaking. It's absolutely lovely.

But Dean didn't stop there. He also played the crystal hand bells - awesome and a glass violin. This is a terrible picture, but hopefully you get the idea (remember - my real camera was still back in the room)

Here you go - the glass violin up close

He played one other instrument which had a bunch of glass keys and vibrated through this larger amplifiers.

It was a wonderful concert. I loved the music and I loved the history behind the music. I definitely recommend this concert if Dean is at the Kimmel Center during your Williamsburg visit.

I am going to take a break here.

My next update will be part 2 of Williamsburg Part 2

 

[KatMark]

Great Williamsburg update, MaryEllen. The pictures of the grounds are breathtaking.

I wish I could drink wine; I used to but, for some reason or other, it does not agree with me anymore.

I knew on the first "drive" with Wilbur that this was not going to be a good experience. How can anyone think ANYTHING will compare to Disney. Seriously?????

 

[MEK]

Great Williamsburg update, MaryEllen. The pictures of the grounds are breathtaking.

Thanks Kathy! I really enjoyed the plantation tour. The next I go back to the area I am going to tour a different plantation.

I wish I could drink wine; I used to but, for some reason or other, it does not agree with me anymore.

Perhaps the tannins in the wine. There must be something they put in there which your system doesn't like. That's kind-of a bummer. I am really starting to get into the wine tasting thing. It's fun and its interesting how a chardonnay or a reisling can taste so different between different wineries.

I knew on the first "drive" with Wilbur that this was not going to be a good experience. How can anyone think ANYTHING will compare to Disney. Seriously?????

You can't believe how many times Wilbur tried to convince me that I could trade this timeshare into Disney at the drop of a hat. Yeah...NOT!

 

[saintstickets]

Well, I didn't know that one of those barrels without the wine was worth at least $700 because of the type of oak.

In a former life I worked for a lumber company that sold the white oak to make the barrels for whiskey. It's a real interesting process of how they char them and then get the curvature just right so they don't leak. Next trip you should go to Lynchburg, TN to the Jack Daniels distillery!

I almost forgot to mention that at the end of the movie 4 girls (late 20's/early 30's) come bounding into the room laughing and giggling. They all had heels on, 3 of them had dresses on, and 2 of them must have had implants. It was all our guide could do to keep his eyes in his head. Imagine heels walking up and down spiral metal staircases. Uhmmmm - not the greatest idea.

Well? Where is the picture of these surgically altered young damsels? I might want to get DW a pair of their shoes if I could see them...yeah, that's it...I wanna see the shoes!

 

[MEK]

In a former life I worked for a lumber company that sold the white oak to make the barrels for whiskey. It's a real interesting process of how they char them and then get the curvature just right so they don't leak. Next trip you should go to Lynchburg, TN to the Jack Daniels distillery!

That would be cool. Recently someone posted on FB, "How many states have you been to?" and I have only been to 28 so I thought I might add Kentucky to the list and do the whiskey tours there. I don't even like whiskey, but I bet I could learn.

Well? Where is the picture of these surgically altered young damsels? I might want to get DW a pair of their shoes if I could see them...yeah, that's it...I wanna see the shoes!

I bet I could have gotten a picture of them because I think they were a little toasted before they even got there. Must have been whatever they had for lunch. But at the time I thought better of it.

 

[MEK]

Is anyone else having some weird issues with the DIS? I can't get into some TRs and I could barely get into this site this morning.

Oh Well.

If anyone is interested the musician I saw his name is Dean Shostak (not Kane - where did I get that??). Here is a link to the crystal concert website Its hard to believe that this music is recorded using crystal instruments.

 

[Poolrat]

So my October SWA flight from PHL to MCO dropped from $110 to $95. I rebooked it and took the $15 credit and booked the return flight with the touchdown stop. That flight also went down in price. RT total is about $195. I couldn't help it - the cheap price and the free bags. It just sucked me right in. The return flight is only 3.5 hours versus the usual 2.5 with the touchdown in Raleigh. Hey - we'll see how it goes, right? How bad can it be?

I know this is old news since you booked your flight already but somehow I now HATE to pay for the luggage. Just a pet peeve. So yeah I proably would pay a little more for a touchdown just to fly SW.

But it all worked out and you will be fine.

As long as you have a good book, the touchdown trips aren't bad. We did one that stopped in Spartanburg, SC on the way down. No problem.

Ahhh Spartanburg SC, my new Favorite town..... Love flying SW out of there even though I have to RIGHT BY the Charlotte Airport to get there.

Hate the luggage fees. Love SWA.



Great Williamsburg update. Good for you on the timeshare NO but if I ever get in that situation I probably would set my watch alarm to go off at 90 min and make no secret of it.
RUDE - yes but I have no tolerance for the hard sell and then the tactics they use to try to get you to buy.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Beautiful Williamsburg pictures! How fun that you were able to do a wine tasting while you were there. I love all of the ribbons around the bottles.

Your meal looks awesome! Goat cheese ice cream...that definitely sounds interesting!

 

[Pinkocto]

Loved seeing the historical buildings, so cool to think how long they've been there and who walked the same streets/area that you did. Beautiful pictures as always.

I think I would have been teeming at the 3 hour point let alone 4 hours Denny is too kind not wanting you to bad mouth them.

That concert sounds wonderful. I'll definitely look him up when I get home.

glad you were able to add a night to your October trip, that'll be nice.

 

[glennbo123]

All right! You got to see the Crystal Concert! I was thinking I recommended it to you and had to look back through my posts to be sure. It's amazing isn't it?!

Your 4 hour timeshare thing sounds like what we endured at the Vistana in Orlando. It's funny (not really) how they can stretch 90 minutes into 4 hours.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Those pictures of Berkley were very nice, but the outfit on that tour guide was atrocious!!! That is such a peeve of mine. If the guides aren't going to dress in a correct manner, then they should just wear polo shirts.

I like how the time share people want to drive you so that they can sort of keep you prisoner. Just sayin'.

There is a night life, after all Williamsburg is a college town, but it's mostly on the weekends & not in the historical district.

A fun thing in the historical area is to do the Gambols at Chowning's Tavern in the evening. Lots of fun.

 

[DisMomAmy]

All caught up!

I LOVE all of your first & favorites! By the time I get to the end of a TR I never feel like doing that so I really appreciate the effort it took to pull that together. Maybe I could finish off a TR like that if I write the last update as I write the whole TR. Anyways... thanks for sharing your trip with us!

Your June trip is right around the corner... I can't believe it's all coming together with your brother & family!

And you gave us a bonus Williamsburg update to boot!

 

[MEK]

I cleaned my basement today for 3 1/2 hours. I told myself I was going to do it while Brian was away at college. He comes home in less than two weeks, so I decided to get it done today. Nick told me it didn't look like a "man cave" anymore and now it looks too much like the rest of the house. Lol!

Then I went to a party tonight - Cinco de Mayo and all that. fortunately it was only `10 minutes from my house. I probably won't get to replies until tomorrow night, but thanks for stopping by. I think I might try sleeping in the basement tonight since I recovered all the couches. Might as well check them out!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Four hours! Yikes! But, it didn't sound too bad in all...at least you got to see some sites and weren't stuck in a little office the entire time.

I LOVE your pictures of the plantation...what beautiful buildings and property!!

 

[teekathepony]

Looks like a (mostly) great trip so far! I can't believe the timeshare thing took 4 hours!!! Yikes! I didn't really figure they would finish within 90 minutes, but that's a little extreme.
The tours look great, and I would love to have seen that Crystal Concert! How interesting, all the different instruments!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Looks like a fun weekend in Williamsburg...aside from the 4 hours you'll never get back.