Our family just returned from a quick weekend road trip to Williamsburg, VA., the primary purpose of our little jaunt was to spend a day at Busch Gardens on Saturday. However, we also threw in a ghost tour of historic Williamsburg on Friday night, which allowed us to take in some of the history even though we did not have enough time to spend a whole day there.
Up and back in 48 hours does not necessarily allow one to take in all there is to see or do, but that does not mean that a lot can’t be seen. Believe me, whenever you find yourself surrounded by hordes of people, there are A LOT of things that you see and some things that wish you could un-see. So, if you will indulge me a few minutes of your time, I would like to replay the top ten high – and low – lights of our little family getaway.
1) Intestate 95 is not a fun highway on which to drive. Lots of tractor trailers, phantom traffic slowdowns, and ridiculously crowded gas stations at almost every exit. But, we did find a pretty sweet Cook Out a few miles down an exit road that was clean and contained friendly people that were not overly stressed out. Bonus.
2) Coffee is essential for life, period. When you do not have good coffee available, then you find yourself embracing desperate measures. Because the hotel coffee was nothing more than heated dirty water, we have no choice but to stop on the way home for a cup of Starbucks, which barely rates it on my quality scale but enters a whole new arena of repulsive when you purchase a cup at one of their locations inside of a rest stop gas station. Again, we were desperate, so please don’t judge.
3) Busch Gardens is an amazing place to take your family. There are boatloads of roller coasters and other rides to choose from and the thrills are pretty easy to come by. We also chose to buy one of those all-you-can-eat passes which allowed us to eat at one of the on-site restaurants every hour and a half, which saved us tons of money at the end of the day. We may or may not have stopped to eat 4 times regardless of whether or not we were hungry.
4) Fanny packs for guys are apparently back in. I don’t even pretend to understand this nor do I condone the practice.
5) Parents who drag their toddler-aged children around a theme park for hours on end in the 90 degree heat look ridiculous when they stop to yell at them for being tired and slowing the rest of the group down. Please, mom and dad, have a heart and take your children home.
6) The excitement level of a ten and a twelve year old child does not wane in spite of twelve straight hours at a hot and crowded theme park. Hearing the awe in their voices because we let them ride that one last roller coaster just as the park let off their fireworks display: Worth every second of it.
7) Buffet lines are a good idea until they are not. Moms and dads, do your kids a favor now and help them to say no to Mt. Everest sized portions from the buffet that you know they have no intention or ability to finish. My family did not get pancakes and bacon this morning at the hotel because you allowed your kid to slap a ridiculous amount on his plate, most of which he never touched. Is that Mrs. Butterworth I heard weeping in the corner?
8) The popularity of tattoos is on the rise. The amount of really crappy tattoos is also apparently on the rise as well.
9) History is really cool, especially when learned in the form of stories. Bravo, Mr. Ghost Tour man, for keeping my kids enraptured for almost two whole hours.
10) Time away with family is a choice I will never regret. Even when it’s just quick trip to a theme park, the memories made will last a lifetime.
Location:Top top ten road trip takeaways
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