<p>I love Williamsburg! We went in Sept when first married and in April when the kids were 4 and 7. In the summer I think you need to plan a bit more around the crowds and heat, but you’ll have a great time! The bus system is terrific, but walk as much as you can because the historic street is so scenic. </p>
<p>I definitely recommend the Colonial Restaurants. We ended up doing one each for brunch, lunch (more affordable) and dinner. We spent a lot of time watching the demo cooking in kitchen building at Governor’s Palace - DD was absolutely fascinated.</p>
<p>The sandwiches there are very good ,windbehindwings and suggest anyone interested go early or at an off time . It can be chaotic with long lines for ordering at busy times of the season. Another place is Pierce’s Barbeque -kind of a local institution .</p>
<p>Whoops, that was for the Cheese Shop sandwiches!</p>
<p>Pierce’s has been there forever - I remember going as a small child (and that was a VERY long time ago). They have gone uptown with their new building.</p>
<p>My favorite Colonial tavern experience is to go to Gambols at Chownings Tavern. This is how it is described. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I prefer this over the more traditional taverns for lunch or dinner. I spent many years in Williamsburg, but haven’t been back in several years. I’m long overdue. When I was there, though, we loved the breakfasts and lunches at the Old Chickahominy House on Richmond Rd. </p>
<p>I’d also recommend a Hot Holly at the College Deli. </p>
<p>I guess if you’re really lucky, the Mormon Tabernacle will be there for a flashmob. It’s a long clip but you also get to see a small fife and drum corps. I love them. </p>
<p>As far as traveling goes, we’re actually going to start driving very early on THURSDAY morning. We’ll stop just north of DC (New Carrollton, MD) for the night, and hopefully go to the Smithsonian. But that’s good to know we need to get out of DC fairly early on Friday. Traffic in Maine can be bad, but we’re usually going against traffic so it’s not a problem (driving down to Boston on a Friday, while most of the world is driving up to Maine at the same time, for instance).</p>
<p>Since I grew up in Texas, I understand heat! My kids seem to do OK in hot weather.</p>
<p>I can see that I need to stay on Weight Watchers strictly before the trip, so I can enjoy some good restaurants.</p>
<p>ML - “the Smithsonian” is actually a collection of museums. Do some research ahead of time to prioritize family preferences. Most are downtown DC, but one of the Air/Space museums is in a huge old hanger out by Dulles airport. </p>
<p>Driving and parking in DC is a hassle. Consider taking mass transit in from a suburb. Locals might be able to advise the best station.</p>
<p>if anyone in the family likes planes/flight, I definitely recommend the Air and Space museum out by Dulles… home to the Enola Gay, an SR-71 Blackbird, a piece from the Corona spy satellite missions, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, and many other cool pieces of history.</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, I would be out of DC and headed south by around 2 pm (at the very latest) on a Friday or wait until at least 7 pm to leave. The museums don’t open until either 9:30 or 10 so that will give you around 4 hours there. Do some research and know exactly what you’d like to see so you have a game plan. You can hit the highlights in that time if you know exactly what you want to see and where it is in each building. </p>
<p>If you are driving from New Carrollton, you can usually find parking around the Tidal Basin or along W Potomac drive if you are there before 10 or so during the week (unless it’s cherry blossom time). Another option would be to park at the Pentagon City Mall and catch the blue line Metro to the Smithsonian station, but you are going to lose some time doing that.</p>
<p>I actually find summer Saturday morning traffic to be almost as bad as Friday afternoon traffic since NC beach rentals run Sat-Sat.</p>
<p>Are your children, especially the older boys, history buffs? We love Williamsburg as much as the next person having a daughter that graduated from William and Mary. I’m glad the package includes Busch Gardens because the history can get old quickly for some.</p>
<p>I’d be the last person to suggest not going to see the Smithsonians…but if you find the timing makes it too difficult, you might consider substituting the Baltimore Harborfront for your D.C. stop. It’s a great example of a successful downtown harbor redevelopment in a major city. The museum there is the National Aquarium, good for a half-day (needs reservations). It’s surrounded by artsy shops (very upscale), walkabouts alongside moored ships and boats, and a food marketplace influenced by the Chesapeake Bay (=crabcakes, soft-shelled crabs). Coming from Maine, all that waterfront activity might be interesting or too much of the same, not sure </p>
<p>That said, I think the lasting impressions would come from artifacts at the Smithsonians, if you can work that out.</p>
<p>Smithsonian speedtour - Get off at either the L’Enfant or Smithsonian station. Head to the Air & Space Museum and see the Apollo rockets and the Wright brothers plane, (though since they have moved that upstairs, that will add a few minutes.) From there, cross the mall and enter the American Art museum east building. Walk through it heading west, take the underground moving sidewalk to the west building. You’ll pass quite a few exhibits. Exit, walk through the scuplture garden. Across the street you can the Archives building. Keep heading west and go to the Natural History museum. See the elephant, blue whale, giant squid and go up to the Hope diamond. Head to the American History museum and see the Star Spangled Banner, first ladies dresses (though I personally preferred the pre-renovation exhibit), Julia Child’s kitchen, Dorothy’s slippers and the Woolworth counter and George Washington statue. Depending on time, cross over to the Castle, which was the original Smithsonian building. If you are going back to L’Enfant, you will pass the Hirschhorn museum and some outdoor scuptures.</p>
<p>The American Indian museum is next to the Air & Space museum, so you could hit it at the beginning, or at the end if doing the L’Enfant station. </p>
<p>Then you will be ready for car ride down south, lol.</p>
<p>Regarding Baltimore, it seems as though you may just miss the Sailabration at the Inner Harbor, in celebration of War of 1812 Bicentennial. Dozens of tall ships and military ships will be on tour at the harbor, but they sail out on June 19th. </p>
<p>ML will likely be too busy this trip for my favorites stop on our DC trip #2 … Library of Congress. But others looking to add a new twist may like it. Awesome architecture, great docent tours.</p>
<p>Agree that the Library of Congress is a hidden gem. It has interesting displays as well as carvings that are very lovely and can be easily missed. I did get at tour in 2009 and remember it well.</p>
</p>