Colonial Strolling

It may have taken two separate vacations to do it, but we finally were able to hit all of the major attractions in the area (i.e., Yorktown Battlefields, Jamestown Settlement, Busch Gardens, etc.).  But there was only one place that we made sure we visited both trips (and no, the Outlets don’t count) and that would be Colonial Williamsburg.  I love a special few downtown shops, and strolling along Duke of Gloucester Street, whether you’ve paid to explore the exhibits and talk to Colonial folks in full garb or not.  So for our last full day we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go for a stroll.

I have two favorite stores downtown, the Peanut Shop and the Cheese Shop (http://www.cheeseshopwilliamsburg.com/).  At the Peanut Shop you get to try each of the fun flavors they offered.  We went with the Hot Southern Jalapeno and the Hot Wasabi (obviously my choices, do they really need to use the word hot in the names?), before I made it to the best selection of bottled beer in the area.  I concentrated on some VA selections (e.g., Legends Teach’s Oyster Stout, Devil’s Backbone Eight Point IPA, and Old Dominion Raleigh Tavern Wmsbg Pale Ale) before shamelessly sampling the cheese and stuffed olives (an early appetizer).  It was time for lunch, so we headed across to the street to the DoG Street Pub (http://www.dogstreetpub.com/).

DoG Street has an excellent food and a wonderful beer selection.  We started with their Welsh Rarebit (they didn’t have that at the Cheese Shop) before I got the soup and salad combo (London Particular (aka pea and ham) Soup and Roast Beef Sandwich).  I got an unofficial sampler (smaller pours of the beers I wanted) that was highlighted by Heavy Seas The Big DIPA on cask.  Other draft highlights included Perennial Hommelbier, Port City Tartan and Saucony Creek’s Hop Suplex.  I love the atmosphere and the selection, and even though it doesn’t have folks dressed in colonial dress, it has better beer and shorter lines.

The weather was great, much warmer than when we visited with my father-in-law last year, so we looked forward to our stroll.  We chose not to purchase the tickets to get us in the venues this time, we weren’t spending the entire day and we were looking forward to being outside after our long, cold winter.  We enjoyed the flowers in bloom and people watching.  I stopped by a couple of the stores and restaurants (90 minute waits, I recommended to a few gents to try the DoG Street pub).

We walked down to the Capitol Building and stopped by Raleigh’s Tavern and bakery for some treats.  They had a procession go by with a fife and drum, with little kids following behind with muskets on their shoulders.  At Josiah Chowning’s Tavern, we went around back to sit and talk under a pergola while sharing their colonial sampler; Alewerks Dear Old Mum, Liebotschaner Cream Ale and Smartmouth’s Alter Ego.  It was a perfect way to soak up the atmosphere and reflect on the week.  Jenn wanted to do a bit more shopping (one last opportunity) and I wanted to walk through William and Mary College on my way to my final beer spot for the week.

We had visited Green Leafe Café the previous year for my birthday dinner, and even though the food was much less than spectacular, the beer selection was excellent.  I chatted at the bar with the owner, sharing with him my beer book, while enjoying a St. George’s Larry’s Lemonade, a great example of a Radler.  The owner was generous with sharing different brews.  I loved the Foothills Jade IPA (hope to get a bottle of it when we are down at OBX this summer) and the Smartmouth Cowcatcher, a delicious Milk Stout on nitro which just emphasizes the creaminess of the style.  I was also pleasantly surprised when Jenn texted me that she was done shopping (I wasn’t quite done sampling), so we headed back to the timeshare to start packing.

We had a great day, enjoying the weather and reminiscing about our week (and last year’s vacation too).  We had chosen to go back to Williamsburg to spend the week with Jenn’s dad, and were somewhat disappointed that he couldn’t make the trip with us.  However, we did have a great week together as a family (and with my sister-in-law Cathy too) and with all the beer selection that this area has to offer, I’d love to come back again. – 15626

 
“The mouth of a perfectly happy man is filled with beer.” – Egyptian Proverb