Williamsburg circa 2006

Where to begin? I am honestly feeling a little overwhelmed by the weekend: there's much to tell and not all of it involves Taco Bell.

But I'll begin with TB.

Hope and I stopped at a Taco Bell in Fredericksburg on our way home yesterday. Hope gave me a valuable tip: request the shredded cheddar cheese instead of the nacho cheese with the crunchwrap. the cheese is placed on top of the beans instead so it still melts. there's an additional charge (.35 cents) which is annoying and puts the crunchwrap over the $2 mark, but it's well worth the price. At least I wasn't charged extra for the beans this time.
Now I'd planned to take pictures of the crunchwrap for the blog. maybe even before, during, and after pictures but, alas, once i was sitting in front of that crunchwrap, all matters of time, space, cameras left me and didn't return until I had finished the crunchwrap, bean burritos, and pink ice water. It was a successful trip.

Now, i was surprised that this TB did not have the sauces out for the taking at ones leisure. Perhaps because Fredicksburg, MD is a collegetown, the managers see the inhabitants as poor, theiving students. Perhaps they are right. And to this venue's credit, when we asked for A LOT of mild sauce and then again, A LOT more mild sauce, it granted our wish--something not commonplace in DC.

Now onto Williamsburg (we did see a Taco Bell there--it didn't look like it'd been there since 1607--or the 1960s, for that matter, but nonetheless, there is one though it's probably done itself a disservice by not locating itself closer to the college).

Here are the reasons we didn't like Williamsburg (or, to quote Leighann, why "it sux delux"):

1. $62/ adult ticket to see the sights and sounds of Colonial WIlliamsburg. Walking around the fake-looking oldest town in the country is free. That is, going into stores to buy overpriced soap balls and wooden spoons is free.
2. $8 per car to drive through Jamestown (what city charges admission simply to drive through its streets?)
3. There was NO educational materials/signs throughout the town of Colonial Williamsburg.
4. Colonial Williamsburg looked new or fake old.
5. Condominium Plantations are a big thing in this area--their wording, not mine.
6. Outside of the Colonial fake old Williamsburg, Williamsburg appears brand new
7. THe College of W and M is surrounded by shops.
8. Kids were packed on the Winery tour we took. Who takes kids on a tour of a winery? they don't want to be there and those without kids certainly don't want them to be there.
9. Banks, banks, and more banks. The citizen to bank ratio is probably about 10:1.
10. bad sewer system
11. 4 p.m. on a saturday: students at the campus are dressed to the nines. why?
12. RVs all over the town and campsite.
13. All in all, no wonder the colonists couldn't survive.

Now, to be fair, the good parts of the town:

1. great radio station, 89.5, out of Norfolk. Far better than any of the crappy ones we have in DC.
2. Winery was informative and fun. Its restaurant was great, too.
3. surprisingly, the college kids at the Wilco concert, weren't god-awful. The ones who went to the show--at least the ones on the floor of the auditorium weren't dressed to the nines and seemed decent and really into the band. and the show was really really good.

SO, let me emphasis that despite the complaints about Williamsburg, colonial and otherwise, and the rain which soaked our tent Saturday and sent us to a Motel 8, the trip was a roaring success, topped off by a crunchwrap and a nap.