Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg

You know that very super long week between Christmas and New Years when you’re not sure what day it is and your kids start to get restless and you start to get even more restless? You know, that week when the day you’ve been planning for has come and gone and everything suddenly feels very anticlimactic? Yes, that’s the space we’ve been in. I told Shaun that I’d rather have experiences for Christmas than to open presents under the tree. If I need something I go and get it. I think most adults I know would agree that it’s super hard to shop for other adults. So I told Shaun we should go and do something during this down week when the days are cold and long. And since Shaun’s Mom sent us money for Christmas I strongly encouraged us to use that money to go to Busch Gardens Christmas Town and Colonial Williamsburg. I love both places but have never been at Christmas time. My husband, being the loving and supportive guy that he is, agreed and we began to pack. 

So now that we’re home a few brief lessons I’ll share. 

1. I still think experiences are nice for adults. It’s a little harder for kids. Every time we end up indulging my whims when it comes to travel we end up experiencing a reality that teaches us children will complain, they won’t eat the food you paid a fortune for, and at some point you will want to gouge your eyes out with a spoon rather than deal with another meltdown or hear another complaint. Something about spending a fortune to have your children whine is a recipe for disaster. That being said, there were also good moments. Fun moments. The moments I pictured in my minds eye when booking the trip. And hopefully, those are the moments we will look back on and actually remember. But this is just a little dose of reality right here. 

2. If you’re planning a trip to Williamsburg and Busch Gardens, make sure it’s not going to be in the teens with the windchill. Again, adults were okay bundled up, even the girls were okay, but it was just too cold for Alex. 

3. Remember a stroller. And blanket. And maybe extra socks. 

4. Just out of curiosity, I’m trying to figure out when the magical age is that you can take your kids on a trip and they will appreciate it at least a little. Maybe the girls are getting there but Alex needs a few more years. Just remember that future me when you get another wild 💡 idea!

All that being said, and with the understanding that it was literally so cold my phone shut off, here are the few photos we got of our little holiday trip. I’m thankful for a sweet and loving husband that indulges my half baked travel schemes. And for my mother in law for the Christmas money. 

I really do love Busch Gardens. It’s a beautiful theme park. I’m sure we’ll go back again soon when it’s not so miserably cold. And maybe when these guys can get out of the stocks for an untidy chamber😂. 

And this was the last picture my phone took before going into shut down mode. It was beautiful though, even though I worried hypothermia might be starting to set in for my poor three year old. 

Then, because we’re geniuses, we decided to do the same thing the next day in Colonial Williamsburg. Side note: we did play in the pool for a long time and had a great time together doing that. In fact, the indoor pool and hot tub were quite arguably the best part of the trip.  But here are some pictures in Williamsburg. They had ice skating there which was really fun. 

More stocks. I seriously need to have these at home. 

Ella and Amelia begged to ice skate. Ella said this was her favorite part of the trip but Amelia’s gloves were not very good and she ended up stopping early because her hands were freezing and starting to hurt. But not many people can say they’ve skated in Colonial Williamsburg. That’s one for the books. Plus, skating is way more fun than looking at a bunch of old buildings.