For the first vacation in 12 years we decided to go to Colonial Williamsburg VA, and then down the coast to the Outer Banks. We decided in advance to take a lot of light food with us, just to avoid restaurants, and the expense of meals. That turned out to be a good choice. Restaurants are expensive, especially in touristy areas. Williamsburg was not as appealing as I remembered from many years ago. Due to so many places being short staffed most of the exhibits and trade shops only operate part time. If you want to see all of it you would need to spend multiple days there since most of it is only open alternating days, and some of it is just plain closed. The breakfast at the Convention Center/Inn was good and plentiful so that covered us well. The trip from Ky to Va was uneventful and pretty much featureless, since they build all the Eastern interstates between hills, or have rows of trees blocking any potential view of the landscape. I have seen enough trees to last a lifetime in the 7 days we were gone.
Driving down the Coast to the Outer Banks was similarly uneventful. Most of what you see is the 20 foot high sand dune blocking the view of the ocean on one side, and Pamlico Sound on the other. We were blessed to have a 3rd floor room with a view of the Sound, but the outside stairs were a killer. Three days of climbing stairs got to me. We did go to a public oceanfront beach which was the high point of the trip for me. When we were ready to leave we discovered that much of Hatteras Village shuts down on Sunday. We intended to go to Ocracoke Island by ferry, which used to be first come first served, and now are by reservation, and then cross over to the mainland by ferry. No go on that too, so we backtracked up the banks and cut across the bridge connection and just headed back to Ky. This trip was again through essentially a tunnel of trees across North Carolina into Tn, where we finally hit open spaces so I could breath. There is something about being closed in on both sides that is reminiscent of my overseas time in 1969-70 and makes me quite antsy and restricts my breathing. This wife is good about remembering that and helps me identify noises and changes in lighting that sometimes get to me. All in all is was a good time and worth having gone. Next time it will be to the Outer Banks arriving on Monday or Tuesday and exiting before the weekend, heading south down the coast. I wouldn't bother with Colonial Williamsburg again.
