Thoughts and Observations ....

Catching up on the Oscar Nominated Films

2012-02-11T20:58:00.000-05:00

The Oscars are on Sunday, February 26th, have you seen most of the movies nominated this year? Any favorites?

Since I was out of the country for 6 months, I missed most of the movies this year! AMC theatres (I believe across the country) are running the best picture nominees if you need to catch up too. On Saturday, February 18th you can see four films for $30 - War Horse, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, and the Descendants. On Saturday, February 25th you can see five films for $40 - Hugo, The Help, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Artist, and Midnight in Paris. More information is here: http://go.amctheatres.com/bps

The Landmark E Street Cinema will be showing the Oscar Nominated Short Films in both the Animation and Live Action categories and West End Cinema will run the Oscar Nominated Documentary Short Films. Some of these look incredible and I hope to get a chance to see them!

Send a Valentine to a child at Children's National Medical Center

2012-02-07T16:23:00.001-05:00

I remember Valentine’s Day as a kid – long before I was concerned about having a boyfriend for the “Hallmark holiday”. I remember going to the store and picking the perfect box of valentines, saving my favorite designs for my best friends, decorating a shoe-box, and then excitedly receiving a card (some with candy) from every single person in my class!

Imagine instead if as a child you were sick and had to spend Valentine’s Day in the hospital. Please take a minute (probably only 30 seconds) and go here: Send your Valentine to a child in the hospital to send a valentine to a child at Children’s National Medical Center. They hope to have 5,000 valentines to distribute by February 14^th.

Update: As of Thursday, February 9th they have collected 1,400 and have less than a week to reach the goal of 5,000 for the children in the hospital.

Why to search with Swagbucks instead of Google!

2012-01-28T00:51:00.000-05:00

Like many people, I am concerned about the recent Google privacy changes (Washington Post - Google faces backlash over privacy changes). The nature of being online is that most of our activities are being tracked whether we like it or not, but I use gmail for work and stay logged on pretty much all the time, and I don't really want every single internet search being connected to that work email address and stored in a database somewhere!

If you feel the same way, I wanted to let you know about Swagbucks

A site where you earn points through internet searches, games, polls etc. and redeem them for lots of prizes (my favorite are amazon gift cards). Without any effort I can make about $25 a month, but I've made up to $75 in a month! That buys a lot of goodies for something that you are doing anyway. If you sign up, leave a comment or send me an email and I can provide you even more tips and tricks.

Books I Read in 2011...

2012-01-13T00:23:00.001-05:00

Based on my Kindle, here are the books I read in 2011. I know that I read some actual books, such as the Help, so I hope to do a better job in 2012 of keeping track of all the books I read. Most of the books were really good but I put a star next to the few "must-reads".

Do you have any recommendations for me to read in 2012?

The Red-Suit Diaries: A Real-Life Santa on Hopes, Dreams, and Childlike Faith

Facebook Fairytales: Modern Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit

The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared

* Kisses from Katie

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Innocent Spouse: A Memoir by Carol Ross Joynt

Stingray Bit My Nipple! True Stories from Real Traveler

Growing Up in the Care of Strangers: The Experiences, Insights, and Recommendations of Eleven Former Foster Kids

* Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Little Known

* 33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners
(Click here for my review)

Unbillable Hours: A True Story

Listen by Rene Gutteridge

The Potluck Club

The Naperville White House: How One Man's Fantasy Changed Government's Reality

New Lives by Kathleen Huggins

Mossy Creek by Deborah Smith

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator

* Room: A Novel

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates

The Confession: A Novel - John Grisham

The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World

Committed: A Love Story - Elizabeth Gilbert

* The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: One Woman's Fight to Save Two Orphans of War

* I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

* Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit

The Phantom Tollbooth

Secret Daughter: A Novel

Wench: A Novel

Kiva - Free donation!

2011-12-29T15:05:00.000-05:00

I was debating what to get the relative that has everything for Christmas, after having already given Donor's Choose gift cards, and someone recommended Kiva. This is an international micro-lending organization that since 2005 has given $271 million in loans!

If you haven't tried it out before, please go to this link ASAP: http://kiva.org/ladieshomejournal
and you will get to try a loan for free!

There are so many projects to choose from, you could help a mom purchase a food cart in Ecuador, help a taxi driver in Uganda buy tires for his car, or help buy a refrigerator for a man who owns a small food store in Iraq, etc. etc.

This is free money - so please click on the link above it will only take a few minutes of your time and will really help someone in need.

Thanks!

Operation Christmas Child

2011-11-08T14:17:00.000-05:00

The organization Samaritan's Purse runs Operation Christmas Child every year. This was the first year that I had heard of it, even though last year they delivered over 8 million shoe boxes filled with goodies to children around the world.

I picked up decorated shoe boxes at Chick-fil-a (though you can use any box of a similar size) and went to target to buy some special gifts for a child who might not otherwise get a gift this Christmas. I looked at information online before I went for suggestions on what to buy, so I thought you might like to see my completed boxes (for a 5-9 year old girl):

I was amazed with creative packing what I was able to fit into a shoebox! The boxes contain almost exactly the same things:

A Barbie princess doll

Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, lip gloss, and a plastic cup)

Candy!

Headband, barrettes, and socks

Coloring book, colored pencils, crayons, play doh, a puzzle, stickers, and a teddy bear! (The teddy bear, coloring book, pencils, and puzzle all came from the dollar spot at Target).

Now I just need to add a note for the girl. I printed off labels online and they are supposed to send me an email to let me know where my box is sent.

If you are interested in participating there is still time - the National Collection Week is November 14-21 and you can search for the drop-off locations here. They have great videos online of kids receiving a shoebox and I can just imagine how happy a little girl will be to receive these gifts. I hope they make her feel special and loved!

Thanksgiving takeout from Georgia Browns!

2011-10-28T12:31:00.000-04:00

I'm not a big fan of spending hours and hours in the kitchen and so over the years I've tried many different things for Thanksgiving.

If you are staying in Washington D.C. and don't want to cook everything, I highly recommend takeout from Georgia Browns! You can see the menu here: Georgia Brown's Thanksgiving Menu

Just place an order online and pick up Thanksgiving morning ready to be served immediately or reheated later in the day. The best part is that unlike going to a restaurant there are yummy leftovers!

Make the holidays brighter for a child in foster care...

2011-10-28T12:13:00.000-04:00

The last couple years I have donated to this program and I highly recommend it if you are looking for something extra to do around the holidays. There are many options, such as providing food in a Thanksgiving basket or buying toys for a specific child. And there are even opportunities to volunteer.

If you are interested, please see the form below - deadline is this Tuesday (November 1st).

CFSA Food Basket and Angel Tree Form

Just $5 feeds 15 people in need....

2011-09-14T15:19:00.000-04:00

Posting this a little late, but did you "Skip lunch, feed a bunch" today? If not, no reason that you can't do it tomorrow instead!

A great event, where you donate what you would have spent on lunch to the Capital Area food bank. Just $5 will feed 15 people in need.

For more information: http://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/skip/

Volunteer for the Latino Student Fund's Tutoring Program

2011-09-02T10:29:00.000-04:00

Please consider volunteering for the Latino Student Fund's Tutoring Program - they still need help!

Info from their website (http://www.latinostudentfund.org/volunteer/faq.aspx):

To register - go to this webpage and fill out the form: http://www.latinostudentfund.org/volunteer/register.aspx

"How do I volunteer for the Tutoring Program?
To register for the LSF Tutoring Program, volunteers must attend program orientation and fill out the required paperwork. We ask that volunteers commit at least four months to the program. All tutors over 18 must complete a background check.

Are there other ways to volunteer with the LSF?
Yes, there are other ways that you can volunteer with the LSF. Depending on upcoming events the LSF may need volunteers for those events or people to help with outreach efforts. These opportunities are varied in time and scope so please contact the LSF office at (202) 244-3438 if you have any questions.

Are there any requirements for being an LSF volunteer?
If you are entering the program late or are unable to attend orientation, please contact the LSF Educational Programs Manager at 202-244-3438 or programs@latinostudentfund.org before coming to the program. In addition, all tutors over the age of 18 must sumbit a background check before tutoring. There are no language requirements to be an LSF tutor. We ask that tutors commit at least four months to the program and are at least of high-school age. There are no professional or academic requirements. All materials and supplies will be provided by the LSF.

How much time do I have to commit to be an LSF tutor?
We ask that each tutor commit at least four months to the program and are prompt and consistent with their attendance. The program takes place between 10AM and 12PM on Saturdays (excluding major holidays and school closures). If you find that you are unable to commit to coming every Saturday, you can sign up to be a floater tutor to come to the program when our regular tutors are unavailable.

Do I have to speak Spanish?
No, there is no Spanish requirement to volunteer with the LSF. Many of our parents do speak Spanish but all of the students are English speakers and the academic work is done in English as well.

Can I get community service hours for volunteering with the LSF?
Yes, it is possible to get credit with your school for the hours that you volunteer with the Latino Student Fund. Just make sure to SIGN IN EVERY DAY that you come to the program and have the appropriate forms. Every tutor will receive a letter containing their total number of service hours at the end of the program."

Help kids get free eye exams and glasses!

2011-08-17T11:59:00.000-04:00

Please consider taking 30 seconds of your time and take the VSP eye pledge:

http://www.seemuchmore.com/take-the-vsp-eye-pledge

"For every Eye Pledge taken, VSP^® Vision Care will donate an eye exam and a new pair of glasses to a child served by a Boys & Girls Club.

Three Easy Steps:

Select the Eye Pledge that's right for you.
Direct a free VSP gift certificate for an eye exam and glasses to a Boys & Girls Club of your choice.
Spread the word and help us reach our goal."

Comcast offering internet special for low-income families

2011-08-10T11:23:00.001-04:00

Comcast is currently offering a reduced rate/sale on internet service ($9.95/month) if your child receives free school lunches! They are also offering a low-cost computer at $149.99 (plus tax) and free internet training.

Please see here for more information: http://internetessentials.com/how/index.html.

Where have I been?

2011-08-10T11:16:00.000-04:00

As some of you know, I am currently in South America learning Spanish and helping at an orphanage. I will be back in a couple of months and be back to updating the blog regularly. In the meantime, expect infrequent updates when I come across something really interesting. Thanks for understanding!

Announcement and Sale from Kindle

2011-04-28T12:50:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE my Kindle (the e-reader from Amazon). At first I was a little worried because I really enjoy physical books, I can't give up my subscription to the newspaper etc. but the Kindle is so light and small, the font so easy to read, it automatically bookmarks your spot, and whenever I get stuck on a metro delay I always have a few books to read.

So I was really excited to see this announcement from Amazon:

"We are excited to announce that a new feature, Kindle Library Lending, will be coming later this year. Kindle customers will be able to borrow Kindle books from over 11,000 public libraries in the United States.

Kindle Library Lending will provide the same unique features customers love about Kindle and Kindle books, including the ability to read on any Kindle or free Kindle app, Whispersync technology that synchronizes your notes, highlights and last page read, real page numbers, and more. After a library book expires, if you ever decide to check it out again or purchase it from Amazon, all of your annotations and bookmarks will be preserved.

We are partnering with OverDrive, the leading provider of digital solutions to libraries, to bring a seamless library borrowing experience to Kindle. We will announce more information on Kindle Library Lending later this year."

Hopefully, this will give libraries enough time to prepare themselves for the onslaught of e-book readers who will want to virtually borrow books!

And Amazon is offering a special deal on the Kindle 3G - if you purchase it between now and May 8th, you will receive a "free" $25 Amazon gift card! Just check the box that says "add a $25 Amazon.com gift card at no extra cost" before adding the Kindle to your cart.

Finally a new digital camera!

2011-04-06T11:52:00.000-04:00

After browsing digital cameras for a while, yesterday I finally gave in and bought the Canon PowerShot SD1300IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Blue). This is a massive improvement from my Olympus camera that has served me quite well for probably ten years but is almost twice the size of my new camera. Embarrassingly, I noticed that my old Olympus is 3MP and has a memory card of 128MB (and probably cost a lot more than my new camera).

So if you thought the pictures on my blog were kind of fuzzy my picture taking skills were only partly to blame! Hopefully I can add a real review once I have had a chance to play with my new toy some more, and you will get to see some better quality pictures very soon!

Please offer suggestions for my blog.....

2011-04-02T13:42:00.001-04:00

I've had a blog for about a month and a half and really appreciate everyone who stopped by and read it. So far, I seem to be writing about a mixture of things that I enjoy - living in Washington D.C., trip reports, books I've read, and some education policy stuff. Also, you may notice small design changes every once in a while as I tweak it.

So my questions whether you are an experienced blogger or someone who just stumbled upon my blog, please comment with any thoughts:

Any suggestions on design?
What topics do you enjoy reading about the most?
Are there other topics you would like me to cover?
Any lessons learned from when you first started blogging?
Anything else you'd like to say about my blog?

Thank you for helping me get better!

Donor's Choose Gift Card Giveaway!

2011-04-02T13:06:00.003-04:00

I used a random number generator to select the two projects submitted that will receive a $25 gift card to Donor's Choose:

The first winner is...... Allison for one of her projects listed here
The second winner is ..... Mariam for "Glam up our Nook - Now we Need Books"

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I have emailed both of you the gift card codes to the e-mail address you listed in your comment. I hope that it helps get you closer to your goal!

And I have more exciting news ......I really loved reading about the projects people took the time to submit, so I randomly selected 5 additional projects to which I will personally donate $10 each. I decided each person could only win once so more projects could be highlighted. I just made these donations directly at Donor's Choose. Those winners are:

1) Jennifer for "Literacy learning at our level"
"I am requesting hands on literacy based materials including alphabet manipulatives, "hot dot" activities, and skill based puzzles. These materials will make it so that my literacy centers will be accessible to my struggling learners as well as my stronger students."

2) Helen for "The King School Series for serious first grade readers"
"While some classrooms receive parental donations, this is not the case with most high poverty neighborhoods. The public library is over a mile away, which is far for families without a car. My students need more reading practice! These 22 new and carefully selected book titles will definitely help my first graders develop of love of reading at a young age."

3) Mrs. M for "Never enough books! Part 2 - Character Building"
"I have a fairly large classroom library (mostly purchased with my own money) but I always find that I am lacking books on certain subjects, such as character education, manners, and accepting others' differences. So, I am requesting 7 different book sets to help fill these gaps in my classroom library."

This project was fully funded by the time I got to it! So I donated to one of the teacher's other projects: "Never enough books! Part 4 - All about where we live".

4) Liz for "Challenging Students Everywhere 2"
"Gifted students need to be challenged, not only in the classroom, but also at recess. The variety this playground equipment presents will give them a lot of choices, allow them to be creative with their activities, and help keep them physically active."

5) Jerri Ann for "Elmo makes a huge difference"
"My students attend a Title I school, grades K-8 and are much like fourth grade students nationwide, curious, anxious and excited about learning. The students have the ability to work in small groups but currently the logistics behind providing them with proper equipment is difficult without wasting a great deal of time. I would like to have an ELMO in my classroom so that we could easily move about, work as a class or move the ELMO quickly and without wasted time so that we can work in small groups in various places in the room."

If anyone is reading this wondering how to use a gift card to donor's choose or want to try out the organization with a small donation, it is super easy. Just go to www.donorschoose.org and search for a project either in your area or in a subject that interests you OR if you see a project that sounds interesting in this post, just click on any of the links and it will take you directly to that project with more information and an opportunity to donate. When the project is fully funded you will receive a thank you note from the teacher showing how you helped make a difference.

Thank you to everyone who came to my blog and took the time to enter, I hope this helped spread the word about Donor's Choose and will get some projects closer to being funded and into classrooms!

More Donor's Choose Gift Cards...

2011-03-31T06:00:00.009-04:00

The three gift certificates from Donors Choose that I gave away on Tuesday were able to fund three exciting classroom projects. I was shocked that they were gone in 30 minutes so this time I want to give a chance to people who don't happen to be sitting at their computer at the right moment. I have two $25 gift certificates (thanks to the Donor's Choose Board of Directors) that you can use to help fund important projects in classrooms across America. If you are interested, from now until Saturday at noon (eastern time) please leave one comment to this post with your email and a link to a project at Donor's Choose that you would like to help fund. Please make sure to leave your e-mail so that I can send you the giftcard. I will randomly select two entries to each receive a $25 gift card! I hope that you are enjoying the giveaways as much as I am :)

For more information about the awesome non-profit Donor's Choose and how even $5 can make a difference, please see my earlier blog post.

And for examples of the types of projects you can help fund, please see below for the three that were partially funded with the first three gift certificates (and could use some more help). I've included a very short synopsis but I encourage you to visit their pages for more information.

The first project: (I think these look so cool and I would have loved using them in school!)
"I'm requesting a classroom set of Boogie Board paperless LCD writing tablets. I've been doing reading on these boards and have found that they would be perfect in my classroom. They are small enough to not take up a lot of storage space. They don't use up the battery except when you erase what you have on your screen. But, probably the best part is that they will keep my students engaged as they respond to questions and use them to write their spelling words and math problems."

The second project:
"I teach the most wonderful group of special needs Pre-K and Kindergarten students. My goal is to create a "World Class" Early Learning Environment that encourages reading through a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Curriculum. I want to marry the latest book by Dick Vitale which teaches children their basic ABCs and 123s with the Think Bugs Alphabet Curriculum. Think Bugs encourages children to learn their alphabet by building each letter with specialized building blocks and curriculum cards...There are no A is for Apple cliches here. A is for Awesome-of course, and B is for Baby. C is for Cheer, and D is for Dunk. Every page also has a collection of other words that start with that letter. Along the bottom are colorful basketballs to count out the page number...Wacky little illustrations of Vitale dancing, broadcasting, getting an X-ray add humor and humanity...Paired with Think Bugs ABC Curriculum my students will be able to practice their letters over and over with custom-designed big bricks that make it easy for small children to build their letters in a hands on way...a win-win situation!"

The third project has now been fully funded after the gift card helped the teacher get closer to the amount needed. The students will soon be receiving copies of "Keesha's House" so they can start reading! The same teacher still has another project that needs to be funded, dry erase markers for the students.

Fascinating book on the Chilean Miners

2011-03-30T23:45:00.001-04:00

This post is the first in hopefully a series of “what I just finished reading”.

33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners
by Jonathan Franklin

I literally couldn’t put this book down. The author had been living in Chile for a while at the time of the mine collapse and was the only reporter to get a special pass that allowed him access to the secured area. He was able to talk with the miners while they were still underground, he listened in on conversations with psychologists and rescuers, and he was the one who actually procured the Oakley sunglasses the miners wore when they were brought out of the mine. After the miners were rescued, the author spoke with many of them in the hospital and once they were home with their families.

This book does not just recount everything already covered by media reports. Instead, you read about what was happening above and underground. Including interesting questions, such as:

- What else besides food and notes were sent down to the men?

- Why was the video feed that seemed live from inside the mine during the rescue was sometimes actually showing an earlier feed?

- What kind of demands the miners had? etc. etc.

This book is well written. It effectively describes how tedious life must have been in the mine while still being an easy read. I do wish that there was more information about the men’s acclimation with their families and society (especially the miners who were juggling a mistress and a wife and how they dealt with the sudden media attention) but that would have postponed the publishing. If you remember watching the rescue live on TV while each man emerged after so many days trapped underground and were curious about what really happened in the mine, then I recommend that you pick up a copy (or as I did, get it instantly sent to your kindle).

Donor's Choose

2011-03-29T15:51:00.001-04:00

~~I have three $25 gift certificates to Donor's Choose to give away to the first three people who comment on this post with your e-mail address!~~ Wow - the gift cards were gone in less than 30 minutes! Sorry if you missed it and I hope to do another giveaway soon! In the meantime, please check out Donor's Choose - it is such a great non-profit and is a way for your small donations to have a really large impact.

What is Donor's Choose?

Donor's Choose is an awesome online charity. Teachers from all over the U.S. post online a need for their classroom. You can sort for various criteria (such as high poverty schools in D.C.) and donate online any amount.

Everyone's small donations come together to help fund what the teacher requested and Donor's Choose will buy it and deliver it to the school. You will receive a thank you note and pictures from the teacher, and additionally if you give more than $100 you will receive handwritten thank you notes from the students!

Please check out www.donorschoose.org. There are thousands and thousands of projects posted by teachers across American and right now there are 155 projects in Washington D.C. I highlighted just a few below and pulled out a short synopsis to give you an idea of the different types of projects that you could help fund, but I definitely recommend spending some time on the site for much more information.

Enjoy helping a child's education!

- Digging, Planting, and Growing - "We are 3, 4 and 5 year olds preparing for kindergarten in the Nation's Capitol. Neighbors to the First Lady and going hard for the "Let's Move" campaign, we need to learn that we can plant our own vegetables and get digging!"

- Applying Geometric Concepts through Art - "I serve a student population that consistently performs poorly on standardized math tests. In order to excel in higher level math classes, my students need to be able to visualize mathematical information in graphical terms. The rulers and compasses that we found in the storage room were in very poor condition and did not produce very professional results. We need six different art supplies, including paper, compasses, pencils, erasers, and rulers for our geometry exploration. I would like to maintain the level of excitement the students have for geometric art by motivating them with the necessary tools."

- Preserving Oral History in Anacostia - "My students cannot even fathom the history that is found right in their own community. I teach 10th grade D.C. History in a public charter high school in Washington, D.C. Every one of my students is African American, and 95% of my students live in Wards 7 and 8. My school is so close to the home of the great Frederick Douglass, and most of my students' parents and grandparents remember in great detail the civil rights riots that destroyed many parts of the city. Many even listened to Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. This history needs to be preserved. Unfortunately, my school does not have the resources to buy camcorders to record these interviews. My classes last year created an oral history project about some aspect of their city or family's history they wanted to preserve. They were incredibly invested in this project. My students enjoyed learning about the history in their community so much that many wanted to continue the research. I did, however, discover that it could be much more valuable to my students if I could loan a camcorder to every one of them while they conducted their interviews."

Followup on Colonial Williamsburg and Discounts

2011-03-21T12:23:00.000-04:00

After getting back from our mini getaway I received an email survey from Colonial Williamsburg. I think more companies should do this as it takes them practically no time and a very little cost to get great feedback. I let them know that we had a wonderful visit and everything went well except that we were disappointed that all the taverns were closed except for one and that King's Arms Tavern was nearly impossible to get into to eat. The next day I received an email from the General Manager at the Williamsburg Lodge thanking me for sharing my experiences. She was sorry that I was not "able to enjoy our taverns during your visit as you had anticipated. I shared your comments and suggestions with our food and beverage director of historic operations. Thank you again for your time and valuable feedback which will help us to improve our guest's experience."

Major kudos to Colonial Williamsburg for not only surveying their guests but also reading the results and quickly responding to any guest issues.

Two promotional discounts to note:

For service members and their families: buy an annual pass for the price of a 1 day ticket (more information here). This is in addition to the typical discounts they offer to Seniors, military personnel, teachers, and local residents (click here for more information)

Also Colonial Williamsburg sent me a special offer to pass along to my "friends and family". If you read my blog, thank you, and I consider you a friend :) There is a code that is good through 2011 if you book one night at the Williamsburg Lodge your second night is free!! This is a great deal with very few restrictions. If you are interested, please leave a comment with your email address and I will pass along the info to you or you can email me directly at galwithablog@gmail.com.

Day 3 of Colonial Williamsburg

2011-03-18T17:42:00.001-04:00

Click here for Day 1
Click here for Day 2
Click here for special discounts

Checkout day (note to self: should also not book getaways when we check out the morning of Daylight Saving Time)

Anyway, we decided to take in a few more things and grab lunch before heading back to D.C.

Magazine

First stop was the Magazine and Guardhouse, where all the weapons were stored. Many of the weapons they have on display are originals. The guy in the magazine did a great job of giving a brief spiel and then let folks ask questions.

Cabinetmaker

We also went to see the Joiner and Cabinetmaker – like the Blacksmith (but not quite as exciting) both were demonstrating their skills.

Lastly, we visited the Public Gaol. There is a very small house for the gentleman in charge of the jail and cells outside for the prisoners. Summer would have been miserable (and smelly) but kids seemed to really enjoy playing around in the cells.

We finally were able to get into Kings Arms Tavern for an early lunch – I had fried chicken which came with sweet potatoes and green beans and he had chicken pot pie. It was quite yummy, and our waitress was great.

It was just what we needed before the ride back. We will definitely be returning for another weekend in Williamsburg one day, but will double check to make sure everything is open.

Day 2 of Colonial Williamsburg

2011-03-18T17:27:00.003-04:00

Click here to read Day 1
Click here for post about special discounts

The morning started well, with a call from room service that our breakfast was on its way up (thanks to the tag I hung on the door last night when we got back to the room). We shared a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, and biscuits with gravy – plenty for the both of us (and good thing since the one breakfast was just over $20 once you add tax and delivery charges). The boy then went back to bed (excessive basketball celebration the night before) and I went to walk around the historic area.

I bought one of the refillable mugs for $10 ($11 with tax) that can be refilled at any of the taverns (yes I realized later that it wasn’t such a good deal when all the taverns are closed). I managed to make it somewhat worthwhile by sharing germs with the boy.

After just walking around and taking in the sights for a bit I realized that the one and only special presentation at the Courthouse for the whole weekend was that morning. I highly recommend the 30 minute show, where they have “audience participation” in discussing very brief cases that would have been heard at that time in Virginia – for example, a man who didn’t pay his tab at the tavern or someone who missed Church without explanation.

Inside the courthouse

After the courthouse, I went to Bruton Parish Church (where you don’t need a Colonial Williamsburg pass to visit). It is still used as a Church and I had attended several times when I was at W&M but it was neat to be inside again. They have name plates on the outside of several pews showing who worshipped there including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson as at the time all officeholders had to attend the Anglican Church.

Governor's Palace

By then, the boy felt like joining the world so we wandered around and went into a few little craftsmen such as the Golden Ball and Silversmith. We then went to Charlton’s Coffeehouse the newest reconstructed building, and the Governor’s Palace. Our tour guide at the Governor's Palace was a little too into character and the spiels really dragged - so when we got the message that his friends had arrived we didn't mind ducking out early.

Around 1pm his friends joined us with their two small children (6 and 3 years old). They were just in time to watch the fife and drum corps march. Some folks from Colonial Williamsburg were doing a good job of “recruiting for the army” and entertaining the kids while they were waiting for the parade – but the children we were with had no interest in joining the colonial army.

Fife and Drum Corps

Afterwards, the kids had to eat so we tried to get into the Kings Arms Tavern but it was booked and they weren’t even taking any more names – please Colonial Williamsburg don’t close all your taverns at once! So we walked to the Cheese Shop, which is always a great (and crowded) option and with a little bit of effort we were able to get seats outside. Definitely get the “house dressing” on your sandwich. I don’t know what they put in it, but it’s so good.

By then it was time for the guys to go back to the hotel to watch basketball (do you notice a pattern yet, from now on I will check the sports schedule before planning a weekend trip). So I spent the rest of the afternoon with the wife of the boy's friend and their kids. They asked me for suggestions and not having kids all I really knew was that we didn’t want to do anything that involved long tours. So first stop was the maze behind the Governor’s Palace. There is a separate entrance for the gardens and if you go all the way to the back there is a hedge maze. The kids had a blast running through it – we

Blacksmith making nails

followed after them and being small is a very definite advantage. After the burned off some energy we went to the blacksmith – where they were making nails for an upcoming restoration project. That’s something I love about Williamsburg – rather than Disney where they just make the façade of everything look nice, at Williamsburg they actually make everything the way they would have in the Colonial days.

It’s a pretty neat process to watch and they were very good at explaining to the kids what was going on. They really wanted to see the “Gaol” but everything was closing so they agreed to the next best option which was the kids section of the college bookstore (owned by Barnes and Noble and at the edge of the historic area).

Dinner was an adventure since we had planned on taking the kids to Chownings Tavern and most of the restaurants within walking distance were booked. So we went to the terrace room at the Williamsburg Inn. For the casual dining place it was still pretty fancy and I wasn’t impressed with the food.

Next up day three where we take in a few more colonial activities and then head home.

Click here to read day 3

Day One in Colonial Williamsburg

2011-03-18T16:28:00.002-04:00

Old Chickahominy House, Aromas, Checking in at the Lodge, and Green Leafe
Click here for post about special discounts

Despite the typical DC traffic on I-95, we made it to Colonial Williamsburg in 3 hours. First stop was lunch at Old Chickahominy House (1211 Jamestown Road), an easy stop between the I-64 exit and Colonial Williamsburg.

Their menu says they "invite you to enjoy a real plantation meal in an 18th century dining room". I had Miss Melinda’s Special – a cup of Brunswick Stew, Old Virginia Ham on hot biscuits, Fruit Salad, Homemade Pie (we chose to share chocolate but they also had coconut, buttermilk, and cherry) and Ice Tea – all for $9.95. A great deal! He had Chicken & Dumplings ($7.95) and Old Virginia Ham on Hot Biscuits ($2.95) and sweet tea ($1.75). The fruit salad is kind of odd, it’s very small with a piece of lettuce some canned fruit and some shredded cheese – but that isn’t why you visit. The Brunswick stew and ham biscuits are so yummy (be warned that this is the salty ham not the sugar cured stuff). We were so stuffed that it was our only meal of the day and we barely ate a snack for dinner.

Lobby at the Williamsburg Lodge

Then we drove to Colonial Williamsburg and checked in at the Williamsburg Lodge. I had never stayed there before, opting on previous trips to stay in the low-rent Hospitality House (they had rates of $84 the weekend we were in Williamsburg). But we would have classy friends joining us so we had to pop for the $135/$159 Williamsburg Lodge (both hotels are within walking distance of the colonial area).

Room at the Williamsburg Lodge

We were able to park the car and walk all weekend. The boy was still stuffed from lunch so he chose to take a nap while I walked to Aromas Coffee Shop on Prince George’s Street to meet an old professor from the College of William and Mary.

On the way, I stopped along Duke of Gloucester Street (hereafter called DoG street) and bought the special passes for guests staying at one of the official hotels, $22 each for length of stay (in our case Friday – Sunday, so not a bad deal).

Next was the most disappointing news of the trip – for the month that we happened to be there they had closed all of the taverns except one (Kings Arms Tavern where we tried to get into several times but finally got to eat lunch there on Sunday). The highlight of our visit several years ago was Chownings Tavern. They had roving entertainment (magicians, musicians, etc) and colonial games to play. We are a little competitive and there was a dice game we played until closing.

So we had to go with a disappointing back-up plan. There are only three main college bars in town, Green Leafe, College and Paul’s. My favorite is probably Paul's but he wanted to go to Green Leafe (which is fine). They are all right next to each other so you can easily try them all and pick which one you prefer. We shared a fried shrimp with French fries appetizer, which was just okay.

We lucked out that college wasn’t in session so it was fairly calm for a Friday night. They weren’t showing the basketball game he was interested in, so we went back to the bar at the Williamsburg Lodge to have a drink and then head to bed.

Next up: Saturday where we do some of the colonial activities, his friends join us with their children, and we eat at the Cheese Shop and Williamsburg Inn.

Click here to read day 2
Click here to read day 3

Sweetgreen Yogurt - a nice treat

2011-03-18T15:34:00.000-04:00

I firmly believe that you should treat yourself every once in a while and this afternoon seemed like the perfect time for a treat. So I stopped by Sweetgreen which I have heard a lot about but never visited.

It was clean and everyone was really friendly when I walked in the store. I chose the small frozen yogurt for $4 which includes 3 toppings. The kids in front of me were very confused because the toppings on the board did not match the toppings in the case, but they finally picked something among the many great toppings that were available such as: blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, chocolate chips, coconut, granola, and apple butter. I went with strawberries, granola, and candied walnuts - which was so delicious and as I'm a creature of habit I might get it the next time I want a treat (yes there will be a next time) and maybe one of these days I will try one of their salads.