Two years already?!? This year we celebrated our anniversary in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
Day 1
We kept our tradition and got massages as soon as we arrived. We were originally going to book massages at the Spa at Colonial Williamsburg, but I found the Williamsburg Salt Spa online and it sounded interesting.
The owners built a “cave” out of imported salt to mimic the natural salt caves in Europe that people visit to benefit from the healing properties. The illuminated pink salt rocks give a relaxing glow and there are a few tiny waterfalls built into the walls with salt water flowing. The floor of the cave looks like sand, but it’s salt!
The sessions in the salt cave simply involve sitting in the chairs and relaxing while breathing in the salty air. They offer single massages in their massage room, but we wanted a couples massage. The only way to do that was to book a 45 minute massage in the salt cave, which we wanted to see anyway, so that worked out nicely!
The cave was really relaxing and a very nice temperature, but on the cooler side. The massage therapists were great and it was actually nice that their footsteps were muffled by the salt on the floor. Nothing like a creaky floor to bring you out of your zen!
After our massages, we checked into our room at the Brick House Tavern, which is a part of the Colonial Houses lodging. There are individual colonial houses you can book that range from one room houses to several bedrooms, but even the tiniest house was too expensive for our budget. The Brick House Tavern still provided the immersive lodging experience that I preferred over their more hotel-y options. It was also really convenient and fun to be staying right on the main street: Duke of Gloucester Street.
We showered and made our way to Merchants Square, a location adjacent to the historic area that is full of modern day shops and restaurants. There were a lot to choose from, but we settled on The Trellis Bar & Grill. We had a difficult time finding it because it was dark and the cobblestone alleys were disorienting. But we made it and the food was great!
Day 2
We bought day pass tickets so we could access all of the buildings and spaces. We started in the garden.
While we were in the garden, one of the workers was harvesting cypress vine seeds and he gave us some for free! How fun!
We glanced around one of the shops and bought a wax seal stamp! We’ve always been intrigued by them and they had a whole set of stamps with all the letters of the alphabet. We bought an “H” for Hartnett.
Then we toured the Governor’s Palace. It’s fun to learn about history in the place it happened; it’s much more memorable that way and feels more like a story.
After the tour, we were free to wander the gardens behind the palace. It was such a beautiful day!
We had fun completing the hedge maze in the garden! This was a highlight for me. It made me think of the third task in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
We spent a while in the cabinetry workshop, listening to the wood workers discuss their trade. This was Greg’s favorite spot because he loves learning about woodworking.
As we were walking to Merchants Square, I spotted something under a fence. Upon further investigation, we discovered some sheep!
We hung out at the Amber Ox Public House before dinner. Greg tried a couple of beers and we split the tomato toast – which was delicious and gorgeous!
We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to test out the stocks and pillory. Greg said it wasn’t too bad!
For dinner we wanted to dress up a little. We chose a place that wasn’t too fancy (you could definitely wear shorts and a t-shirt), but fancy enough that we didn’t look silly. It was called Second Street Bistro and there were lots of people there even though it was pretty late!
Day 3
We checked out of the room and decided to walk around an art and music festival going on in Merchants Square. There were tons of vendors and we purchased several Christmas presents for family! We’re always on the hunt for gifts.
Then we drove 2.5 hours home and had a regular autumn Sunday: football, lawn mowing, and relaxing.
Our actual anniversary
We decided beforehand that we would exchange gifts on our actual anniversary, which was a Monday. When I woke up, I saw my gift on my nightstand! Greg bought me Samsung Bluetooth earbuds like the pair he received with his phone. Lindsey Stirling’s new album, Artemis, had just come out on Friday so I used my new earbuds for my first listen – magical.
That evening, I gave Greg his gifts! I bought him a shirt that has a buffalo riding a mountain bike on it from Cyclelogical as well as an art print of a bear from one of my favorite artists, Brian Serway.
We picked up a pizza for dinner and watched our wedding videos. We smile so big whenever we watch the footage of everyone dancing – what an awesome day it was! Then we watched our favorite movie – Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and ate a halfmoon cookie from Holland Farms.
A lovely anniversary!
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
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