A few miles south of the tourist mecca of Colonial Williamsburg in southern Virginia, quietly sitting on the banks of the York River, surrounded by the serenity of meadows and swamps and woods, you will find the humble historic burgh of Yorktown.
Most of the time, it appears to be a rather sleepy little town. There's an artist's gallery or two, and some antique shops tucked among the historic buildings open to tourists and the preserved homes available only for admiring from the outside. At the bottom of the river bank, the town did some remodeling in the last several years and created a tasteful little cluster of shops and restaurants almost directly beneath the Coleman Bridge.
I think part of the reason that Yorktown remains understated in comparison to Williamsburg is that there is no larger, modern town growing out of the historic nucleus. Instead, Yorktown is surrounded by natural space. The battlefields of the Revolutionary War are preserved as a national park, which means lots of forest and meadow and marsh for miles in every direction. Also dirt paths and gravel-paved tourist roads which are never particularly busy. Translation: runner's paradise!
Most of the time, it appears to be a rather sleepy little town. There's an artist's gallery or two, and some antique shops tucked among the historic buildings open to tourists and the preserved homes available only for admiring from the outside. At the bottom of the river bank, the town did some remodeling in the last several years and created a tasteful little cluster of shops and restaurants almost directly beneath the Coleman Bridge.
I think part of the reason that Yorktown remains understated in comparison to Williamsburg is that there is no larger, modern town growing out of the historic nucleus. Instead, Yorktown is surrounded by natural space. The battlefields of the Revolutionary War are preserved as a national park, which means lots of forest and meadow and marsh for miles in every direction. Also dirt paths and gravel-paved tourist roads which are never particularly busy. Translation: runner's paradise!