Jessi & Hil Visit the ‘Burg

Just before my freshman year began in the fall of 2006, I was told that many of the other new students I was about to meet would become my best friends.  While I have come to learn that this was definitely true, I’ve also been lucky to have friends from home who I still call/text/telepathically message on a daily basis.  One of these incredible people is Jessi.  Jessi and I have essentially operated as brother and sister since our 9^th grade geometry class (inside joke alert: “When my boys get on the line…”).  Last weekend, Jessi and one her best friends from school (who I absolutely adore) named Hilary came to visit me in the ‘Burg.  Read on for a brief summary of the splendid Saturday we spent together.

We began with a walk through Colonial Williamsburg (“CW” if you’re part of the Tribe).  There was a Farmer’s Market taking place in Merchant’s Square, so we looked at all the different fruits, vegetables, and fanny pack-clad tourists that surrounded us.  Taking a page out of their book, we snapped some pictures to document our visit.  Hil met a potential colonial boyfriend in front of one of the churches, and Jessi and I went to the tourist extreme and got our photo taken at the pillory.  We checked out the Governor’s Palace and the Magazine, and after I got shut down by some colonial women who were just not that into me, we turned around and headed back toward campus.

On campus I showed the girls all the classic spots.  We walked through Ancient Campus and saw the one and only Wren Building – the oldest academic building still in use in the United States (Wikipedia agrees).  We walked through the Sunken Garden, and stopped by the Tyler Family Garden as well.  This is where the Echo Wall is located.  If you stand in the right place and speak while facing the wall, you can hear yourself echo, but no one around you can.  After talking to the wall for about 5 minutes and appearing to passersby as though we were deranged, we headed to the iconic Crim Dell bridge.  By this point we had had enough of the afternoon sun, so we went back to my place for a break.

For the rest of the day, we took a joy ride in my ’96 Camry (jealous?) and visited some of Williamsburg’s finest establishments.  We got lunch at Pierce’s BBQ, wreaked havoc at the gargantuan Yankee Candle store, and took in the all the sights.  We decided against going to the nearby Prime Outlets because we knew we’d run up a combined bill that would rival the GDP of a small country.  We ended up back on campus, laying out on the stage at the Lake Matoaka Amphitheater, where we just chatted for hours about such pressing issues as the economy and the primary differences between the East Coast and the West Coast.  Later on, Jessi and Hil made me enchiladas for dinner – the first real food I’ve had in weeks.  Before they left, we stopped in at Sno-to-Go for dessert, and of course ordered stuffed snowballs.  This treat, composed of multiple layers of icee and soft serve ice cream, was the perfect end to the day.

One of the reasons I love W&M is because of the amazing individuals I have built relationships with over the past few years.  While these people will undoubtedly be with me for the rest of my life, it’s pretty evident to me that people like Jessi and Hil are irreplaceable.  To the prospective students out there:  When you go off to college, make sure you keep in touch with those people who really matter in the long run.  To Jessi and Hilary:  Please come back soon…I still can’t cook.