Summer is almost upon us, and my family is planning our [almost] annual trip to Williamsburg, VA. People often ask why we keep going back to Williamsburg and there are several reasons I can give 1, but it really comes down to one thought.
It’s our place.
When I was growing up, my parents took us down the shore 2 every Summer. It was our family’s place, not only for my immediate family but also for my aunts and uncles and cousins. We had traditions we did every year, a routine which was ingrained in us through repetition, and a familiarity which made our return always feel as though we were heading to an extension of our home.
This is how my immediate family feels about Williamsburg. We have traditions 3, we have a general routine, and we know the place almost as well as we know our own neighborhood. Going there is like heading back to a place which is part of who we are as a family.
Some folks like to travel to new places for vacation year after year, and I can respect that impulse, but I’ve always been a person who enjoys being rooted. Through the roots we establish we’re able to savor the experience of a place over time. We observe it change, and how it changes us.
Painfully Hopeful 