In and out in 5 minutes on my passport appointment. Lady helping was nice and helpful. Made the…read morewhole process smooth!

I love old postal buildings! They don't make them like this anymore. Easy to park for free along…read morethe road in front.

Super clean post office! Well stocked and offers a greeting card kiosk, plenty of mailing supplies,…read moreand a variety of stamps! The service was slow, but it was a busy Friday. Located in a strip mall, the plain facade is nothing to "write home about". They have passport service here so that's a plus! The hours are M-F 8:15-4:30. Not open on Saturday? Really? Lightfoot P.O. might have some folks p.o.ed!

I always come to this post office. The staff are friendly and helpful. The one close to me is…read moreawful so I travel to this one.

Smelled like gasoline in there... phew...this post office in Shacklefords, near West Point, needs a…read morerefresh. The fumes were so potent I couldn't stay inside long. It's a plain small, plain brick post office that serves a population of about 1,300+ people. Shacklefords is a relatively small unincorporated community in King and Queen County named for Virginia colonist, Roger Shackleford. A post office was established here in 1800, but this is the modern post office that has long since replaced the original. Hours: M-F 8:30-1:00, 2:00-4:30, Saturday 8:30-12 No passport service

Darling little post office in the tiny community of Morattico! As we were taking pictures, a guy…read morewalked up in what looked like pjs, seemingly hungover or just waking up and when I asked if he was the postmaster, he grunted yes. Well, I guess they're pretty laid back in the neck of the woods! There is nothing here but a museum and a post office in this historic fishing village. The post office is adorable and looks over the river. If the postmaster was more receptive and professional, this would have been 4 stars all the way!

If you're going to be in this historic little fishing town, you have to stop by and see the post…read moreoffice. Mainly, because there is nothing else to see, but it's a cool little place. Looks like a doll house with PO boxes. Nothing really to do other than marvel at how small the operation is.

Two brief noteworthy updates about what CW is doing with the Wythe property. As of now they have…read morechanged the format of how you tour the grounds. In the past you were grouped up with maybe twenty others at the entrance then eventually led through the house by a CW employee. Whether this will still be around for next summer remains to be seen but a few of the people at the house said that CW ditched that format for allowing you to roam the grounds/house on your own. Now when you get to the entrance an employee gives you a few pointers then you're off. Inside there is one person on each floor to answer any questions. One of the reasons why I would assume this change occurred would be on account of CW closing the long time home of The Cooper Shop and relocating it to a building in the back of the Wythe House. The change coincided with CW closing several other long time buildings while consolidating some of those operations at the Wythe, Getty and Randolph houses. I like the new self-touring format here as it is less formal and restrictive which is always good. Although hopefully in the future the Coopers are given their own shop again as it seems odd and historically inaccurate to have them at the back of this house. Beautiful house and beautiful grounds. Well worth a visit. (Note that CW ditched the off hours of years prior where the house was only open on certain days or for only 1/2 day. Currently it's open daily from 9-5.)

The George Wythe residence was completed in 1754. The stately two story brick home sets off the…read morePalace Green. Self guided tours are on selected days when the house is open for ticketed visitors. Wythe was the signer of the Declarations of Independence & first law professor at College of William & Mary. He was also mentor to Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall and Henry Clay. The residence in the past has had a violinist play at selected times. The rear and gardens are picturesque and perfect for a photo op. An outbuilding houses a basket weaving demonstration. There are other demonstrations in the rear of the property depending on the season. Today Wythe is considered the Father of American jurisprudence. The home was HQ to George Washington September 1781 just prior to seize on Yorktown, Va. A room is transformed to show visitors what this time may have looked like. The George Wythe home is one of the original 88 in Colonial Williamsburg and a favorite of mine for its authenticity.

Topping Post Office is tops with me! An unassuming little government building that is handicap…read moreaccessible. The postmaster,Cindy Carter, gave me a hearty welcome and gave me some history of this diminutive post office. According to her, it was built some 40 years ago and you can tell she takes pride in her job. The lobby was in tip top shape, with the shipping supplies well stocked. There was a note posted saying that customers with P.O. Boxes needed to use their keys to gather their mail, rather than going to the counter and asking for it. On the front desk, they were some rather worn but nifty thick zip code books! Also displayed were a wide variety of postage stamps! A good reminder of what constitutes media mail was posted on the wall. There used to be a copier in the lobby, but it's since been removed. This post office is open from 7:30-11:30, 1:30:4:30 M-F, 8:15-11:15 Sat. The hours are a bit unusual from other post offices. No passport service. This location serves approximately 1,400 residents.

Even though Peyton Randolph is a historical unknown to the average person, it doesn't mean that he…read morewas a lightweight by any means. Speaker of the House of Burgesses, Attorney General of Virginia and 1st President of the Continental Congress. That last one to me is the biggie. Would things have turned out differently for the colonies if Peyton doesn't die in Philadelphia while having dinner with Jefferson in 1775 versus John Hancock taking over after his death? By that's for another time. If you visit CW one of the must see stops is his house which is located at the corner of East Nicholson and North England Street (the Yelp map marker is wrong - the house is on the other side of East Nicholson). While the main house is one of the original 88, the breezeway-kitchen-assorted outbuildings are all reproductions. One of the larger historically inaccurate things that CW sort of fixed was when they moved the windmill that spent 50-ish years on the property over to Great Hopes Plantation. No evidence has ever been found that a windmill was on the property and the thing had been inoperable well over a decade by the time it got moved. Of course CW bungled that one as well by also closing Great Hopes to any kind of active interpretation not long after the move. So while the windmill in essence got a nice paint job, it still doesn't work and is marooned in CW Siberia with potential plans to convert that area to parking or some kind of future entertainment space. But that's also for another time. Over the years CW has changed how touring is done at the house. In the past, a few years ago, the house was only open on certain days or only for a 1/2 day with the staff then moving over to the Wythe House for the other 1/2. Thankfully that changed and of late the Randolph House has been open more or less daily. With that said, they still do timed tours which start (??) twice an hour. Sometimes you begin at the side entrance on the street corner but when the crowd is larger you are sometimes herded into the breezeway that separates the house from the kitchen until it's go time. Aside from the house tour that you would expect at CW, recently they have further emphasized the slavery angle at the house. Randolph was a very wealthy individual and he and his wife owned in excess of 100 slaves during his lifetime. That story gets told more as you get to the outbuildings at the end of the tour. The other thing that the house is known anecdotally is that supposedly it's very haunted. That's not covered on the official house tour unless someone asks but every ghost tour company in Williamsburg, including when CW offers them, makes a stop here. I think that has something to do with people dying here during the Civil War when the house gets used as a hospital for a brief time. Like the Everard House or the Wythe House, any time you can tour one of the 300+ year old CW originals it's a must do.

The Peyton Randolph Home is one of the 88 original structures on CW property and was home to the…read moreprominent Williamsburg resident Peyton Randolph. He served as president of the first Continental Congress. He resided in the home 1721-1775. The large two story house is unique for its seven paneled rooms which was a sign of wealth. It's size is deceiving from the front. Each room has been decorated in period time, however there are few items that are authentic to the Randolph's. The rear of the property has outbuildings. The home is open for guided tours on selected days. This is my favorite guided tour in Colonial Williamsburg.