Where to Eat: Mitchie Tavern, Charlottesville, Va.

In Charlottesville, we grabbed a bite to eat at historic Mitchie Tavern, located below the hill from Monticello. It serves an all-you-can-eat buffet of an 18th century fare.

Dressed in period clothing, waitresses brought out more food as you requested it. Though a bit pricey at $16, I think it's worth it. The food was spectacular! We ate chicken, black-eyed peas, stewed tomatoes, green beans and roast potatoes.

While there, we also checked out the shops on the property. Here's the metal smith shop where you can buy many different things:

This woman told us about the courting candle. When a young man comes to call on a young lady, the father would set out the courting candle. The father could make the candle longer or short depending on which way he turned the candle's knob.
If he liked the young man, he turned the candle up; if he didn't, there wasn't much candle to burn before the young man would have to leave. Once the candle burned down to the first coil, it was time for a young man to leave.