My mom and I were thinking it might be nice to go visit my aunt in Maryland (Rockland) and then spend some time in Virginia. She went to my cousin’s graduation from William and Mary and was sad that she didn’t get to see any of the local attractions, and I’ve never been. Obviously, there’s Williamsburg and Jamestown and Yorktown right there together, right? So, how long should we allow for that?
Also, I noticed on Wikipedia that one of the weeks I was considering, the last in July, is the pony swim at Chincoteague! I loved those Marguerite Henry books when I was a kid. Is the swim worth it? Is it super-crowded and disappointing? How about the town? (Probably the worst possible day to go there, right?)
So, are there any other must-sees in that part of Virginia? (We might spend some more time in DC with my aunt, but we’ve been to all those places before - nothing new, although I haven’t been to the Smithsonian in a while.) How long should we allot? We can do without theme parks, but we dig museums and such. I was thinking maybe I’d take off for a week, since I haven’t had a vacation in, like, forever - is there a week’s worth of stuff in the area?
You won’t be able to see and do everything in a week.
Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown
Nauticus/Virginia Marine Science Museum
Richmond (about 1 hour west) has the Museum of the Confederacy, VA Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia Science Museum, Kid’s Museum (tons of interactive stuff), VA Historical Society
Chincoteague (it isn’t as close as you think)
All of the plantations along Route 5 (Berkeley, Sherwood Forrest, Shirley, Evelynton, etc.)
You’ll also be about a 2 hour drive from Stratford Hall (Robert E. Lee’s birthplace), Monticello (Jefferson’s home), if you’re in DC you’re right across the river from Mount Vernon (Washington’s home), Staunton (Woodrow Wilson’s birthplace)
The crescent from DC, through Fredericksburg, Richmond, and into Tidewater has more stuff to see and visit than you could comfortably do in a month, much less a week.
Well, I ain’t got a month. I’ve done Mount Vernon three times, and we got Wilson’s childhood home half a mile from here. So there. I bet it’s better.
ETA - how good is the Marine Science Museum? (If you’ve been to other big aquariums - I’ve seen Boston and Baltimore and such.)
ETAA - is there a lot near Montecello? I’ve always wanted to go there.
ETAAA - while plantations and Civil War stuff is nice, and if they’re particularly excellent we’ll enjoy them, South Carolina is lousy with 'em. Colonial stuff is more interesting to us.
FYI, Monticello and C’ville are not “in the Williamsburg area” by the usual measures- they are about 2-3 hours drive north and west. Not so very far, but IMHO more than a daytrip.
Could the area be easily broken down into two different places to stay in with daytrips? Say, Williamsburg and Charlottesville? (Mom and I do like wineries. A lot. We’ll find a winery anywhere.) Is there a way to do this for maximum scenic and activity pleasure with minimum backtracking?
For example, when we did Maine last year, we flew into Portland, did that for a day, drove up the coast and did a nice maritime museum and stuff to Camden, where I had to sail out of, and then we daytripped from there. Very convenient, and we saw a lot.
If you stay in Richmond, you’re about halfway between both Charlottesville (to the west) and Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown (to the east). Both are easy day trips from Richmond. Plus, there are wineries in both C’ville and Williamsburg.
Busch Gardens is a very nice amusement park. Lots of trees, has an international theme with sections portraying Ireland, Italy, Germany, etc. Rather hilly though. Has 5 or 6 great coasters, not as good for little kids though due to height restrictions on rides. Has a neat Irish pub and German Beer hall if you’re into that.
Edit: Oh, now I see why no one mentioned it, the OP specified no theme parks. Oh well.
Depends. The West end of Richmond is pretty easy to navigate, just a lot of stores and restaurants. The more historic East end has a lot of one-way streets and questionable neighborhoods in places. To get to the Science Museum you just get off of I64 onto Broad Street, it’s a straight shot other than a bunch of red lights. If you’ve did much city driving Richmond shouldn’t be a big deal, it’s nothing like Atlanta, Washington DC, or NYC.
Also, the Pharmacy (the first store on Duke of Gloucester Street in Merchant’s Square, a non-period retail quad) has a lunch counter in back. Said lunch counter makes homemade lime soda by squeezing a lime into seltzer and adding sugar syrup. Deee-vine on a muggy summer day!
Also, the Virginia Shakespeare Festival will be on in July (performances in William & Mary’s Phi Beta Kappa Hall)
What kind of barbeque they got in Virginia? I see from the link that it’s pulled pork (correct) but is the sauce a righteous sauce or a heresy?
The Shakespeare festival looks fun. My dad is now thinking of going, which while of course I’d love him to go… he always goes and then two days in he’s looking for early flights out, because he has trouble with his back and such. Is Williamsburg pretty wheelchair friendly? He sticks around longer if we can rent him a wheelchair and provide the push.
Since you’re in S. Carolina, I know there are some places down there that like mustard sauce.
It’s about like Western N. Carolina sauce–basic vinegar/pepper flakes, but with ketchup. But truly fine eating. You’ll have to trust me on this. I know good pulled pork. While my preference on sauces is Eastern Carolina, this is good.
That statement is debatable - of course, it’s BBQ. I believe Pierce’s started buying in their BBQ a few years ago and the quality has declined. One half star off in my book, from an original 4 star BBQ. The sauce is still very good though. A little more sweet that E. Carolina style, with some tomato; so the sauce is a heresy yes, depending upon your religion, but I have been forgiven for eating it and you would be too. If you’re in the area it’s well worth a trip; I stop on my way by, headed to VA Beach.
As for the OP - I’d give one day to each vertex of the “Colonial triangle”. That would still leave lots of time for eating BBQ unless you are really into history. Other options in the area are Richmond, a town I love, and Norfolk which has a some nice stuff - Doug MacArthur museum, boat tour, Nauticus and the battleship tour.
Since you’re specifically looking for Colonial “stuff” I 'd very much recommend visiting St. John’s Church in Richmond to see and hear the re-enactment of Patick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech. You can also visit John Marhsall’s home and the State Capital (designed by Jefferson and home to the original Houdon statue of Washington done from life). The drive up Route 5 from Williamsburg will take you right past all the Colonial Plantations (Sherwood Forrest is very cool - it is a private home (still owned and lived in by the Tylers) but open to the public for tours) and into downtown.
I’ve done Mount Vernon three times, and we got Wilson’s childhood home half a mile from here. So there. I bet it’s better.
