Family trip report on Virginia & Washington DC
Jul 23rd, 2007, 07:16 PM
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Family trip report on Virginia & Washington DC
My family (husband and daughters 21 & 23) just returned from 12 days touring Virgina and D.C. Here are some details that might be of interest-
DAY 1-
Flew from San Antonio on Southwest Airlines into Norfolk, Virginia. Spent the afternoon and evening on the Virginia Beach board walk. It is a nice beach area with some good people watching and fun outdoor restaurants. We stayed in the Doubletree resort just off the beach area. The room was nice and large. The hotel is a little dated but our breakfast was included in the 117.00 a night. The beds are nice and fresh with down duvets.
Day 2 -
Drove to Yorktown and toured the historical city and the area battlefields then drove on to Historical Williamsburg and toured the city.
This was interesting but not really my favorite. If you are interested you can spend a day there listening to all the people explain how each task was done back in the 1800's. Fun for a while, but it was a fairly hot day.
Day 3-(Friday)
We went to Busch Gardens. Arrived at 11:00 am and rode all the rides at least once by 3:30. The park is really beautiful and run very efficiently. The lines were not that long and moved fast.
The Griffon roller coaster is new and if you love coasters it is a good one. We road it twice. Also don't miss the Haunted Castle 4-D. It combines a roller coaster type ride and 3-D. Very fun. This was one of my family's favorite days of the trip.
We stayed for 2 nights in Williamsburg in the Hampton Inn in the historical area. It was very nice and they gave us adjoining rooms. My husband and I had a large king suite and the girls had a room with 2 queen beds. Our room was 143.00 a night and the girls room was free as we paid for it with Hilton Points.
Day 4- (Saturday)
We drove to Charlottesville and visited Monticello, Jefferson's home. We got our tickets for the tour at approximately 1:20 and did not get into see the home until 3:50. They give you a ticket with a time and then you can tour the outside until your time comes up. The day we were there they had people all around the property demonstrating different task such as a cooking, blacksmith etc. It was interesting and is in a beautiful location.If you can get tickets ahead of time it would be nice, you really don't need 4 hours to see it.
That night we ate at the mall area in Charlottesville at a restaurant named The Trellis. It is an upscale contemporary restaurant and the food and service were good. We sat outside on the mall and it was fun to see all the activity going on.
That night we stayed at the Hampton Inn at the University in Charlottesville. It was ok, but not as nice as the accommodations in Williamsburg Hampton. The rate was 174.00 a night and we got the girls room free with Hilton points.
Day 5-Sunday,
We traveled to Fredricksburg and toured the battlefields and museum there. I now feel I have a much better understanding of the Civil War. There is so much history in this part of the country. After Fredicksburg continued on to our destination where we were meeting up with my husbands family; Dad & date, brother, sister and all their children. We were 16 all together and we rented a Historical home on a plantation just outside of Mineral, Virgina.It is called the Little Page Inn. It was not on Lake Anna but only a few minutes away. The main house has 5 bedrooms all with updated baths. It was built in 1811 and has been completely restored. They have left all the past owners memoribilla in the house; photos, old letters, some furnishings etc. so you can get a great feel for its history. There is a beautiful garden and swimming pool and a large barn that has been converted into 3 bedrooms and baths and a living area. My husband, I and daughters stayed in this house. We rented the whole place for $4,000.00 for the week. It was great fun and accommodated all of us well. We grilled out by the pool and did a lot of relaxing and catching up with family. The kitchen has been updated and can accommodate cooking for a crowd or you can have a service prepare meals for you if you like.
Day 7-
Our family packed up for a short 2 day visit to DC.
On our way to DC we stopped at Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. It is much more developed for visitors than Jefferson's home and includes some great museums on the property. The home itself is impressive and the view of the Potomac is fabulous. Don't miss going here if you get a chance.
In DC we stayed at the Palomar Hotel in one room with 2 queen beds. It is in the Dupont Circle area. The room was very large and comfortable, however the bathroom was small but it work ok for us as it was only for 2 days. The rate was 223.00 a night. The staff was helpful and friendly and they have a wine reception in the lobby everynight from 5:00 to 6:00. There is also a nice bar attached to the hotel. The first night the conciere suggested a restaurant called Mei & U. It is Asian inspired and has a lot of atmosphere. It is in the Georgetown area. The food was good and the girl's enjoyed it for all the atmosphere. Afterward we walked down to the river where there are a lot of open air restaurants and bars and enjoyed getting a taste of the nightlife in DC and walking on the river.
Day 8-
We got up and out around 10:00 am and went straight to the Museum of Air and Space. We saw a 3-D movie about the space station that was really great.
Next we went to the National Museum of Art. There are some fabulous pieces to see there. We only took a couple of hours here and ate lunch here also. It is cafeteria style with numerous selections.
After this we got on one of the open air bus tours. This was well worth the 25.00 a person. It takes you to all the major attactions in the mall area and you can get off and back on at any time. The buses ran every 15 minutes. I would suggest this to anyone wanting to see the sights in DC. Union Station is fabulous as was all the architecture in DC. All of the museums and sites are free.
That evening we had a reservation for dinner at an up and coming chef's restaurant that we had read about in Food and Wine magazine. The name of the restaurant is Komi and dinner is 75.00 a person without wine and 155.00 with. We were close enough to walk to the restaurant and enjoy the evening and all the activity in Dupont Circle and surrounding areas.
You choose your entree and then the chef prepared 8 or 9 tapas and sent to our table. They were all very unique and it was great food and a great experience. It is at 17th and P.
Day 9-
We got out around 10:00 am and went to the National Archives and saw the Declaration of Independence, Louisianna Purchase, Bill of Rights etc. There was a short wait to get inside as they scan everyones carry items but it was not bad.
Afterward we went to the Museum of Natural History. We saw all the gem stones, Hope Diamond, Tiffany Diamond and many other fabulous pieces. The Bug's Life area had been displaced and was pushed into a small corner which was a disappointment but the dinosaur area was interesting and fun.
We left and headed back to our place in Mineral, Virginia and it began to pour rain the minute we left. The traffic on 95 was backed up and it took 3 plus hours to get back to our place.
The next few days we spent enjoying family and friends, laying around the pool (the weather was great), cooking, eating and just relaxing. We took a day trip into Culpeper and drove the historical areas. You can get some great information from the vistor center there on driving tours.
Day 12-Sunday
We packed up and left the Little Page Inn at 10:00 am and drove back into Norfolk to catch our flight back to San Antonio. We stop outside of Williamsburg on the way and had a nice lunch. All in all it was a great trip and did not disappoint. Both Virginia and DC were beautiful and all the people were friendly and helpful.
Sorry this is so long. I hope someone finds something here helpful.
DAY 1-
Flew from San Antonio on Southwest Airlines into Norfolk, Virginia. Spent the afternoon and evening on the Virginia Beach board walk. It is a nice beach area with some good people watching and fun outdoor restaurants. We stayed in the Doubletree resort just off the beach area. The room was nice and large. The hotel is a little dated but our breakfast was included in the 117.00 a night. The beds are nice and fresh with down duvets.
Day 2 -
Drove to Yorktown and toured the historical city and the area battlefields then drove on to Historical Williamsburg and toured the city.
This was interesting but not really my favorite. If you are interested you can spend a day there listening to all the people explain how each task was done back in the 1800's. Fun for a while, but it was a fairly hot day.
Day 3-(Friday)
We went to Busch Gardens. Arrived at 11:00 am and rode all the rides at least once by 3:30. The park is really beautiful and run very efficiently. The lines were not that long and moved fast.
The Griffon roller coaster is new and if you love coasters it is a good one. We road it twice. Also don't miss the Haunted Castle 4-D. It combines a roller coaster type ride and 3-D. Very fun. This was one of my family's favorite days of the trip.
We stayed for 2 nights in Williamsburg in the Hampton Inn in the historical area. It was very nice and they gave us adjoining rooms. My husband and I had a large king suite and the girls had a room with 2 queen beds. Our room was 143.00 a night and the girls room was free as we paid for it with Hilton Points.
Day 4- (Saturday)
We drove to Charlottesville and visited Monticello, Jefferson's home. We got our tickets for the tour at approximately 1:20 and did not get into see the home until 3:50. They give you a ticket with a time and then you can tour the outside until your time comes up. The day we were there they had people all around the property demonstrating different task such as a cooking, blacksmith etc. It was interesting and is in a beautiful location.If you can get tickets ahead of time it would be nice, you really don't need 4 hours to see it.
That night we ate at the mall area in Charlottesville at a restaurant named The Trellis. It is an upscale contemporary restaurant and the food and service were good. We sat outside on the mall and it was fun to see all the activity going on.
That night we stayed at the Hampton Inn at the University in Charlottesville. It was ok, but not as nice as the accommodations in Williamsburg Hampton. The rate was 174.00 a night and we got the girls room free with Hilton points.
Day 5-Sunday,
We traveled to Fredricksburg and toured the battlefields and museum there. I now feel I have a much better understanding of the Civil War. There is so much history in this part of the country. After Fredicksburg continued on to our destination where we were meeting up with my husbands family; Dad & date, brother, sister and all their children. We were 16 all together and we rented a Historical home on a plantation just outside of Mineral, Virgina.It is called the Little Page Inn. It was not on Lake Anna but only a few minutes away. The main house has 5 bedrooms all with updated baths. It was built in 1811 and has been completely restored. They have left all the past owners memoribilla in the house; photos, old letters, some furnishings etc. so you can get a great feel for its history. There is a beautiful garden and swimming pool and a large barn that has been converted into 3 bedrooms and baths and a living area. My husband, I and daughters stayed in this house. We rented the whole place for $4,000.00 for the week. It was great fun and accommodated all of us well. We grilled out by the pool and did a lot of relaxing and catching up with family. The kitchen has been updated and can accommodate cooking for a crowd or you can have a service prepare meals for you if you like.
Day 7-
Our family packed up for a short 2 day visit to DC.
On our way to DC we stopped at Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. It is much more developed for visitors than Jefferson's home and includes some great museums on the property. The home itself is impressive and the view of the Potomac is fabulous. Don't miss going here if you get a chance.
In DC we stayed at the Palomar Hotel in one room with 2 queen beds. It is in the Dupont Circle area. The room was very large and comfortable, however the bathroom was small but it work ok for us as it was only for 2 days. The rate was 223.00 a night. The staff was helpful and friendly and they have a wine reception in the lobby everynight from 5:00 to 6:00. There is also a nice bar attached to the hotel. The first night the conciere suggested a restaurant called Mei & U. It is Asian inspired and has a lot of atmosphere. It is in the Georgetown area. The food was good and the girl's enjoyed it for all the atmosphere. Afterward we walked down to the river where there are a lot of open air restaurants and bars and enjoyed getting a taste of the nightlife in DC and walking on the river.
Day 8-
We got up and out around 10:00 am and went straight to the Museum of Air and Space. We saw a 3-D movie about the space station that was really great.
Next we went to the National Museum of Art. There are some fabulous pieces to see there. We only took a couple of hours here and ate lunch here also. It is cafeteria style with numerous selections.
After this we got on one of the open air bus tours. This was well worth the 25.00 a person. It takes you to all the major attactions in the mall area and you can get off and back on at any time. The buses ran every 15 minutes. I would suggest this to anyone wanting to see the sights in DC. Union Station is fabulous as was all the architecture in DC. All of the museums and sites are free.
That evening we had a reservation for dinner at an up and coming chef's restaurant that we had read about in Food and Wine magazine. The name of the restaurant is Komi and dinner is 75.00 a person without wine and 155.00 with. We were close enough to walk to the restaurant and enjoy the evening and all the activity in Dupont Circle and surrounding areas.
You choose your entree and then the chef prepared 8 or 9 tapas and sent to our table. They were all very unique and it was great food and a great experience. It is at 17th and P.
Day 9-
We got out around 10:00 am and went to the National Archives and saw the Declaration of Independence, Louisianna Purchase, Bill of Rights etc. There was a short wait to get inside as they scan everyones carry items but it was not bad.
Afterward we went to the Museum of Natural History. We saw all the gem stones, Hope Diamond, Tiffany Diamond and many other fabulous pieces. The Bug's Life area had been displaced and was pushed into a small corner which was a disappointment but the dinosaur area was interesting and fun.
We left and headed back to our place in Mineral, Virginia and it began to pour rain the minute we left. The traffic on 95 was backed up and it took 3 plus hours to get back to our place.
The next few days we spent enjoying family and friends, laying around the pool (the weather was great), cooking, eating and just relaxing. We took a day trip into Culpeper and drove the historical areas. You can get some great information from the vistor center there on driving tours.
Day 12-Sunday
We packed up and left the Little Page Inn at 10:00 am and drove back into Norfolk to catch our flight back to San Antonio. We stop outside of Williamsburg on the way and had a nice lunch. All in all it was a great trip and did not disappoint. Both Virginia and DC were beautiful and all the people were friendly and helpful.
Sorry this is so long. I hope someone finds something here helpful.
Jul 23rd, 2007, 08:09 PM
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Sounds like a wonderful family trip exploring the history of Virginia and the U.S. What a perfect idea to stay in an historic Virginia plantation. I looked on its web site and it looks lovely. I grew up in the area and miss all the wonderful museums. Its a nice bonus that theyre free too. Thanks for sharing your trip. I enjoyed reading it.
Jul 24th, 2007, 06:05 AM
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interesting for me since we will be n the williamsburg area for almost a week in august.
so, williamsburg was NOT your favorite? so, do you suggest we also go see yorktown? we were planning on trying to see yorktown or jamestown.. didnīt know which one was better.
we are also going to charlottesville to see monticello and the wine country.
thanks for the nice report and restaurant recs..
so, williamsburg was NOT your favorite? so, do you suggest we also go see yorktown? we were planning on trying to see yorktown or jamestown.. didnīt know which one was better.
we are also going to charlottesville to see monticello and the wine country.
thanks for the nice report and restaurant recs..
Jul 24th, 2007, 06:07 AM
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It sounds like you really made of the most out of your time in Virginia (except for the 3-hr Rt 95 parking lot visit, of course - it doesn't take much for traffic to become a nightmare on that section of the road.) I loved the idea of staying at the historic plantation with your whole family. Somebody did a good job researching and planning your trip.
Jul 29th, 2007, 04:36 PM
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lincasanova - We were just in Williamsburg in June when it was very hot as well. Haven't had a chance to right a trip report, but I would strongly recommend going to Jamestown. There is Historic Jamestown, where the settlers originally landed. There is an original church there, working archaeological digs and a small but very well done museum.
Jamestown Settlement is where the large museum is and replicas of the fort, Indian Village and tall ships. It is quite interesting as well, particularly the ships. We did not go through the museum there as we had already done the museum at Historic Jamestown. I would say, if anyone is travelling with small children they would enjoy Jamestown Settlement the best as there is more to see and experience. However, we were travelling with older kids (ages 11 and 15) and we all found the Historic Jamestown interesting as well, i.e. to stand where they stood.....
Later on the same day we drove to Shirley Plantation and had an excellent tour of the home. You can only see the bottom floor, but the stories the guide told us were quite interesting.
We enjoyed Williamsburg as well, but were glad we did Jamestown and Shirley Plantation. One warning, it can get VERY hot in Williamsburg, and the one problem we had was that there were not enough places selling water. They had some vending machines hidden, but they only managed to eat our money!!
Jamestown Settlement is where the large museum is and replicas of the fort, Indian Village and tall ships. It is quite interesting as well, particularly the ships. We did not go through the museum there as we had already done the museum at Historic Jamestown. I would say, if anyone is travelling with small children they would enjoy Jamestown Settlement the best as there is more to see and experience. However, we were travelling with older kids (ages 11 and 15) and we all found the Historic Jamestown interesting as well, i.e. to stand where they stood.....
Later on the same day we drove to Shirley Plantation and had an excellent tour of the home. You can only see the bottom floor, but the stories the guide told us were quite interesting.
We enjoyed Williamsburg as well, but were glad we did Jamestown and Shirley Plantation. One warning, it can get VERY hot in Williamsburg, and the one problem we had was that there were not enough places selling water. They had some vending machines hidden, but they only managed to eat our money!!
Jul 29th, 2007, 10:40 PM
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it is quite overwhelming when you see how MUCH there is to do and see in that area. now a week seems like not enough time!!
we are used to the heat although i canīt stand it. we hope to start early and have a litte luck at same time from mother nature.
we will make sure to take plenty of water. i am surprised there arenīt fountains around.
we are used to the heat although i canīt stand it. we hope to start early and have a litte luck at same time from mother nature.
we will make sure to take plenty of water. i am surprised there arenīt fountains around.
Nov 7th, 2007, 04:47 PM
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Nice trip report. I thought I'd bump this one up because when I planned my trip, I enjoyed reading trip reports. I'm sure your report will help others who are currently planning their first visit to DC. We found DC fascinating!
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