3 Best Sights in Richmond, Fredericksburg and the Northern Neck, Virginia

After leaving Reedville on Route 360, turn left on Route 200 and drive 13 miles to Kilmarnock. Turn right on Route 3 and drive to the little town of Lancaster, the birthplace of Mary Ball. Lancaster House, a four-building complex honoring George Washington's mother, was built about 1798, and contains Washington family memorabilia and historic items related to the county and the Northern Neck. The Steuart-Blakemore Building houses a genealogical library, and the Old Jail is a lending library and archives.

Housed in a restored fisherman's home and a larger building is this educational and activity-oriented museum. Permanent and rotating exhibits document the area's fishing industry, and there are two fishing boats here, a skipjack, the Claud W., and a deck boat, the Elva C., which have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Tangier is a Virginia island in the Chesapeake Bay named by Captain John Smith. This largely unspoiled fishing village with quaint narrow streets also happens to be the soft-shell crab capital of the nation. There's a small airport here for private planes, and it also can be reached by the Chesapeake Breeze ship of Tangier Island. The ship departs at 10 am and returns at 3:30 pm daily, cruising 1½ hours each way. There are Chesapeake Bay cruises that stop here as well, and ships that leave from Onacock, Virginia, and Crisfield, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore. The island has several restaurants serving lunch. From the intersection of highways 360 and 646, drive 1 mile, then turn left on Highway 656 (Buzzard's Point Road), which leads to the dock. Reservations are required.