My brother, sister and I (all post-50) are looking forward to a brief road trip the third week of October. We'll be heading out of Johnson City Tenn up into Virginia. I've got my eye on Appomatox, Monticello and whatever else there is to do within that general radius. We'll have four days, max. I've been exploring past posts, but there's always so much knowledge out in Fodors-land, I thought I'd put out a call for additional info. I suppose history and scenery are at the top of our list (closely followed by eating!). Will we be able to more than fill our time with things to do in that general region? Would taking a train (from where?) into DC for a day or so make any sense, or eat too much into our sadly limited time? Any thoughts?

Oh...and one more question: I've just been looking at the website for the South River Country Inn in Standardsville...Has anyone stayed here - would you recommend it? Thanks!

Call me pushy, but I thought I'd move this up and try again........(

Just found your post -- very similar to mine. Hope we can get some response!

You are putting a lot of driving into just 4 days. Johnson City to Appomatox is a full day and that assumes you only spend a few hours in Appomatox. But personally, I don't see what there is to do there that would take more than a few hours. Monticello and Charlottesville are lovely and you could easily spend the rest of your time there. Taking a train to DC would be difficult since train service south of DC is pretty much non-existent. Driving from Charlottesville to DC is about 2 hours. I live in SW VA and it is beautiful in October. Enjoy your trip.

A fulll day's drive to Appamatox??! I guess I wasn't looking closely enough at the map - I was assuming it'd be about a 4-hour drive. Is there anything we'd want to be sure to see in-between those two points? Are we best off travelling via I-81, or is there a scenic route that would be more enjoyable?

JPSMom - I'm off to search for your post, and hopefully, responses.

I81 is very scary, lots of trucks, so I avoid it whenever I head up the Valley. If you are interested in a scenic route try Route 11 or 460. Route 11 mostly parallels I81. It was the Valley turnpike before the interstate was built. 460 from Roanoke east to Appomatox is a 4-lane easy drive. There are some nice little towns along the way that you miss seeing from the Interstate

I've got the map open right in front of me, Carla, so I see, as you say, how closely 11 follows I-81... it looks like a good alternative. I'm in favor of local color and small towns over interstates, so thanks for the input!