If Appomattox Court House is too far out of the way, here are two other Civil War sites I also like in Virginia:

<B>Richmond National Battlefield Park</B> ( http://www.nps.gov/rich/ )- specifically the Civil War Visitor Center at Tredegar Iron Works and the Battlefield Tour route that begins there and which you can view on the official park map: http://hfc.nps.gov/carto/PDF/RICHmap1.pdf

<B>Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park</B> ( http://www.nps.gov/frsp/ ) - specifically Chancellorsville Battlefield and Visitor Center west of Fredericksburg on State Route 3. The original Fredericksburg battlefield site in downtown Fredericksburg has been so built up over the past several decades that it doesn't offer a very compelling visitor experience today, whereas Chancellorsville is still very rural and undisturbed. Retrieve a park map here: http://hfc.nps.gov/carto/PDF/FRSPmap1.pdf

As for <B>Harpers Ferry</B>, two short hikes cover ground where Stonewall Jackson surrounded and captured 12,500 Union troops in September 1862 - the largest capture of Union forces during the entire Civil War. Refer to the Bolivar Heights battlefield and Murphy-Chambers Farm area on the park map: http://hfc.nps.gov/carto/PDF/HAFEmap1.pdf (warning: 16 MB PDF file!) You can also hike across the Potomac River from the Lower Town Historic District and 1) walk along remnants of the old Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and 2) hike up Maryland Heights for a memorable view of the town and confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers.

Final note: by far my favorite Civil War site of all is <B>Antietam National Battlefield</B> ( http://www.nps.gov/anti/ ) - about 12 miles northwest of Harpers Ferry in Sharpsburg, Maryland. Almost completely undisturbed by development and pretty easy to tour and comprehend.

Enjoy!

On your way from Winchester to Staunton on I-81 you cold stop at the New Market Battlefield which is just about midway between the two.

Springtime is beautiful in Virginia. The cherry blossoms are in bloom in Washington DC and the gardens are lush and beautiful in Richmond, all over VA.

In Richmond, there are home and garden tours in April usually. They usually have some of the most beautiful homes in Richmond on tour.
Dining is great and you can find all sorts from cheap to expensive. Lots of history in Richmond. The James River runs right through the city and if you are outdoorsman, you can hike the Buttermilk trail.
I agree the Fine Arts museum is great, along with Maymont park is pretty, Carytown area for dining and wandering, Universiy of Richmond-gorgeous campus, etc..

Williamsburg has the historic town so it is great for seeing the colonial times of Virginia's history.

Charlottesville: Monticello is a must. University of Virginia is a pretty campus and the town is nice.

Staunton is a pretty town and a small old town feel.

The mountains and valleys in Virgina are very pretty to drive through with many outdoor activities like hiking and fishing.
There are several towns that are built around some of the state universities.

If you take Route 5 between Williamsburg and Richmond, you can stop at a plantation home along the way. It is a rural highway and is tree lined and very pretty.

You've left out a MUST see in Richmond: the Confederate White House! It's right in the middle of downtown on Clay Street by the VCU Hospital. The house is almost exactly as it was when the Davis family lived there, and the tours are very informative. I've actually been through it twice and both tours focused on different things! The Museum of the Confederacy is very neat, and has tons of artifacts, including Lee's entire field tent!

If you have time to stop by Shirley Plantation on the James River, it is good for an hour or two. The grounds are very nice, and the house tour is fun.

We skipped Ash Lawn Highland and just did Montpelier and Monticello. The Jefferson and Barboursville wineries are definitely worth a visit!

You should definitely visit a couple of wineries in Virginia. My partner and I have been to over 50 of them. Each one is different and they have their own pesonalities. There are quite a few near Charlottesville, and we were at Afton Mountain and Pollock just last week. This web site has lots of useful info:
http://www.virginiawine.org/

Kangagirl, I am thinking you could combine a couple of your first items into one day. We got an early start, and spent quite a while at Mount Vernon and still had time to Manassas; it was tight though. Probably better to combine Mount Vernon with old-town Alexandria.

We did not tour any other Civil War Battlefields so I cannot tell you whether Manassas was better choice than the ones mentioned above. We did enjoy it, but the Ranger tour really helped make it come alive. The interpretive center was nice but not too large.

I myself am now wishing we'd made it to Fredericksburg too.

Finally, also thought I'd mention that the Smithsonian has a larger air musuem in Virginia that we did not make it to; supposed to be excellent.

Here's a trip report I filed after a short trip we took in the spring of 2011. Might be of use.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ring-break.cfm

Photos: http://gardyloo.us/Spring2011.htm

Harper's Ferry is tiny- you can walk around and see everything in a few hours. Right up the river is adorable Shepherdstown, WV.

You can hike along the tow path beside the river between HF and Shepherdstown (a pretty lengthy hike but flat, or drive part way and leave the car at a carpark to shorten it.)

I spent a lovely weekend in Shepherdstown at the Thomas Shepherd Inn. Very nice innkeepers, right in town, charming rooms, and gourmet breakfast. I would base myself there and drive down to HF for a visit (better dining options in Shepherdstown). From the inn, you are about 10 minutes from Antietam battlefield.

I live in Alexandria, and would recommend not trying to do Great Falls and Mt Vernon in one day. Mt Vernon has a lot to see (the gardens are wonderful if you are interested in gardening or colonial life). The hiking at Great Falls is also wonderful but both in one day would be exhausting, unless you just want to get out of the car and look at the falls.

I would recommend going south to Mt Vernon one morning, then late lunch and walking around back in Alexandria. Then do Great Falls and Arlington Cemetery on the same day (they are in the same direction going north from Alexandria.) Biking from Old Town Alexandria to Mt Vernon is a pretty long ride (maybe 11 miles) and the bike trail can get crowded with bikers. I think you need to love biking to enjoy going there and back by bike. There is also a boat tour you can take from the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria to Mt Vernon.

If you want a great foodie evening in Old Town, make a reservation at Restaurant Eve's tasting room.

If you want to see the horse country in Virginia, Middleburg is an adorable, very "horsey" town surrounded by wineries. This is a great place to bike from winery to winery (there are also tours so you don't have to drive will tasting all the wine). Be warned that Virginia wine might not stack up to Australian wine (sorry to be disloyal to my state and it has really come a long way in the past decade but it isn't top notch).

Have a great trip!