East coast destination for fall anniversary trip
 

This fall marks a significant wedding anniversary, and we're looking for a destination for a four-day trip somewhere on the east coast. (We live in the Northeast and would consider Cape Cod, but the rest of coastal Mass., as well as southern Maine, is too close to home. We also don't fancy a leaf-peeping trip.) Could be Canada. Could be as far south as Florida. Could be worked as a side trip on a visit to our daughter in DC. Just looking for something memorable.

Newport, RI or Charleston, SC.

I suggest the Charlottesville/Shanendoah Valley area, which is absolutely gorgeous around mid-October. You could take I-66W out of DC to the Front Royal area, then meander down through the SV to Waynesboro, head over to Charlottesville, drive around the nearby horse country, then head back up on Route 29. You could stop somewhere for a day or two, go hiking on the Appalachian Trail, or just investigate the little towns in the area. While in the Charlottesville area, you could spend a night or two at Wintergreen resort. If you want, you could go even further south than Waynesboro. Or, you could take in the Apple Festival in Middletown on 10/15 -10/17. I think you would enjoy it!

How about Key West, Savannah, or Charleston (as previously mentioned)? I also think Montreal would be perfect. All of those destinations would have a very "different" and unique feel from the Northeast, and particularly so during the fall!

How significant?

We celebrated our 50th last month and the significance was not lost on DW who said we should have dinner at The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia regardless of the cost. We did, and it was pricey as we knew it would be, but the food and service were impecable. What a memorable evening for such a special occasion.
www.theinnatlittlewashington.com

Although the town of Washington is only an hour from us, I did not want to drive home afterward. As a result we stayed at the Gay Street Inn, a charming B&B just a short stroll to and from The Inn. gaystreetinn.com

Little Washington is about a two hour drive from Washington, DC.
Both inns can be viewed at Trip Advisor.

You might consider Nova Scotia (if you like celtic music, I think there's a big festival on Cape Breton island in October).

Congratulations on you 50th anniversary Ronkala!

We had a wonderful anniversary at the Inn at Meander Plantation. It is near Orange VA and about 2 hours from DC. The inn was lovely and we took advantage of their cooking school. It was great fun. We took a day trip to Charlottesville, visited Monroe's house and drove around the general area. You'd have to check their schedule.

ronkala, was there a neat gift/craft store nearby? Sorry to hijack this. Owners used to have a sweet shop in Silver Spring before they moved to Little Washington. This has been 20 years so I don't know if they'd still be there.

"Fall" as in September, or fall as in November????

Congrats, ronkala!! What a fabulous place to celebrate. We did the same years ago: dinner at the Inn and then stayed at a B&B.

I like Keswick Hall in the Charlottesville area:

www.keswick.com

Devon, Birdie,
Thankyou for your good wishes.

TDudette, I didn't notice. We were looking for Gay St. when driving into Washington and once at the B&B we settled in and had wine and snacks. We did not go out again 'til it was time for dinner. You could google the yellow pages for Washington and see if it's there.

Good idea, ronkala. I'm STILL not in the habit of going first to internet for info.

Thank you all for your recommendations! Some interesting ideas here.

Fall as in September or October--not as late as November.

If you choose Inn at Little Washington, you need to call one month in advance to get dinner reservations.

I think Quebec City would be lovely at this time of year and has a great European feel to it.

Cape May, NJ, is a lovely place to visit in the fall. The crowds are gone, but the shops are open and the weather is usually beautiful. And you can easily visit other shore towns, such as Wildwood and Ocean City with their boardwalks, and even venture to Atlantic City if you like casinos and shows.

I second the idea of Cape May for a Sept/Oct. trip. Crowds are gone, ocean temps are usually nice and CM has a lot of activities during this time including Victorian Week, Gourmet Week, etc. Many excellent B&Bs - one of our favorites is the Queen Victoria. Great restaurants too.

Charleston, SC is another great destination for a couples getaway.