Virginia Itinerary - Am I Missing Anything?
 

My 11-year-old daughter and I leave next week for a Virginia history/culture trip. Here is our itinerary. For food, we like inexpensive but good restaurants. Any additional recommendations? Richmond (2 days) -- visit Agecroft Hall, Maymont House, the Fan, VA Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Confederacy, and White House of the Confederacy. Eat at Sweet Peas, Strawberry St. Cafe, Mama Zu's, 821 Cafe, and have tea at Jefferson Hotel. Charlottesville (2 days) -- tour UVA, Ash-Lawn Highland, and Monticello. Eat at Hardware Store and Crozet Pizza. Staunton (2 days) -- See Blackfriars Playhouse, Frontier Culture Museum, Woodrow Wilson Birthplace, Blue Ridge Parkway. Eat at Mrs. Rowe's. Williamsburg (4 days) -- visit historic area, Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Victory Center, Shirley Plantation, Busch Gardens. Eat at Indian Fields Tavern, W'burg taverns, Chickahominy House, Cheese Shop, Pierce's Pit BBQ, and Sal's by Victor. Thanks in advance for your input!

I think you have covered your bases but if you do get a chance, take in Luray Caverns and while there try their maze. Your also not too far away from Skyline Drive, which is literally like driving at the edge of the sky.....absolutely breathtaking. Have a wonderful trip. I am a Virginia native now living in North Carolina, but I believe Virginia is one of the most beautiful states that there is.

In C'ville I'd dump Hardware Store and go to C&O instead.

That sounds like a wonderful trip. My history-priented daughter and I have been to most of those places spread out over a couple of vacations to VA and Washington DC area.

I agree that Skyline Drive and Luray Caverns, while not strictly within your trip's theme, are well worth the time. When we visited Williamsburg a few years ago, we found that there were two Jamestowns (the recreation and the archaeological dig), both fascinating.

We were surprised and delighted at the Frontier Culture Museum. It deserves a good chunk of your time, and to be better known in general.

My daughter is now in college and chose to be a history major and to find a college in Washington DC, partly because of experiences like this. Have a great time!

Thanks to all for your advice. A couple of questions: (1) What makes the C&O restaurant special and what kind of food do they serve? (2) The Luray Caverns and maze sound wonderful. Originally, I had planned to drive the Skyline Drive, but then decided on the Blue Ridge Parkway because it's further south and supposedly the rhodondendrums will be blooming near the road while we're there (around June 3-5). Will there be good blooms on the Skyline Drive at this time? We will have only 1 day to make a scenic drive, so I want to choose the best possible one.

Also, a Fodorite suggested the Blue Ridge Parkway because there is no charge for that drive, while there is one for Skyline Drive. P.S. to "Anonymous": Washington D.C. is our next travel destination!

I live in Charlottesville and always have wondered why tourists are always told to eat at the Hardware Store. It's food leaves no good impression. It's menu is very large, but may be suitable for foods that an 11 year old prefers. However, the suggestion to go to C&O is great for adults! It has French-inspired food with a great deal of charm. It is situated on a former C&O railroad bunkhouse and greasy spoon. Wonderful dining experience. Enjoy Charlottesville and all the other stops in Virginia!

I looked up the C&O, and while I'm sure I'd greatly enjoy eating there with my husband, its menu is a bit expensive for this mother-daughter trip, especially since I'm not all that sure my daughter would enjoy its offerings. Are there any less expensive alternatives to the Hardware Store that have good food and ambience?

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When you come visit us in DC don't forget the surrounding areas, Alexandria VA, where George Washingtons estate is Woodlawn plantation and specifically Old Town Alexandria with cobblestone streets, Lees boyhood home and plenty more. Have fun in southern VA

I thought the hardware store was just fine. It is a hamburger, soup and sandwich place. I would take my 11 year old there.( and I have!)
Along the cobblestone strip is a ton of eating places. We ate italian last time we were there. You can wander and read the menus and choose.

Thanks to all for the great advice and tips. We are very excited about our trip!

Hardware Store is a wonderful spot on the downtown mall to grab a sandwich, salad, burger, etc. You can sit outside on the mall and do some great people watching!

In Staunton, I'd skip Mrs. Rowe's and go to the Pullman Restaurant (pricy, but it's the old train station and the atmosphere is fun), The Depot-next to the Pullman, or Mill Street Cafe - best ribs in the area. All of these have great meals for lunch or dinner.

Have a great trip!

In Williamsburg, bring your daughter to Sno-to-Go for dessert. It is out on Richmond Rd. towards Outback.

Birdie- what's at Sno-to-Go? I've passed it and always thought it was a "snowcone" shop! I've enjoyed the miniature golf nearby.

LaurafromTx: I enjoyed the Science Museum in Richmond, located in the former Union Station. Richmond has a LOT to see, and I always fail to spend enough time there, favoring Wbg.

Wow -- with all there is to do and see and eat, I wish we'd doubled the length of our trip!

Great itinerary. A note about Crozet Pizza (which is delicious)-- they are sometimes closed on Sundays or Mondays so if you were planning to eat there on either of those days, call ahead
to make sure they will be open (434) 823-2132. And no matter what day of the week it is, call and make a reservation; although UVA is out of school, the restaurant is small and popular and can fill up.

If you happen to find some time I (as a native of Virginia) would suggest a look at Northern VA (Middleburg, Aldie, Paris, Millwood, Upperville with a stop in Harpers Ferry WVA.

The area is rich with history and colonial architecture and is being lost to generic sprawl

Rb - I thought the same for a long time until someone urged me to go and now we are all hooked. All I can say is that its like the best iccee you've ever had. The line of teens there on a Saturday night will tell you how popular it is amongst the locals. My kids look forward to it opening every year. The stuffed version is very popular even though it sounds disgusting - soft serve ice cream surrounded by sno. If you are adventurous, try one of the more unique flavors such as frog in a blender: green and red which I think is watermelon and lime or some other bizarre combo. They have just about every flavor you can think of. Just don't go on Sunday, its closed.

Greenfieldhunter, that area is farther north than we'll be able to travel, but I'll definitely try to add it to our next Washington D.C. trip. I had not heard much about it, so thanks for the tip. Birdie, your description of Sno-to-Go definitely has me intrigued. I'll post my opinion of its offerings on my trip report once we get back! Thanks again to all for your wonderful advice!

Also in Williamsburg is Presidents' Park. If it's been mentioned, I missed it. The park has huge busts of each president, along with signs about them and also some audio at some of the presidents. My 5th grade son really liked this. In the lobby of the building there is a "movie" about all of the presidents. We really enjoyed it. I believe it's right near Water Country.

Is this a theme park and, if so, what is the charge?

Covington, VA is the site of Humpback Bridge, the only humped back covered bridge left in the world. It is in a beautiful setting and is only about 1 hr. and 15 minutes west of Staunton on route I-64 (Take I-81 to I-64).

The drive from Staunton/Lexington to Covington is gorgeous. An extremely friendly city with lots of pretty scenery, it is 20 miles from The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA, an even more beautiful town.

President's Park is not a theme park; more like a bizarre sculpture garden of giant heads. I don't know the admission price. I will try to find out. It seems like a pretty cool way to learn about the Presidents.

www.presidentspark.org $9.75 for adults, $6.50 6-17.

Thanks for the extra tips!

I live in Virginia and use the following site frequently for planning outings. This is broken down by region of the state and contains hyperlinks to many of the destinations: http://www.timetravelers.org/destinations.html

RICHMOND: There is more to see at Maymont than just the house. If the weather is nice, be sure to include time to walk around the park - it has lovely gardens and great nature exhibits.

WILLIAMSBURG: Colonial Williamsburg is a wonderful place to spend a day or two. Last time I was there little girls could rent period dresses for their day of touring.

I've never been to President's Park, as I think the concept of looking at oversized sculptures is less than appealing to me. If you do visit there, please let us know your impression of that in relation to all of the other sites you visit.

YORKTOWN - JAMESTOWN: Both Yorktown and Jamestown have two separate tourist sites - each has a facility that is part of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and also has a facility that is part of the National Park Service. I think both compliment each other and have their own features to offer. There is a combined ticket for Jamestown-Yorktown that gives you a discount. The fort at Jamestown is a great experience for the feel of life at that time, while my favorite Jamestown site is watching the glass blower in the National Park. Before leaving the Jamestown area a trip on the Jamestown ferry is fun if you have never experienced such a ride (It's free and doesn't really take a long time). You can turn around and come back or the Surry House on the other side is a good place to eat.

I guarantee you will not run out of things to do. Expect Staunton to Williamsburg to be your longest drive.

Alvira, how I wish I had known about the timetravelers.org website when I first started planning our trip. It is fabulous! I'll try to browse thoroughly before we leave.

When in Charlottesville, be sure to pop by Bodo's Bagels (there's two locations).

Do not believe the others. Richmond magazines just named mama zu as the worst service in Richmond. If you want an expeirience in rudeness, just yell the owner, enzo and see his reaction. He told me "if you don't like it, don't come back". You got good asdvice about Me Kong, a great Vietnemese meal.. If you go at lunch time, you will not believe the prices of the menu.