West Virginia and Central Virginia, 2 weeks Oct - Nov
 

We have suddenly decided to plan a trip to WV and VA in late Oct - early Nov. Total trip time of about 2 1/2 weeks.

The rough idea is:

1) Fly into Pittsburgh, rent a car
2) Drive to Salem, WV for a family visit, 3 days
3) Spend a week or more en route to Palmyra, VA
4) Three days visit with friends in Palmyra
5) Return rental car most likely in Richmond, (unless I can get a decent flight out of Charlottesville). Probably spend a few days in Richmond (or Charlottesville) before departing.

Google is giving me this map as a route:
https://goo.gl/maps/oJa6S2w5gk2o4CXB6

On a quick glance it looks like open-jaw flights and car rental is possible and not too expensive. I have not done much research beyond that yet.

We are looking for accommodation and activity options for our two week period. Our interests are:
- Gardens
- Historical sites, Revolutionary or Civil War
- Mansions or stately homes of political or industrial figures in US history
- Leaf peeping and gentle walks (not hikes) in nice natural areas.
- Sitting down with coffee or beer and watching the world

Thanks!

On your to or from the wedding you might stop at Gettysburgh National Battlefield and/ or Harper’s Ferry to start your Civil war tour. There are hundreds of sites in Virginia, google Civil War Trails Virginia for maps to sites. The Williamsburg/Yorktown/Jamestown area has National Historic sites with Visitor Centers that cover the history of the area from the 1600s and both the revolutionary and civil war battlefields.

A bit farther west, look along the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appomotax Corthouse as well as Jefferson’s Montecello as well as Monroe’s homes. Along the James river (rt. 5) , between Richmond and Williamsburg there are plantations you can tour.

oldemalloy, thanks much for the CIvil War Trails website. That is perfect, and has provided more places to visit than I'll hit in this lifetime.

What I'm thinking now for the big picture is come down from Salem WV, spend a few days in the Shenandoah Valley and NP, then base ourselves in Charlottesville for most of the trip (our friends are nearby). From there we can visit the Presidential homes and do various day trips in all directions. Then a few days in Richmond before we fly home. Thanks again.