Winchester/Front Royal
 

We are driving my 83 year old father there on the evening of the 21st, and returning on the 24th (to Pennsylvania/New Jersey). I am a little stuck between the Holiday Inn Blue Ridge Shadows and the George Washington by Wyndham in Winchester. My dad is leaning towards the George Washington, and they are around the same price, so I'll probably go with that, but I was curious about whether anyone recommended one over the other.

My father has a list of Civil War related stuff he'd like to visit, but he sometimes misses the obvious. Any particular must sees for a history buff?

There's not much at Front Royal...at least there didn't used to be. IMO Winchester is much nicer. If it's a toss-up, I'd go with the one your dad prefers - just because he prefers it.

You may want to check to see if there are any re-enactments going on in the area.

I'll ask my personal Civil War buff - who went to school in FR - for other ideas. ;)

Nope, no re-enactments.
http://www.civilwartraveler.com/events/11-11.html

Winchester has more more Civil War related places to see and restaurants. For excellent Thai food go to the Winchester Thai restaurant in the Loudon Street mal. Great soft shell crabs.

The Shenandoah Valley museum in Winchester is very interesting.

Visit the Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove Plantation on route 11 between Middletown and Strasburg. About fifteen-twenty minutes south of Winchester.

The New Market Battlefield and Museum, about forty five minutes south of Winchester off I-81 is also a must.

I haven't been in Front Royal, but passed through Winchester and found it a very charming small town.

Stop here if going through Winchester:

http://www.celebratingpatsycline.org...ric-house.aspx

Ha ha - bardo, we drove by, although there were no tours when we were there. We just happened to mention it yesterday to friends we were visiting with (after a discussion of why I no longer read celebrity biographies)!

If going to visit Civil War sites, then a MUST-VISIT URL is

www.hmdb.com

You can search for historical markers by county, and get the exact location of (pretty much) every such marker, including a photo and text. For instance, here's a list of every historical marker in Winchester County:
http://www.hmdb.org/results.asp?Coun...State=Virginia

As an EXTREME Civil War buff, I have found this site useful in avoiding (1) being a short distance from a marker but not knowing about it, (2) going to a place described as having a marker in an out-dated reference, but it not being there and (3) going to a place that I think SHOULD have a marker but finding nothing there.

BTW, you'll find it stated that Winchester "changed hands 70 times" during the Civil War. I asked about that at the history museum in Winchester, and the reply was that there is no real way to prove or disprove the statement, mainly because battle events are ambiguously recorded and there is no exact definition of "changed hands." Winchester did indeed have a lot more Civil War battles than any place deserved, but the exact number of times it "changed hands" can never be determined.

Thanks! We are not extreme Civil War buffs, even my Dad, although I suspect my kid might become one some day, but we do like history, and this is great. I went ahead and booked the George Washington, so we're set there.

One more thing. Can anyone think of anyplace off of I-81 between Winchester and Carlisle that will serve Thanksgiving Dinner other than a Cracker Barrel, which is my fallback option?

Is Carlisle the end of the trip for the day or are you continuing on to NJ?

If it is the short trip to Carlisle, then I would suggest eating at the Hotel Strasburg about fifteen minutes south of Winchester. It is off route 11 in Strasburg. DW and I used to go there for holiday dinners and special events in our life. They always have a very nice buffet for the day.

If during your stay you will be visiting Belle Grove Plantation/Cedar Creek Battlefield, drive into Strasburg for a look at the hotel. (circa 1905)

We actually thought about staying there, but decided the others looked a little more comfortable (and were a little cheaper). Unfortunately, we are not ending in Carlisle, but will hit the PA Tpke to drop myself and DS off in eastern PA, and my DH will take my father back to NJ.

Our hotel does a Thanksgiving buffet, but it's a little pricey, and I think we'd need to hit it right when it opened (11:30 am) which is really a little early for us.

Are you willing to go a bit off route? I'd do it for the scenery but not sure that would fit in your plans.

A little bit, but not way out of the way. Ideally we'd like to stop around 2 or 3, which I suspect is somewhere around Chambersburg.