OC-Friendly Day Trips

Since we got married (and she moved to Virginia), my wife has been expressing the desire to see more of her new home state. I've tried to take her on a few day trips to historical sights (such as Williamsburg a few months ago or Skyline Drive on our honeymoon), and I've been compiling a list of other places we can go (preferably within a 3-4 hour drive of NoVa, to reduce the need to stay overnight, and therefore the cost), but I could use a few more ideas, especially for activities where I can OC. (I've been to many of the historical sights in my 26 years living in Virgina, but most of them were when I was a minor and couldn't carry.)

I'm already planning on trips to the major battlefield parks (Appomattox, Richmond, Fredericksburg, etc), and some of the other major historical sights (Montpelier, Monticello, St. John's Church, etc), but I would really like to find other ideas.

Any thoughts?

Take her to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond. I take my wife there every year. It is very nice and there is a lot of stuff to look at. I think it is $11.00 to get in but totally worth it.

Don't forget about the Manassas Battlefield, there's a bunch of events coming up next month there for the 150th celebration.

Shennandoah Valley. Horse country around Fauquier County on out to Front Royal, as well as Culpeper & Marshall. Hatton's Ferry or White's Ferry - both less stressful for me that the Williamsburg-Scotland Neck one. Great Falls/ Washington, Va. I-66 out to Strassburg, down I-81 to Staunton (with maybe a stop at New Market) & then up US-211 back to I-66 and home - especially in the fall for viewing the changing color of the leaves. Check out the Civil War Trail - loads of different branches. Go visit the Indian eservations - a good guide at http://www.virginiafoundation.org/VIHP/docs/Heritage Trail_2ed.pdf .

Stay away from these folks - http://www.virginia.org/TravelGuide/ - they are out to get you to spend $$. (Not that I don't appreciate their fine work with the tourists that come to leave their cash in Virginia.) (And another thing - if they call it Tourist Season, why can't we shoot them?)

Enough to get you started?

stay safe.

Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, the Wilderness and Chancellorsville, Appomattox Courthouse. You already know the Tidewater is loaded with places to go, things to do, and stuff to see but that is not likely a one day thing. Skidmark mentioned Washington, VA. Did you know that the #1 restaurant in an inn or hotel in the world (not in Virginia, and not in the U.S. but on earth) is located in that little town? The Inn at Little Washington is world famous.. and expensive.

If you go to Front Royal, I highly recommend stopping for lunch at Melting Pot Pizza and get their "All The Way" pie. The best pizza you can imagine. It's nothing like the chains. Winchester is about 20 miles north of Front Royal and Middleburg is not too far from Fairfax. Purcellville and Berryville are nice little Virginia towns to visit.

Why not start out with Charlottesville (Monticello is there) and Fredericksburg but not on the same day. Allow a full day to enjoy yourself. When in Fredericksburg, indulge yourself and stop by Carl's Frozen Custard. You'll love it. And a day trip to Colonial Beach, or make it part of a trip to Fredericksburg should be enjoyable.

Have fun.

SouthernBoy said:

Why not start out with Charlottesville (Monticello is there)...

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Have you OCed at Monticello? I've heard mixed claims, since it's not owned by the National Park Service, but by a private organization.

I second Middleburg and Aldie, as well as Old Town Winchester (Snow White Grill which is the original White Castle is located there, a favorite of Patsy Cline. The best milkshakes and burgers I've ever had).

However, Downtown Leesburg is one of my favorite places to kill a day. Just stay off the courthouse property and you'll be fine. Lots of great little shops and restaurants. I'll highly suggest Windy City Red Hots. It's a great little OC-friendly chicago-style (ironic?) hot dog joint, absolutely delicious and CHEAP. Aim for one of their Leesburg First Friday nights, where many of the businesses come out to play, lots of live music, food, wine tastings, etc. www.leesburgfirstfriday.com

^ my 2 cents ^

Don't forget Great Falls. It's beautiful in the summer, has great canoeing and kayaking, and it was the site of one of the first "gold rushes" in the USA (in the early 1800s)...

Dreamer said:

Don't forget Great Falls. It's beautiful in the summer, has great canoeing and kayaking, and it was the site of one of the first "gold rushes" in the USA (in the early 1800s)...

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seconded

Hike on the AT in Shenandoah National Park (or Old Rag, or anywhere in the blue ridge) during the Fall, go to the beach and/or kayaking in lakes in the Summer. There has to be horse riding trips somewhere in this state. Belle Isle in Richmond?

Y'all stay the heck away from Carl's! It's on the Register of Historic Places and the lines are long enough without you making them even longer. Besides, I'll bet you neither have exact change nor a handful of singles to swap for fives, tens or twenties so they can make change for the other bozos without exact change. Worst of all, I'll just bet some of you are going to try to get a chocolate shake or malt made with chocolate custard.

Go clog up the new Steak & Shake in Massaponox.

stay safe.

Jonton said:

Have you OCed at Monticello? I've heard mixed claims, since it's not owned by the National Park Service, but by a private organization.

I second Middleburg and Aldie, as well as Old Town Winchester (Snow White Grill which is the original White Castle is located there, a favorite of Patsy Cline. The best milkshakes and burgers I've ever had).

However, Downtown Leesburg is one of my favorite places to kill a day. Just stay off the courthouse property and you'll be fine. Lots of great little shops and restaurants. I'll highly suggest Windy City Red Hots. It's a great little OC-friendly chicago-style (ironic?) hot dog joint, absolutely delicious and CHEAP. Aim for one of their Leesburg First Friday nights, where many of the businesses come out to play, lots of live music, food, wine tastings, etc. www.leesburgfirstfriday.com

^ my 2 cents ^

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Good suggestions, JonTon. No, I've never carried into Monticello... it's been many years since I was there.

skidmark said:

Y'all stay the heck away from Carl's! It's on the Register of Historic Places and the lines are long enough without you making them even longer. Besides, I'll bet you neither have exact change nor a handful of singles to swap for fives, tens or twenties so they can make change for the other bozos without exact change. Worst of all, I'll just bet some of you are going to try to get a chocolate shake or malt made with chocolate custard.

Go clog up the new Steak & Shake in Massaponox.

stay safe.

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If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a slight affinity for the place.

I believe Carl's is an outgrowth of what was locally known in the Falls Church area back in the 40's and 50's as Sponcello's... also know as G&W Custard (I think that's right. They were close to the southeast corner of route 50 and Annandale Road. But the absolute best frozen custard back those days was a diner in Falls Church that only lasted for two years. It was called The Rusty Duck. The current Falls Church library on North Virginia Avenue sits on the Rusty Duck's foundation.

Pick up a copy of the Thursday Post once in a while. Or borrow/steal your neighbor's "Local Living" section, which lists lots of intriguing things. It's where I learned of the Cardboard Boat Regatta; whenever Herndon or Reston or Fairfax or anywhere else has a town festival, it's listed; and often they have suggestions on good day trips.

Natural Bridge is a must see.

Endless or Luray caverns.

If you like outdoor attractions....

..pick up the DeLorme "Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer" (sp?). Wife and I have done a number of nice "waterfall trips" in the mountains. Many are roadside, others a short hike. Also well documented are the State Parks, Wildlife Managment Areas, boat landings, etc.

Enjoy!

as far as I know it's private property and I don't know their policy on carrying, but Pamplin Park near Petersburg is worth a visit. It's the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier and even though I'm far from being a civil war enthusiast (only because I was born and grew up in another country) I really enjoyed visiting the place when I went. Very imformative and you get a personal guide in the form of an mp3 player to take around with you as the exhibits have numbers on the display cases that you punch into the mp3 player and it tells you about them, meaning you can keep looking at the exhibit instead of taking your eyes off of it to read a notice.
Plan on spending a large part of the day there to see everything especially if you are an enthusiast. I'd recommend it to anyone, perhaps someone else knows their feelings about carrying as it was 2004 when I was there, back in the days before I carried

skidmark said:

Y'all stay the heck away from Carl's!

Go clog up the new Steak & Shake in Massaponox.

stay safe.

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LOL! I agree.

Since you seem to be an ice cream/shake aficionado... have you tried Moo Thru in Bealton VA? They make it with all local dairy products. http://moothru.com/

And while you are in that area, try to catch the Flying Circus Air Show (although I don't know their stance on OC...) http://www.flyingcircusairshow.com/

Tess said:

Pick up a copy of the Thursday Post once in a while. Or borrow/steal your neighbor's "Local Living" section, which lists lots of intriguing things. It's where I learned of the Cardboard Boat Regatta; whenever Herndon or Reston or Fairfax or anywhere else has a town festival, it's listed; and often they have suggestions on good day trips.

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Careful. The Washington ComPost has been known to cause contamination of the brain. If you do happen to peruse through that rag, it is advisable to do so with surgical gloves and a good antiseptic (called the Constitution and the Bill of Rights) close by.

For those not really into hiking but maybe wanting an easy hike with spectacular views, Stony Man and Mary's Rock in SNP are excellent and highly recommended.
Stony Man: http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=281238
http://www.hikingupward.com/SNP/StonyMan/

Mary's Rock: http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=76649
http://virginiatrailguide.com/2009/06/26/marys-rock/

For those wanting more of a challenge, Old Rag is the motherlode of SNP hikes, but there are many other great hikes. In the GW National Forest, the Big Schloss is a relatively easy hike with awesome views and great camping either at the trailhead or at the top. http://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/BigSchloss/

Anyone interested in going on a hike, feel free to contact me, I have started going more often to get in shape. Going out to SNP either tomorrow or Saturday.

Jonesy said:

In the GW National Forest, the Big Schloss is a relatively easy hike with awesome views and great camping either at the trailhead or at the top. http://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/BigSchloss/

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Only problem with GWNF is no open carry. CC is okay with CHP, though.