I have some recommendations re: your upcoming D.C./VA road trip. First of all,
in D.C. please make sure you hit the main monuments and museums. The Lincoln Memorial,
the Viet Nam Wall, the Korean War Memorial, and the Reflecting Pool (site of MLK's
famous "I Have a Dream" speech) are all very moving and all in close proximity
to each other. The Mall is gorgeous in the spring with all the cherry trees in bloom.
And a visit to D.C. just wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Washington Monument!
I do not know how hard/easy it is to get a tour of the White House these days, but
you can at least stroll by the outside and check out the grounds. As far as the museums
go, I personally think the Air and Space Museum is super - lots of fun, interactive
stuff! The Smithsonian has the huge wooly mammoth, and the National Gallery always
has cool art exhibits going on. The National Holocaust Museum is excellent - but
very upsetting, as you might expect. If you can, fit in visits to Georgetown and
Oldtown - these are pretty areas with good shopping and dining - every kind of cuisine
imaginable. Oldtown has some good Irish pubs I frequent, such as Murphy's and Ireland's
Own.
Virginia is my birthplace, so I have lots of suggestions for things to do in this
state! First of all, it is known as 'the Birthplace of Presidents' (8 so far - more
than any other state!), so I highly recommend you take advantage of the opportunity
to tour some of their homes, which are maintained as museums. Mount Vernon (George
Washington's home) is beautifully maintained with docents in Colonial Garb to guide
you around. Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home) is also very beautiful with many
of Mr. Jefferson's interesting innovations throughout the home and vast horticultural
specimens about the grounds. My undergrad university, James Madison University in
Harrisonburg, is named after another one of these presidents. Drive through the Shenandoah
Valley and do the Skyline Drive route - in the spring this area is very beautiful
as all the apple and dogwood trees are in bloom. It is also a beautiful drive in
the fall once the leaves have turned - you'll see a riot of flame red, bright yellow,
orange, burgundy, bronze, and parti-colored leaves on display all along the route.
Near the Shenandoah Valley you can visit the Lurray Caverns which are an interesting
natural phenomena - lots of fascinating underground stalagmite and stalactite formations.
There is also the Staunton Frontier Farm Museum in this area with faithfully reconstructed
farmsteads of the Irish, Scotch-Irish, English, and German types. The farms are in
working order, and costumed docents show you how the various farm tasks would have
been performed back in the day. My JMU Shakespeare professor, Dr. Ralph A. Cohen,
is currently heading a project to have a reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
built in Staunton. When it is completed, his outstanding acting troupe, the Shenandoah
Shakespeare Express, will have a permanent and appropriate home in which to perform.
Richmond has some pretty areas (sic the Fan) and lots of history. You can visit a
variety of Civil War battle fields depending on what route you take. Richmond has
plenty of museums and monuments, my favorite of each respectively being the Edgar
Allan Poe Museum and the Arthur Ashe statue. There is a cool bohemian shopping and
dining area in Richmond near VCU - here you'll find vintage clothing stores, artsy
stores, home décor shops to suit EVERY taste, antique shops, etc.
DEFINITELY visit Colonial Williamsburg - it is lovely and educational. After purchasing
a ticket you may visit a variety of 18th century shops (such as the apothecary's,
the general store, the cobbler's, the jewelry shop, the milliner's, etceteras where
people are practicing the old fashioned trades for you to watch and ask questions
of) and government buildings. You may also visit the bakery (try the homemade gingerbread
and root beer!), the jail, the governor's mansion, the arsenal, the stocks, and several
inns. I recommend you have peanut soup at the King's Arms - DELICIOUS! You can pick
up really cool colonial presents and mementos, such as old-fashioned toys, the distinctive
blue-glazed pottery, hand-crafted silver and pewter items, old-fashioned candy, old-fashioned
garb and millinery, wassail and mint julep mix, old-fashioned kitchen utensils, colonial
stationary and quill pens, etc. The colonial-garbed employees are very friendly and
informative, and the cobble stoned streets and colonial decor really take you back
in time. Throughout the day they have reenactors putting on various performances
relating to the history of the area. If you go in December you'll get a real treat
- the colonial Christmas decorations are fantastic! All the homes and buildings in
Colonial Williamsburg compete with each other each year to see who can come up with
the best decorations using only what the colonists would have had available - greenery,
candy, fruit, vegetables, nuts, berries, gingerbread men, toys, candles, even cotton
pods!
Next to Colonial Williamsburg is Merchant's Square, where there are some nice shops,
including the Scottish House. There are also lots of excellent outlets for bargain
shopping in non-colonial Williamsburg (including the Williamsburg Pottery) as well
as a beautiful, meticulously groomed, Old World-themed amusement park called Busch
Gardens if you have the time/inclination. Busch Gardens is a lot of fun - there are
excellent rides (the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster and Escape from Pompeii are
probably my favorites), and in each country (Italy, France, Germany, England, Scotland,
New France/Canada) you find the food, rides, music and entertainment, buildings,
decorations, signs, and employee uniforms designed to reflect that country's culture.
You get free beer samples at the Hospitality Center (the park is owned by Anheuser
-Busch), there is a cool petting zoo (with all my baby goat friends!), and all ages
are catered to throughout. It really is a classy park.
Very close to Colonial Williamsburg you will find two other very important historical
sites: Yorktown, site of a famous battle in the American Revolutionary War, and Jamestown,
site of the FIRST English settlement in the New World. Jamestown predates the unfortunate
arrival of all those self-righteous puritanical religious zealots up in Plymouth,
Massachusetts, I might add, and is most famous due to some of the colorful characters
of its past such as Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, and Chief Powattan. Jamestown
is also site of some very important archaeological digs. Both Yorktown and Jamestown
are interesting and educational with costumed docents performing various colonial-era
tasks.
The Tidewater area, where I am from, is also very nice. There are all kinds of festivals
going on in this area, particularly in the spring, summer, and fall - far too many
to name, often several in one weekend. Virginia Beach has gone to great pains to
clean up its board walk. A walk on the beach is always very pleasant. There are a
variety of small museums in the area and a nice place called Sea Shore State Park
where you can camp, beach comb, etc. Norfolk, where I live, is worth visiting if
you are interested in the maritime/naval connections in the area. I think Nauticus
is a great museum to visit to learn about this. You can also take the ferry over
from Waterside to visit Oldtown Portsmouth, which is very quaint. The new MacArthur
Mall is totally revitalizing the downtown area, I'm happy to say. There is to be
a nice new Irish pub built on Granby Street in time for St. Patrick's Day, 2000.
There are a variety of historic homes in downtown Norfolk to visit, and the small
but lovely Chrysler Museum is well worth a visit for art lovers. If you go on a Wednesday,
admission is free! The Ghent area, my stomping grounds, is the most bohemian area
to be found between the east coast and Richmond - lots of artsy shops, good restaurants,
the Naro Expanded Theatre (shows art films, foreign movies, small independent flicks,
etc.), a Tea Room in a painted lady, antique stores, and even an old fashioned drive-in
joint called Doumar's where you can get great BBQ sandwiches and rootbeer floats,
among other favorites. Doumar's claim to fame is that the ice cream cone was invented
here! Nearby is the lovely Hermitage Museum, an authentic Tudor structure filled
with antique furniture and art from all around the world. The grounds are beautiful
- and there is even a
special croquet field!
This is a very general overview, I know - please let me know if you want specifics
on anything! Virginia is a really beautiful state with a very varied geography -
cities, farms, mountains, beaches, etc. People for the most part tend to be very
hospitable - it is the south, after all! I hope you enjoy your visit thoroughly.
:)