Virginia is right beside of me (WV), but in all honesty, we don't make this our travel destination often. It's a pass-through on the way to Disney or Myrtle Beach. But over Thanksgiving, my Dad and I did a road trip to see all the national parks in this state!!! #stampies Here's what we did!!
Charlottesville
Downtown Charlottesville
Home of Thomas Jefferson's pride and joy - University of Virginia. While we didn't tour the campus, we did go to James Madison's Highland (his home) and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello (his home).
Prior to getting to both Monticello and Highland (they are right beside each other basically), you will come to Michie Tavern. There are a lot of shops and the tavern is a functional restaurant. If it's open when you are there, I would definitely make a stop!
We just drove up to James Madison's house, we didn't go in because it didn't open until 11am, and we had other things to go see.
The Drive to Highland - I just thought it was so beautiful.
Monticello is an impressive display of architecture and European beauty. Not to mention the number of books he had, made me pea green with envy. It's about $20 to view the 1st floor of the home and the grounds. There is a hill to climb, but they offer a shuttle service that runs about every 5-10 minutes.
Monticello
Thomas Jefferson
No photos are allowed in the house, but the tour takes about 40 minutes and you learn a good bit about Thomas Jefferson and his life after Presidency. Obviously, Thomas Jefferson is a little controversial since he definitely fathered 4 (more like 7, but only 4 have DNA evidence) children with one of his slaves.Make sure to walk through Mulberry Row, which is where the Slaves lived.
Mulberry Row
Vegetable Garden
Old Chimney
Finally, if you take the path from Mulberry Row down towards the Visitors Center, you will walk to Thomas Jefferson's Grave, you can't get into the cemetery but you can see the huge obelisk that marks his grave.
Food - Bluegrass Grill and Bakery -- best breakfast we have had in a long long time!!!
Appomattox Court House
Fun Fact: This is the actual name of the town. NOT a courthouse in the town of Appomattox, like I had originally thought!
This is where the Confederates and General Lee surrendered to General Grant and the Union.
The actual town was destroyed and the owners of the surrender house tore it down to take it to D.C. to make a Civil War Museum out of it. So everything there is a replication, and most of the artifacts are replications since the Union soldiers took everything they could get their hands on (a sign of times to come for the South).
McLeod House - the surrender house
McLeod House - surrender house
a table in the room where the surrender happened
a table in the room where the surrender happened
If you drive little ways into the town of Appomattox, there is a Battlefield Park. This park is Appomattox Station Battlefield and is the last battle of the Civil War. It is actually where two of my ancestors fought - so we loved it!
Food - Babcock Inn Restuarant is really good food!!
Petersburg
Ok, we stopped here to see the battlefield but honestly, if you aren't a history buff (or have done research and know of ancestors that fought here) I wouldn't make this a stop. BUT there is a house built out of Union tombstones!
No joke. In the Great Depression, the Union cemetery decided to save some money on mowing. They cut the tombstones in half, kept the half with the names and sold the bottom halves.
The Tombstone house builder bought 2,200 of them for $45 dollars. This is the result.
Tombstone House
Richmond
So again, unless you are a history buff then going around to the battlefields is not necessary, but I would totally go to Tredegar Iron Works. This was the largest ironworks in 1860 and serviced the Confederates with guns and ammunition for the Civil WarThis is right on the canal. I would definitely go to the bridge that goes right by the falls and explains the night that Richmond was taken by the Union.
Tredegar Iron Works
Tredegar Iron Works
Richmond Falls
Richmond has almost obliterated its heritage. We found the White House of the Confederacy right beside of an ER. John Marshall House is barely on the map. And monument avenue is beautiful, but I can rightfully see how African Americans would be upset (and they have every right to be). Not one Union monument to be found. I personally think that is horrific and if you want to honor history, you should make sure you do it correctly.
White House of the Confederacy
John Marshall House
J.E.B. Stuart Monument
Robert E. Lee Monument
Jefferson Davis Monument
Stonewall Jackson Monument
Fredericksburg
We made the stop here for the battlefield, but the town is actually really cute and worth a drive through.
Memorial to the Confederate that went over the stone wall to give water to the fallen Union soldiers
The original stone wall from the 1862 Battle
Mount Vernon
George Washington's home. It is absolutely stunning and is only about 10 miles outside of D.C. This is worth dedicating at least 2 hours to explore it fully! Make sure you see inside the house and his grave for sure! I was lucky enough to see some reenactors while we were there. That was definitely cool!
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
George and Martha's Graves
The old vault where they were first buried
Reenactment
Reenactment
George and Martha
George and Martha on their back porch overlooking the Potomac River
Alexandria
Old town Alexandria is beautiful and definitely worth going to see! Not only are there all kinds of shops and food places but none of the houses have been changed since they were built in the early 1700's.
Arlington
So I already touched on this in my D.C. blog post, but just for completeness, I'll put it here as well. Make sure you visit the Arlington Cemetery where the tomb of the unknown soldier is as well as JFK's grave.
Any questions let me know!!! :)
graceparsons2023@gmail.com
