Colonial/Civil War Virginia, Blue Ridge Pkwy & Nashville

Hi!
I’m from the East Coast, lived in Maryland, worked in DC and now live near Charlotte, NC. Here are my thoughts:

1) Our favorite things in Williamsburg were the extra experiences — the tour with Martha Washington, the Witch Trial and dinner at the Kings Arms. Really made for a great visit, even though it was my third time there.
2) The Spy Museum in DC is super cool.
3) Tons in and around Asheville. Biltmore is just huge and impressive. The grounds will be gorgeous and there is a special Chiluly exhibit there now. We have done day there and then went back a second day for a rooftop tour, winery, horseback riding, etc. Nearby, hikes, waterfalls, etc are great. But we also love wandering the art galleries, going to the Pinball Museum, visiting the River Arts District and breweries. By this point in the trip, you may be ready to focus on one spot, and Asheville and the Biltmore are great for that. French Broad Chocolate factory tour, glass blowing class — all stuff to look into. Chai Pani (mentioned in NY Times article) is AMAZING. Go if you like Indian food. Be prepared to wait if they don’t take reservations.
4) Look to see if it is still apple season when you will be in NC and get some apple cider doughnuts :-).

The African American History Museum is fantastic. You must have timed tickets so if you have not reserved a time, do that ASAP. I was just there for the first time last month and spent the better part of a day there and need to go back. The history section is extensive and covers 3 floors. I only got as far as the 1960s. For the cafeteria at the museum, I’d suggest either going early of late. I left the exhibit about 12:30 planning to get lunch. The line was incredibly long. I went back to the history exhibit (which unfortunately is one way so there is no way to re-enter in the middle. I had to do the long walk back to where I had left off). I returned to the cafeteria around 2pm (cafe closes at 3) and the line was a little shorter. After lunch, I headed to the cultural exhibits upstairs focusing on the music exhibit.

In Williamsburg, get a sandwich on french bread with house dressing at The Cheese Shop.
https://cheeseshopwilliamsburg.com/sandwiches/. I went to college in Williamsburg so I have a special place in my heart for the William and Mary campus, particularly the Wren yard, the sunken gardens, and the Crim Dell.

I’d probably skip Fredericksburg and Richmond unless you have extra time. You can easily fill two days in Williamsburg and two days in Charlottesville.

I’d normally suggest stopping in Staunton and seeing a play at the American Shakespeare Center, but it is out of the way if you are going from C’ville to Appomattox. Similarly, unless you want to hike, Shenandoah N.P. is out of the way and you will get beautiful scenery along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Sounds like a great trip. I have a trip down to Asheville on my radar for the future.

In Appomattox stay at the Appomattox Inn and Suites great location and wonderful breakfast included. Grandson stayed there after we did and felt the same. Hard to compare Hearst to Biltmore but would give Biltmore a few extra points as there seemed to be more freedom to wander around. Good lunch there as well. We enjoyed Richmond and their Holocaust museum it was very well done. Enjoyed the Edgar. Alan Poe museum. Very small but sitting outside in the enclosed courtyard with a couple of resident black cats was very appropriate. I think the Holocaust museum was a little bit better than the one in DC. In DC really try to see changing of the guard at Arlington and the Marine corps flag raising statue is so very impressive especially light up at night. Enjoy.

For the Shenandoah part, we stayed at a resort in Massanutten for a week and had a blast. We did the park. Had a nice dinner at one of the lodges. We spent some time in Harrisonburg, and drove around James Madison. One of the highlights for me was going to New Market and going to the Virginia Museum of the Civil War and walking the battlefield. I still think about the people who lived on the farm there while the battle raged around them. Man I cannot imagine. We found a winery near there as well. One of the days we headed to Staunton and did the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, such a cool place! We also travelled to Monticello. The hubby fished one of the other days. There is so much to do there, I would love to go back for another week.

Another jaunt for us was the Smokies. We stayed in a VRBO up in the mountains outside Gatlinburg. Hubby went fishing with a guide. We found Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge to be super touristy, but found an artisan trail outside Gatlinburg that was really cool. Love supporting local artists. We also went to Cherokee one day. That was pretty cool, not a ton to do but we wandered through the shops. We spent a lot of time in the park. Love Cades Cove. In Gatlinburg, we were shocked at the amount of tax on food, at the time (at least 10 years ago) it was 10%, I am sure it is even more now, so we decided to get stuff for breakfast and lunch and only eat out at dinner time. Stay away from the Trout House, worst dinner of my life, I felt so bad for the fish that gave its life for such a terrible meal.

When we were in Washington in fall of 22, many of the museums at the Smithsonian were closed during the early days of the week. If you like art, the National Gallery was the museum that was open on those days. Since the other museums we wanted to see were closed, we went to the National Zoo.

The best Civil War battle site is Gettysburg, but you're not going there.

You should eat at one of the colonial taverns in Williamsburg but you need to make a reservation ASAP.

You will not be able to go anywhere very fast on the Parkway.

You must go to the Oconoluftee Cherokee village. The guided tour is excellent. Be warned that traffic in GSMNP can be horrific.

And as we always say on the RS Forum, you've planned a lot for 17 days. Definitely no time for Richmond.

What great responses. Thanks all.

Of immediate use … make a rez now for the African American National History Museum. Look more deeply into Williamsburg planning. The comment on the Indian restaurant in Asheville. And look into Oconaluftee Village - which I had not heard of.

We understand the Parkway is slow going. Even slower this year on the stretch between Roanoke and Blowing Rock due to construction and one way plus full road closures between the VA/NC border and Blowing Rock.

As for Richmond, probably not. Shenandoah … probably not, but I can look more deeply into the battlefield before deciding that.

Still interested in hearing more. Thanks.

And I’ll remember to share your grief for that trout, Susan.

I lived in Fredericksburg for three years. It’s a cute town but probably only interesting if you are a Civil War buff or interested in all things George Washington. Virginia has many good wineries. Promoting Virginia wines was the pet project of a former First Lady and she did her job well. If you enjoy wine there are several wineries starting roughly south of Fredericksburg. Many of them have special weekend events in the fall.

If you enjoy presidential history, you can tour the former homes of Jefferson, Madison and Monroe. They are all in the middle of wine country.

When we were in Washington in fall of 22, many of the museums at the Smithsonian were closed during the early days of the week.

That isn’t the case anymore. Cala bumped into the reduced hours during covid. Most of the Smithsonian museums are now open daily. At present, you need to reserve a timeslot at the African American History, the Air and Space, and the Zoo. You are probably coming at a good time. The summer crowds will be gone and it is early in the school year so you probably won’t bump up against huge groups on school trips.

For Colonial Williamsburg (CW), I’d also suggest checking the events calendar on the CW website. Sometimes they have special tours and talks. I took a really interesting garden tour on my last trip where they talked about what was grown during colonial times and some of the changes made to the various gardens that you see in CW since the original restoration in the 1930s; they’ve learned a lot through archaeology and research over the years.
https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/events-calendar/

I live in DC and just played tour guide to some international friends. So these are observations from late August : DC was empty. Kids back to school, locals at the beach, congress on break. In addition to the African American Museum, (agree that this is a most of day visit if you want to experience the whole thing), they really enjoyed the American History Museum. I hadn't been there since the pandemic and many of the exhibits have been re-curated and it flows much better. See the First Lady's dresses, Dorothys ruby slippers, tons of popular culture exhibits. Pop into the Archives to see the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence AND (this is new) Nixon's 1974 resignation letter. Right across the street from Archives is the lovely sculpture garden and fountain which is lovely. New to me was the Folger Shakespeare Library (behind the Capitol, near the Supreme Court) which is free and newly renovated. The docents were particularly helpful here. You can reserve a tour of the Capitol - it leaves from the visitors center. I observed tourists speaking to some of the Capitol Police about January 6th. Other favorites: the American History Museum and Museum of the Word (both just north of the Mall. You can't see all this in 3 days but you'll have a great time.

I'm glad you found the older thread you mentioned in your first sentence of your question! Lots of good information there!

You asked about Civil War battlefields and should you go to one. Just south of Washington, D.C., is Manassas National Battlefield Park, with a great museum. It won't take all that long to visit. I highly recommend a visit to Manassas.

A word about the post by Susan K from Columbus.......
I would agree--the Smokies are lovely, with great trails, waterfalls, and a terrific ranger station at Sugarlands....the entrance to the park as you are entering from the Gatlinburg side.
However, as a longtime resident of Tennessee, I agree with Susan, when she wrote:
"We found Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge to be super touristy,"
It's my opinion that Gatlinburg is super tacky and a huge tourist trap, full of tacky gift shops, overpriced restaurants with bad food, and bumper-to-bumper traffic. It's all about gouging the tourists that come to the Smokies....and that includes the outrageous hotel rates, too.
Perhaps if you rented a VRBO up in the mountains outside Gatlinburg (like Susan did) that would solve the problem of the high hotel rates and you could cook in most nights.
If possible, give Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge a miss.
Suggestion: Take the time you'd spend in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and put that elsewhere in your schedule.

Really all you need is a day in the mountains, walk one of the trails to a waterfall, sit and eat a pre-packed picnic lunch, walk back to your car, and head out. You can have that at Looking Glass Falls, in Pisgah National Forest.

Here's what I wrote on the other (older) thread:
"If you want a fantastic hike, try Chimney Rock Park, about 25 miles southeast of Asheville. It's where the movie "Last Of The Mohicans" with Daniel Day Lewis was filmed. The hiking trail is the same one the filmmakers used, and you will recognize certain waterfalls, cliffs from the movie. www.chimneyrockpark.com.

Going south on BRP, you will come to Mt. Pisgah and the Pisgah National Forest. One of the most beautiful places in the mountains. At Mt. Pisgah you will have a cafe, camping area and small motel."

Note that the NYtimes article mentions Looking Glass Falls, in Pisgah National Forest. And says: "The forest offers many hikes with lush greenery and scenic waterfalls."

Also see what I wrote about Blowing Rock and the Blue Ridge Parkway on that other thread.
Personally, I might consider skipping the whole Gatlinburg area, even the Smokies, because your trip is already full, and I might just add on more days in the Asheville area & Pisgah National Forest.

Thanx Rebecca

I hear you about Gatlinburg; you’re not the first one to sound the alarm. We will spend some time in the Smokies, around Cherokee and then through Newfound Gap to Townsend. Next morning we’ll go to Cades Cove for the morning and then boogie on down the highway to Nashville.

You mentioned Manassas. I had been considering Fredericksburg. Have you been to both? And can you compare one against the other. Fredericksburg is more along the route from D.C. to Jamestown and Williamsburg where we will be for a couple of nights.

Our trip is pretty well set. But I would like one or another stop as we head south from DC. We have to choose one of three: Manassas, Fredericksburg or Mt. Vernon. Just one.

Two days (3 nights) in DC, two nights (one full day and one or perhaps two part days in Williamsburg-Jamestown-Yorktown), then two nights in Charlottesville. No stops around Richmond, so we can see Yorktown on the morning of departure.

Any further thoughts on Charlottesville apart from Monticello? I am wondering about Montpelier, Madison’s home, but it might be one museum-like venue too many for my bride.

From there we’re off to Roanoke via Appomattox Courthouse. Then down the Blue Ridge to Asheville with a night in Blowing Rock. Various stops along the route as per my original post. After two nights in Asheville, we head off to the Smokies and Nashville. We have tix for the Keb Mo’ concert at Ryman Hall on our last night. :-)

Thanks for your thoughts. Will add Chimney Rock Falls to the Asheville area considerations. (Biltmore is off that list. We will skip the re-creation of a chateau, as nature and Asheville itself appeal more.)

As Rick says, keep on travelling.

You mentioned Manassas. I had been considering Fredericksburg. Have you been to both? And can you compare one against the other. Fredericksburg is more along the route from D.C. to Jamestown and Williamsburg where we will be for a couple of nights.

I think Manassas is too far out of the way for what you want. Either Mt Vernon or Fredricksburg is good, but it seems Fredricksburg might be better as a stopping point mid way? Plenty of places to get something to eat.

Any further thoughts on Charlottesville apart from Monticello? I am wondering about Montpelier, Madison’s home, but it might be one museum-like venue too many for my bride.

If you really do the "full" Monticello experience it will take at least a half day. Video introduction, small museum, take the tram up the hill, tour the house, do the outdoor guided "Slavery at Monticello" tour, walk around the gardens. Walk back down the hill stopping at the cemetery. Look for the "Burial Ground of Enslaved People at Monticello" which is in the parking lot area. They have a cafe at the bottom of the hill. (bottom is the parking, modern visitor's center, shop, etc while Monticello is on the top of the hill).

Montpelier is about an hour drive north, so too far out of the way for a short trip. James Monroe's Highland is very close to Monticello if you wanted another stop. Seeing the Rotunda and Lawn at UVA is really nice (part of the UNESCO site with Monticello). It doesn't need much time, but now that students are back, parking can be painful. If you are interested I can give you tips.

We have to choose one of three: Manassas, Fredericksburg or Mt. Vernon. Just one.

For me, it would be Mount Vernon; no contest. But that is bringing in personal preference.
Mount Vernon is an iconic site, being the home of the first president, George Washington.
Lovely home and gardens, spectacular view on the edge of the Potomac River, high on a bluff. Just lovely.

Mount Vernon is very easy to get to from Washington, D.C.
A short distance away.

Half-Time Report

A full weekend in D.C., and now five more days through colonial Virginia, Charlottesville, Appomattox Courthouse and now Roanoke are under our belts. A few reflections so far.

The National Museum of African American History and so much that we’ve seen elsewhere, including the Smithsonian’s US History Museum, Mt. Vernon, Monticello, Madison’s home (Montpelier), Appomattox and the sparkling gem of an art museum here in Roanoke (the Taubman Museum of Art) are poignant reminders of our nation’s original sin and also of the many, varied contributions that the African American community has made to our cultural heritage and identity. It’s stunning that our enlightenment era founders voiced such high minded ideals as they also expressed their awareness of the evils of the system of enslavement (by which they profited) and their awareness that this would tear the country apart in coming generations.

Charlottesville offered more reminders: the unadorned pedestal that no longer supports the statue to Lewis & Clark - with Sacajawea in a subservient position. And, the University of Virginia’s new Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, which was reminiscent of D.C.’s Viet Nam War Memorial Wall.

On the food front, we have enjoyed a stunning array of wonderful food: Italian, Indian and Turkish fare in D.C. Vietnamese and Mexican in Williamsburg. Turkish (again) and Afghani in Charlottesville. And Peruvian food tonight in Roanoke. The abundance of flavors from diverse immigrants, old and new, all across Virginia was unexpected.

Our encounters with colonial and civil war history at the historic sites mentioned above, plus Jamestown and Yorktown, have been enjoyable as well as thought provoking. The numbers of obvious “home schooled” students and their parents at Williamsburg, Montpelier and Appomattox was surprising to me. How much they and their parents learned and discussed is unknown as I did not feel that I should intrude and ask. Re-enactors at Williamsburg and Appomattox were good to superb.

My last big take-away is how stunningly beautiful Virginia is — from Fairfax County, to the Tidewater, and the Piedmont. Lovely countryside and homes everywhere. Lovely historic towns and buildings. Those of us who live with grand mountains in the west think we live in the most beautiful part of America. I’ve learned it isn’t that simple, like so much of the United States.

Final observations. We also enjoyed the National Gallery’s original building with the special exhibit this year on the Impressionist and French Salon exhibitions of 1874 and the inclusion of the Corcoran Collection in the original gallery. Stunning! The current exhibition in the modern, East Wing was disappointing. Another disappointment was how security considerations have restricted access to the Capitol since I interned there 50 years ago and since we last visited 25 years ago.

The Road Ahead

Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville and the Smokies. And then on to Nashville. Thanks to those of you who’ve helped us along our journey.

Have you checked on the status of the Keb Mo' event? The Sep 21 event seems to be rescheduled to March 13, 2025.
https://www.ryman.com/event/2025-03-13-keb-mo-shawn-colvin-at-7-30-pm
https://calendar.nashvillescene.com/

Thanks for the update! We have seen much of the west and hope to explore more of the east coast in the not too distant future.

Thnx for your comment, Going234

Tix for Ryman Auditorium (Keb Mo concert) were marketed through Vivid Tickets and digitally supplied by AXS.

AXS and Ryman both notified me of the cancellation/changed date, but then all three make it impossible to get a refund. And so, we are left to complain to VISA and dispute the charge.

Corporate shell games, “voice jail,” websites that let you buy, but not process refunds due to impossible conditions, and “no reply” emails. A tribute to corporate greed.

Glad you had a good trip to DC and VA. You got really great weather!

For the Part 2 Final Report - Blue Ridge Parkway to Nashville

SEE,
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/reflections-on-dc-to-asheville-nashville-last-month