Vicki,
This is so long that I am not proofreading it!
I live in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia and play tour guild to visitors
all the time. Here is my list of things to do.
Richmond is a very historic city with lots of historic sites. I have lived
here 23 years. There is so many historic things to see in Virginia. We
have only seen 50 % of them. Below are things to see in Richmond. If you
would like for me to be your tour guide your around the area, write me
off-list and I will give you my phone number.
Agecroft Hall: http://www.agecrofthall.com/ Agecroft and the Virginia
House were both on the TV show "America's Castles."
Agecroft is a really cool mansion. It was moved here from England in the
1925. The mansion setting is England's Tudor and early Stuart periods.
They do a nice tour.
The Virginia House is next door to Agecroft. You will need an appt. to
visit the Virginia House. Part of the movie "A New World" was filmed in the
mansion. The gardens you can tour without an appointment. They are
beautiful!!! Sometimes local artists are in the gardens painting.
http://www.vahistorical.org/vh/vh_house_main.htm
While in this area of town, drive down Cary Street and see the mansion row.
This is where my millionaire client lives...the one that owns the Princess
Diana dress. Her's looks live the Gone with the Wind home.
The Valentine Richmond History Center:
http://www.richmondhistorycenter.com/index.asp . The Valentine has the
largest collection of bridal gowns in the world and the largest costume
collection in the southern U.S. In the collection is George Washington's
niece's wedding gown and Meriwether Lewis buckskin jacket that he wore on
the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I did my internship there and worked with
both of these. Another must see is Lady Astor's red velvet court gown. It
is massive! You need to contact them for a tour of the costume collection.
Make sure to let them know that you are interested in pre-civil war and they
will pull things from the collection. You can photograph and look
extensively at the collection. Make sure to visit the 1812 Wickham House,
http://www.richmondhistorycenter.com/wicktour.asp . It is part of the
museum. The decor is a perfect representation of Regency period homes. The
restoration is beautiful! The owner of the home was Aaron Burr's lawyer.
While at the Valentine go a block over and tour Jefferson Davis' White House
of the Confederacy http://www.moc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=visit_wh_main
. It is Civil War period but OMG it is a beautiful mansion.
Historic Church Hill: St. John's church .
http://www.historicstjohnschurch.org/hist_main.htm This is prime-time for
the church!!! They are doing reenactments of Patrick Henry's "Give me
Liberty or Death!" speech. Check the schedule for when the reenactment is.
This is a GREAT thing to see. Do remember that this is still an active
church and respect is to be given while in the church. While the
reenactment is going on, you will see Patrick Henry, George Washington, and
Thomas Jefferson. Also the street behind the church has lots of Regency
era homes. You can just walk down the street and the homes have historic
plaques on them.
Edgar Allan Poe Museum: http://www.poemuseum.org/ This is a fun little
museum. My favorite part is the room size model of the city of Richmond
when Poe lived here.
WARNING: This is tourist season! Traffic is very thick between on I-95
Fredericksburg to DC, DC to Baltimore. Try to travel in none rush hours
times. BUT I have been sitting with traffic backed up for miles @ 2 am.
Traffic is also thick on I-64 from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach especially
on Friday afternoon-Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. On the weekend
people rush to the beach. From Richmond we like to take the ferry to
Jamestown, http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/ferry-jamestown-history.asp .
It is much less stressful than I-64 and the crossing puts you right at
Jamestown. The highways from Scotland to Richmond has lots of Virginia
hidden historic sites. I have always wanted to go to Bacon's Castle (read
about it on the website.) The Virginia Diner on these rural roads is the
pride of Virginia!
TRANSPORTATION: Do not get in the HOV lanes on the highways except if you
have 3 or more people in the car. When (not IF) you get caught, it is a
$500 fine. In the Tidewater area (towards VA Beach) the lanes are to the
far left and marked with a big diamond on the pavement. In the DC metro HOV
is a separate road that is gated and you can only enter at certain times of
the day. Make sure to abide by the speed limits in construction zones,
fines are doubled. Also, there is a fairly new law about speeding in big
metros/cities. Drive just under the speed limit in metros on interstate
highways. Police may be in unmarked cars. They bust speeders in Richmond
and the Tidewater (beach area) for this! The fines are really steep.
While in DC, park somewhere and take the Metro (subway). Finding parking in
DC is VERY difficult. We generally stop in Springfield, VA off I-95 and
catch the Metro. It is very safe and clean. There is parking at each
station. http://www.wmata.com/rail/ . You can buy day passes.
NOTE: While driving around Virginia read the historical markers on the sides
of the roads. Virginal has more historical markers than any other states.
In the Richmond area, it is not uncommon to have 3-4 markers in a row that
are spaced a few feet apart. We love reading the historic markers.
http://www.historicmarkers.com/va/
More places to visit in Virginia:
Make sure to visit the National Park of the Jamestowne Settlement:
http://www.nps.gov/jame/ I haven't been there since the remodel for the
anniversary but I think they are still doing excavations of the fort. If
they are, you can go right up to the excavation site and a guide will talk
with you about it.
The plantations on the James River:
http://www.jamesriverplantations.org/ My favorites are the Shirley and
Berkeley. Berkeley is where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated. A lot
of films are made there too. There is a nice bed & breakfast to stay at
down the road from Berkeley. Both of these plantations are still working
plantations. All of these plantations are kinda near one another. But it
will give you a good idea of early plantation power and their political
families.
A visit to Virginia would not be complete without visiting Thomas
Jefferson's Monticello http://www.monticello.org/ . It is located an hour
west of Richmond. Make sure to ask the mansion's tourguide to show you his
inventions. You will be amazed! Also when in Jefferson's bedroom, ask where
he kept his wardrobe. This is my family's favorite historic place in the
state.
While in the Colonial triangle (Williamsburg/Yorktown/Jamestown) you can
sail on the tall ships. We sailed on one in Yorktown called the Alliance,
http://www.schooneralliance.com/. Make sure you have cash to pay them.
This is so much fun. My husband and I took this one for our anniversary.
They ask the guest to help put up the sails. You can also sail on a tall
ship, the American Rover at Hampton Roads http://www.americanrover.com/ .
Fredericksburg: This is a GREAT place to antique shop. It is also a very
historic city. Get out and walk around. Also make sure to gas up here
before heading to DC for two reasons. A. You never know how long you will
be in traffic on I-95. B. Gas is cheaper in Fredericksburg. Gas is cheaper
in Virginia than Maryland.
Washington DC:
The DAR museum: http://www.dar.org/museum/ . Write and ask for Alden
O'Brien for a behind-the-scenes tour of their costume collection. She is
wonderful and very friendly!
The Hope Diamond is at the Museum of Natural History. I could stare at it
for hours. There are some nice gems at the museum.
Baltimore:
Fort McHenry National Park http://www.nps.gov/fomc/ has nice reenactment and
you can tour the fort.
The inner harbor area is a nice place for tourists.
Philadelphia:
Parking in Philly is hard. Make sure to look way up for parking signs.
They can be in trees covered by leaves. We got a $300 ticket there for a
handicap parking sign in a tree covered by leaves.
Franklin Institute: http://www2.fi.edu/
Philadelphia Museum of Art: http://www.philamuseum.org/
Independence Hall: You have to get tickets in advance but if you can't get
them, you can tour the grounds and go in other building. The Liberty Bell
is in the area. You might know this area from the film, "National
Treasure." Tickets: http://www.nps.gov/inde/independence-hall.htm
There are so many other areas to see. If I think of more, I will write you
privately.
Penny Ladnier
Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
www.costumegallery.com
11 websites of fashion, textiles, costume history
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