Category: Virginia

Our next trip was to Monticello the home of Thomas Jefferson. We went in Sept of 2022. The weather was perfect so almost all the trip was top down. It is about a 3 hour back roads drive from Hagerstown Md to Charlottesville Va. It is also a beautiful drive. The leaves are not changing yet but when they do it will be a sight to see.

We took a Friday off and drove down and stayed at a new Holiday Inn express Friday and Saturday night. It was a nice hotel at a good price and close to Monticello.

Saturday we reserved the Behind the Scenes Day pass which gave us a 2 hour guided tour of the house and access to the grounds and a couple other tours which are free anyway.

The history of Monticello is amazing. It is hard to comprehend how it was when Thomas Jefferson walked the grounds. The Behind the scenes tour included seeing all 4 floors of the house including the grounds and gardens. Our tour guide was great and very knowledgeable on everything to do with Jefferson. After the tour we went to a talk by a Stand in Thomas Jefferson. He was extremely realistic and talked as if he were still in the early 1800’s.

We spent the entire day here doing a slave history tour and walking the grounds. We then spent time at the visitors center. When we got to Monticello in the morning we did not have the time and some things were not open yet. We had been at Monticello 20 years before but the visitor center was not there. It was a very nice addition with a small but informative museum.

We love to take pictures of flowers and the flowers on the grounds of Monticello were wonderful. I suspect that at certain times of the year that is the main attraction. Here is one that came out great.

The next day we attempted to go to James Monroes house, our 5th President, which is just 4 miles from Monticello, but it was closed on this particular Sunday for some kind of private event. We speculated a wedding but are not sure. So we can save that for a future trip. Instead we decided to go to our 4th Presidents home Montpelier the home of James Madison, It was about an hour drive in the direction that we were going.

After the Madisons sold the house it was bought by the DuPont family who lived in the house for several decades before it was donated to the Monroe foundation. The tour at Montpelier was not as extensive as the tour at Monticello. We only saw about 6 rooms that were restored however the tour guide talks were very good and informative. The on your own tour of the garden was wonderful with lots of flowers and a great path to follow.

After Montpelier we traveled back home via back roads with the top down. Unfortunately we did not eat at any memorable restaurants but there should be several in and around Charlottsville.

Tips

1. For Monticello we had a tour that was scheduled for the same time the grounds opened. Not knowing the lay out we were at the visitors center about 15 minutes early but the time of the tour is based on the tour starting outside the house. By the time we got on the bus and up to the house we were a little late. Fortunately we made it to the tour and only missed a short introduction by the guide. Get to the visitors center early and plan for about a 10 to 15 minute bus ride.
2. The price of the Behind the Scenes tour is a little pricey at $85 each, where the Highlights tour was only $42. Based on what we saw, I think the Behind the scenes tour was worth it if it is your first and maybe only time there. If you have a family with younger kids the Highlights tour may be better. It is about an hour with less walking and kids under 12 are free.
3. Definitely take the time to listen to one of the talks by Thomas Jefferson. He has been doing this for over 20 years and is very good in character.
4. The garden at Montpelier is out of the way and behind a wall. If you do not go through the gate you would not even know it is there. Definitely walk through the garden. There were very few people in it when we walked through. I suspect a lot of people bypass this gem.

The next trip we decided on was a day trip to a nearby Virginia State Park. Shenandoah River State park is about 90 minutes outside of DC and about the same from our home in Hagerstown Maryland. It is a few miles from the upper entrance to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park.

The drive to the park was pleasant. We took back roads all the way. Luckily our Google maps has an option for no highways. It does a pretty good job of keeping you off of 4 lane highways.

This was our first time at the park. We found it be a nice park. It has cabins to rent and camping area for campers, motor homes and tents. Most of the park overlooked a U shaped part of the Shenandoah River.

The park has many trails, on the map none looked to difficult. We stopped at the park overlook and took the 1 mile Overlook trail to the visitors center. The visitor center was nice. It was a pleasant surprise to find open on Easter Sunday and during Covid.

The one complaint with the park is that there is not a lot to do inside the park that we found. The scenery was excellent, being at the edge of Shenandoah National Park but other than several trails and a large picnic area, there did not seem to be much else for the day visitor. It is more geared toward picnicking, camping and cabin rental. With alot of stuff to do in the local area it does make sense to stay in the park and do the many things at Luray Va and Skyline Drive.

After our visit in the park we started home on a different route than we came on. We stopped for supper at Paddy Irish Pub in Charlestown WV. It had a great atmosphere, food and service. We highly recommend it for anyone traveling through Charlestown.

Now that Spring is here we are looking forward to many more Top Down Days this year with the Miata.

Our favorite time of the year is most definitely Fall. The changing colors of the foliage to the most gorgeous hues of red, orange and yellow, the crispness of the air as you step outside, and the most gorgeous scenery as we embarked on our trip to Skyline Drive in Virginia. Skyline Drive is something that most people who live in the Maryland and Virginia area know about, but for those who have no idea what it is, I’ll tell you. It’s a must visit. You can find it at Shenandoah National Park in Front Royal Virginia inside the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

            During our drive, we learned that there are 69 total scenic overlooks that we could experience – as you can guess, we couldn’t visit all of them, so we had to opt for every second or third one we passed. We also booked a night at one of two National Park lodges that are located on Skyline Drive, We stopped at many overlooks while driving to the trail that we planned to hike. Rose River Falls Loop has 2 good size waterfalls and followed a stream for a good portion of the hike. It was rated as moderate by the Skyline Drive website but in places on our scale it was difficult. Portions were very rocky and wet. The hike took about 3 hours total, it had beautiful scenery and was a great pick.

We then headed to Skyland Resort, were we would spend the night.The Resort itself is as beautiful as the drive through Skyline Drive. The rooms themselves were set up with basic accommodations, but when you first step into the resort buildings, there is a warm welcome waiting for you, as cheesy as that sounds. The check-in building had giant windows that let in the sunlight and a fireplace surrounded by a cluster of chairs and a sofa. In our room we had a back door that led to a small patio. The rooms are in a series of small buildings that house about a dozen rooms each along with cabins for larger groups.

Nearby the resort is the Hazeltop Ridge Overlook which was recommended as a good place to watch the sunset. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets we have seen.

During these more isolated times of COVID-19 it’s hard to plan out a drive, let alone any vacation, and do it in a way that is safe. Skyland Resort made sure that all guests would be cared for in the safest way possible, which was a relief to find.

During our trip, we met new people and learned about their lives. There is something cathartic about these road trips to beautiful destinations and this isn’t only our opinion. On day 2 we met a woman who had packed up what possessions she needed for a trip of a lifetime. She explained that she was newly unemployed and had wanted to do this for her whole life, She was traveling down the coast from Maine, stopping at whatever she thought was interesting.  She truly was an inspiration to anyone who needs a boost to fulfill your dreams. We saw her and another couple at a few overlooks before heading our separate ways.

              This was a truly extraordinary trip, and anyone reading this- We highly recommend you go. You definitely won’t regret it. From the beautiful scenery to the wonderful people who work at the Skyland Resort and Shenandoah National Park Rangers, everything about this Top-Down Drive was truly perfect.

Useful Tips and Tricks:

• There is only one gas station inside the park. Make sure you fill your tank up before entering the park!
• There is a fee to get into the Skyline Drive but worry not! You can always prepay on-line, which saved us 15 to 30 minutes of standstill traffic to get in.
• During peak or near peak leaf color season in the fall. Plan your trip for Sunday through Thursday. Friday and Saturdays are very crowded. Sunday’s can also be on the crowded side but manageable.
• Speed limit in the park is 35 mph. It is monitored by Park rangers. We saw several people pulled over for speeding.

Our first Top Down day was to the Northrop Grumman Antares Launch of NG14 at Wallops Island. NG 14 was going to deliver cargo to the International Space Station.

Wallops Island is about a 4 hr drive from Hagerstown Md. Unfortunately a lot of the drive is 4 and 6 lane highway, so the start of the day was top up.

Right before we got to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge we put the top down the rest of the way. It was a good drive from the bay bridge to Wallops Island Va. For lunch we stopped for BBQ. There are several great BBQ restaurants along the route.

It was a night time launch on Thursday.  We left home planning on seeing the launch, staying the night in a hotel and coming back home on Friday. You will see that changed slightly for the better.

We got to the Wallops Island area in mid afternoon so we could explore a site to watch the launch and get some good pictures of the rocket on the launch pad.

Later in the afternoon we picked up a sandwich to eat while we waited for the launch at the site we had picked out. After a couple hours of waiting we found out that the area we were planning on viewing the launch from was closed to spectators for safety reasons. The local police came and evacuated the 20 or so people that was at the site to view the launch. The Police officer recommended to go to Pierce Taylor Rd to watch. We proceeded there and found a good opening through the trees to get a good view of the rocket.  Waiting anxiously for the launch with just about 45 seconds left the launch was delayed due to a sensor on the rocket indicating a problem.  The launch was delayed approx 24 hours to Friday night. We decided to stay an extra night and do some sightseeing Friday before seeing the launch.

We took the opportunity to go to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Assateague Lighthouse and a drive on packed sand beach at Assateague Beach. All was great with the top down. Having the top down view is so much different than seeing it behind glass in a regular car. We knew then that getting our Miata was a great decision. We also spent a few hours on some hiking trails within the Wildlife Refuge. Including some shopping around town and a great seafood dinner at Bill’s Prime Seafood & Steaks. Highly recommend this restaurant. It is a higher on the price range but in our estimation worth it.

Friday night was attempt #2 for the launch. We went back to Pierce Taylor Rd and found our spot. That night with a full moon there was no delays and launch was flawless. It was a wonderful sight. I have seen other rocket launches but for Cindy it was her first. I highly recommend seeing a rocket launch if you have the opportunity.

The next day we started for home. When we got close to the bay bridge our GPS re-routed us away from the bridge and up to New Jersey. We took the new route and later found out there was a 4 to 6 hour delay on the Bridge. The reroute was a pleasant surprise. We were able to be Top Down for about 3 hours on a great drive with lots of scenery and small towns. It was a great detour with Top Down. Eventually we hit 4 and 6 lane highways again and went top up to get home. It was a great first adventure.