Belle Grove Plantation began with 483 acres given to Isaac Hite Jr. by his father in 1783. By 1824, it had grown to 7,500 acres, producing grain, livestock, flax and hemp. Also on Belle Grove were a grist mill, a saw mill, a distillery, a store, a lime kiln and quarry, and a blacksmith shop. […]
Virginia
Going Wild Again at the Virginia Safari Park
Take a drive on the wild side at this fun zoological park!
St Albans Sanitorium Has Ghosts!
This creepy place is a ghost-hunter’s dream — and should be on every ghost hunter’s bucket list!
No Corny Rock Puns: Go See Luray Caverns
You can almost spend a day at Luray Caverns — it’s not the tourist attraction of my childhood, that’s for sure! It’s better!
Reach for the Stars at the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum
Growing up, my favorite museum was the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. My family made annual pilgrimages downtown to the Smithsonian Museums. I was really excited when, in 2003, the Udvar Hazy Center, an annex to the National Air and Space Museum, open. Multiple trips ensued, with the kids, with out of […]
The Secret Flower in Skyline Caverns You Must See to Believe!
Skyline Caverns is a series of geologic caves and a tourist attraction located in Warren County, Virginia, one mile south of Front Royal. Unlike other caverns in the area, Skyline Caverns were discovered on purpose — a retired geologist went searching for them. Walter S. Amos went sniffing around for caverns that could be commercialized […]
Shenandoah Caverns Brings the Bacon!
Rainbow Lake, within Shenandoah Caverns. There are eight commercial caverns in Virginia, and each has unique formations inside and tours available. Each cavern has its own personality. Luray has the mostest — both in age and rock formations and other things to do right there. Grand Caverns has Civil War history that is cool and […]
Doing Time at the Old Fauquier Jail
Over two centuries ago, a four-cell brick jail was constructed in Warrenton VA, in 1808 to house the county’s indigent and criminal residents. The four cells were multi-person cells, not an uncommon for that time. Also not uncommon, children often accompanied their mothers into the jail. The stairs in the kitchen up to the jailer’s […]
13 Great Ghost Tours: A Spooky Tour Through the Mid-Atlantic States
August, September and October are the season most folks check out ghost walks and ghost tours — one of my favorite activities! Ghost tours are always intriguing — they’re a little bit of sight-seeing, a little bit of ghost story, and usually a lot of history. Ghost tours are a good way to get to […]
The Virginian Hotel: Experience Lynchburg Luxury in Beau Arts Style
The Virginian Hotel does not disappoint — we spent a luxurious few days there while we explored Lynchburg, discovering all the wonderful things to see and do there! When it opened in 1913, the hotel was Lynchburg’s premier grand downtown hotel. Built in the glamorous Beaux Arts style, no detail was missed. Throughout the years, […]
Blooms and Butterflies at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Despite its location in the heart of northern Virginian suburbs, few know about this wonderful garden oasis. Meadowlark Botanical Gardens is part botanical garden, part sculpture garden (there are a number of striking sculptures around the grounds, part arboretum. There are pretty little ponds with lotuses and waterlillies, and other water plants growing in and […]
Frederick County (VA) Photo Safari
Stonewall Jackson made Winchester his winter headquarters between November 1861 and March 1862. He was much beloved by the townspeople. Winchester’s historic homes and churches offergorgeous details such as this door knob. Historic Victorian homes such as this one fill the neighborhoods adjacent the oldest part of Winchester. Mount Hebron Cemetery holds four cemeteries, church […]
An Afternoon in Strasburg
For such a small town, there’s a surprising number of things to in Strasburg, VA. Here’s how we spent an afternoon exploring this quaint little town. The scenic and lovely Shenandoah River runs lazy along the town, offering a refreshing backdrop to the town. We started with lunch at Jaliscos, a neat little Mexican food […]
Late Fall Hike to Hone Quarry Waterfalls
The out-and-back hike up to the Hone Quarry Falls will take you just approximately 2.5 miles up a mountain, yielding some pretty glimpses of the ridges of mountains on the other side of a small gorge/valley to a pleasant falls area, an ideal area, had we timed it right, for a picnic listening to the […]
Hike to Dark Hollow Falls
IT sounds like an ominous thing, Dark Hollow Falls — there should be a ghost story or something associated with it, but I couldn’t find any mention of ghosts, nor how Dark Hollow Falls got its name, although I could well imagine how shady and dark the falls would be if the leaves still fluttered […]