PICS ADDED!PAGE 3!...The Jills do Virginia....live from the MeltingPot!!Lol!
- Thread starter Beach Bum
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^^^They always look like they've had too many martinis to me.
Kidding of course.
HAHAHA yeah we do! We had a bunch! My townhouse development pays for taxis so we definitely had one too many martinis to celebrate!
We're safe and responsible drunks, so it's all good!:okay:
Sounds like the Jills had a blast! I was in Charlottesville for a wedding this summer and absolutely loved it. It's a great town with tons of places to have too many martinis! I have a friend with the same name as me, too. Reading about how much fun you girls had makes me want to fly to Chicago to hang out with her!
Such cute pics! Looks like you both had a lot of fun.
Awh...I miss VA, I used to live by DC, but a few months ago I moved to Chicago.
How are you liking VA, jillybean? Have you driven anywhere in the state?
Awh...I miss VA, I used to live by DC, but a few months ago I moved to Chicago.
How are you liking VA, jillybean? Have you driven anywhere in the state?
I really like it a lot! It's a bit of culture shock going from Philly to Cville, but it's so pretty here. I have a great view from my townhouse of the hills, so I can't wait for Fall!
I've been absolutely consumed by school (I have 5 classes, and I'm teaching undergrads 3 days a week!), so I haven't had a chance to drive around. There are a ton of vineyards around here that have special theme nights like Music under the Stars, so I have that on my to-do list. I definitely want to do a trip to Richmond and to DC sometime soon.
If you have any suggestions of what to do in NoVa, I'd love to here them!
So glad for you girls!!! You look terrific!!!If you ever came to Greece in Myconos island strawberry martinis would be your drink i think... Oh and driving 10 hours to see your friend is so sweet... even my boyfriend wouldn't do that for me...
Fall is GORGEOUS in VA!! I absolutely love it.
I have many many suggestions for NoVA. One is you HAVE to go to Skyline drive. I believe it ends in Waynesboro and it begins in Front Royal, Virginia. You don't have to drive the whole thing(over 100 miles), there are stops to get off it, like Luray, Virginia. It's gorgeous and it's a lot of fun to drive it. Skyland Lodge is one of the many lodges on it, and Skyland has a great restaurant with great food with views of the mountains(from 3,000 feet up in the mountains.) Hiking is also a great time on skyline drive, I have hiked all throughout the trails and I have seen bears(you can also see them while driving up there, but have more of a chance to see them by hiking.) I have also seen a few turkeys lol! Also, there are many deer that you can see, on some nights I have seen over 30 deer in one night driving a small portion of it. It is really worth it to go up there at night, also, to see the beautiful lights of the towns way below, it's really magical and so peaceful. It costs $15 to get up there for one time I belive, but get the year pass for only $30, it's a great deal, and you can use it unlimited times for a year.
Here's a website about it: http://www.nps.gov/shen/ and another one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyline_Drive.
Another fun day trip would be going to Winchester, VA, it's full of history and such a beautiful town situated in the valley. Also, about 20 miles west of Winchester is a beautiful, peaceful town called Berkeley Springs, WV, and Route 50(I believe that's the road) drives you right through the mountains, totally worth the drive!
A place you must go is Fredericksburg, VA (which is about 40 miles south of DC.) It is full of history from the Civil War, and it has a beautiful downtown area with blocks of shopping. There is also a very modern shopping area called Central Park and it has sooooo many stores to shop at, I would guess at least 200-300. It seems impossible to shop at all of them in one day. About 5-10 miles north of F'burg is Quantico, a very military town with the Marine Corps base and the Marine Corp museum, if you are interested in that kind of stuff, it's a must!
Leesburg, VA is also in NoVA and has great shopping. Dulles Town Center is a great mall with midscale to upperscale stores and also there is a great outlet center (Leesburg Premium Outlets.)
Lexington, VA is kind of by you in Charlottesville. It is a beautiful town, too, and is also FULL of Civil War history. It's definitely a great time to see all of those sights. Be sure to see the VA military institute there.
Another fun day trip is going to Harper's Ferry, WV. It is also very historical and is beautiful. Some explorer or president(forgot who), went up on a high point there(climbing a lot of stairs) called Jefferson Rock, and this explorer/president described the view "worth crossing the oceans for." It really is, seeing all the mountains and seeing where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet. Canoeing/Kayaking is also fun for a weekend there and at Front Royal(canoed there quite a few times), on the Shenandoah.
Definitely go to Williamsburg(beautiful town, history, shopping), Yorktown, Norfolk, and VA beach of course. It's a lot of fun on a nice day, but going to VA beach/Norfolk is fun in "nice" weather, not too hot and not too cold, because in cold weather, it's virtually a ghost town, but in hot weather, the traffic is impossible.
Richmond, of course, is pretty fun and is a pretty good sized, not huge, city. I would stop by there and explore that city.
And, of course, DC. First of all, you HAVE to go to Alexandria, VA(about a 3-5 minute drive from DC) and it's great at night time, ALOT of nightlife, clubs, martinis
. A lot of stores/shopping and restaurants. It's all mainly on King Street. For restaruants, I recommend Pat Troy's, it's like an americanized Irish restaurant with live entertainment(lots of fun, you would have a great time) and great food, even if you don't like Irish stuff, you would still love it, the music is great(I believe Fri. and Sat. nights a singer performs irish music.) Ronald Reagan ate there, and his seat is blocked off and pics everywhere of his visit. Another restaurant recommendation is Gadbsy's Tavern, it is upperscale, dress nicely/casual, and the prices aren't too bad. A lot of historical famous people ate there, and it's GREAT food. Reservations aren't really necessary, but are recommended. Also on Fri. and Sat.(I think those are the days) at 7pm, there is a guy/borderline comedian dressed up as George Washington who plays the part so well, no matter how hard you try you can't get him out of character. It's a great time.Another must near DC is Georgetown, Great town with great restaurants and clubs. Be sure to go to Wisconsin Ave., it has been mentioned on tPF a few times, GREAT SHOPPING!
Something else that's fun is taking a boat ride down the Potomac from Alexandria to Georgetown, you see all the monuments at night and it's really a fun experience, but do this on a "nice" weather night.
Of course DC is fun all within itself. Be sure to go on Embassy Row, it's fun to see all of the different countries' embassies and people standing outside securing the embassies, it's really interesting. Also, when you go to DC, plan to be there at night as well as the day. It's beautiful seeing all of the monuments at night. Wear comfy shoes if you plan to walk around DC(trust me on this.) If you want to spend the night, I highly recommend the Sofitel in DC, it's literally like a minute walk from the White House, and it's a beautiful, great hotel, with a nice restaurant/bar. Of course, go to the Smithsonian museums, the Capitol, all the monuments, Arlington cemetary, Library of Congress(Amazing!!), and see your senator or U.S. representative! I saw my US representative and got a personal tour of the Capitol to places you can't go on regular tours(but we had to cut it short due to a bomb threat, had to evacuate.) I also stopped by Senator *******'s office(didn't see her, they didn't open her office
), and stopped by Barack *****'s office but he was in Chicago. There is just countless things to do in DC, plan at least two solid days there to see everything you want to. Also, go to Pentagon City mall, also GREAT shopping, it's about five floors and one of my favorite malls. And, of course, Tysons Corner and Galleria(my favorite mall ever.)Also, going to the Inner harbor in Baltimore is also a fun time, lots of things to do there.
And Philly is such a short drive away, I have driven it many many times from NoVA, and it really isn't that bad, so you are only hours away from your family/friends and of course Jill.
I know I forgot to mention many things in VA and surrounding areas, but the ones I just mentioned are things that are a must to see and do! You won't regret it. If you ever want recommendations or ideas of things to do in towns/cities there, just drop me a PM, I'll be more than happy to answer questions. I love Virginia and plan on moving back there in a couple years, there is so much to do there.
Hubby thinks I planned it that way! i've never pumped my own, but I'm not above it, just too inempt to do it.
Purplekitty!!! Thank you soooooo much for all of the suggestions! I copy & pasted the whole thing into a word document so I'll have it for future use! I definitely want to do the skyline drive after reading about it! I can't wait to start venturing around VA!